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CWA NEWS

The voice of the welding industry in Canada
March 2002, Issue No. 5

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

The Canadian Welding Association Board of Directors met on February 22. Minutes of the meeting have been posted online.

SPRING MEETING IN HALIFAX

Planning is progressing for the Spring Meeting in Halifax that is scheduled for May 3 and 4, 2002.

MARKETING COMMITTEE

The Marketing Committee met on February 15 as a focus group to discuss how CWA could attract end-users / fabricators to become corporate members. The group analyzed:

  • the benefits of membership
  • what good organizations do well
  • networking
  • what matters to a fabricator
  • how to set up a focus group for fabricators
  • execution of a marketing campaign

The group decided that it would immediately invite a group of fabricators to a meeting at which they would be asked what their needs were from an organization such as CWA and whether CWA’s value proposition was sufficient to attract them as members.

TECHNICAL COMMITTEE

The Technical Committee met on February 19 with two primary objectives:

  • To provide the Marketing Committee with a list of benefits for its value proposition for fabricators
     
  • To address several issues related to manganese in welding fume and the OELs set by Ontario’s Ministry of Labour.

The committee developed the following elements for a value proposition:

  1. Lobbying efforts on behalf of the industry
    – Manganese
    – Standards harmonization
    – Certification harmonization
  2. Central point for technical topics across Canada
  3. Central point for training
  4. Database of memberships and affiliations

The committee mandated the National Office to write three letters on its behalf related to the manganese and regulatory issues:

  • Ontario’s Ministry of Labour
    This letter was addressed to John Vander Doelen, Director of the Workplace Insurance, Health & Safety Policy Branch. Attached to it was the Human Resources Development Canada study titled Worker Exposure to Welding Fumes and Gases in Federally Regulated Workplaces. This confirmed the agreement with the Branch that when total welding fume is less than 5.0 mg/m3, elemental manganese is less than the OEL of 0.2 mg/m3 except in special circumstances, and therefore does need to be tested for.
     
  • American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists
    This letter was addressed to Brad Garber, Chair of the ACGIH. It addressed the fact that manganese in welding fume is in a complex form and that it reacts differently in combination with iron oxide than it does in its elemental form. Consequently, it should have its own TLV.
     
  • Ontario’s Ministry of Labour OEL Process Project
    This letter addressed the process by which the Ministry of Labour would set OELs for Ontario industry. It stated that the CWA feels that the ACGIH TLV process is flawed and a made-in-Ontario solution would best fit Ontario’s needs.

COMMON WELD FAULTS AND NDT SEMINAR

The Winnipeg Chapter of the Canadian Welding Association will be running a day long seminar on Friday, April 12, 2002, at the South Winnipeg Technical College. The topic for the seminar is "Most Common Weld Faults & Non-Destructive Testing." The seminar features two keynote speakers.

The morning session will be addressed by Mr. Duane Miller of the Lincoln Electric Company in Cleveland Ohio. Mr. Miller will speak about Common Weld Faults such as Centerline Cracking, Disproportional Height to Width Ratio, Underbead Cracking, Weld design, Metallurgy and more. Mr. Miller is recognized around the world as an expert in weld design and speaking on the subjects surrounding welded connections. Mr. Miller chaired the 1994 AWS Presidential Task Group on Northridge Earthquake issues. He is a regular speaker at seminars and trade shows and has won numerous awards for his published technical articles.

The afternoon session of the seminar will be addressed by Mr. Larry Russell from Wescan Inspection in Winnipeg, MB. Who will speak on the methods of Non-Destructive testing. Mr. Russell has practiced the techniques of Non-Destructive testing for 38 years and has developed many unique methods for NDT which have provided his clients with efficient and cost effective methods to test their products. Mr. Russell has taught NDT methods at Red River Community College in Winnipeg since 1981 and has spoken at seminars for many different organizations such as the American Foundry Society, Ministry of Transport, Canadian society of Non-Destructive Testing and more.

The Seminar will run from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm with lunch served at 12:00 noon. The cost for the seminar is $95 for a CWA Member and $145 for a non-member. If you are paying the non-member rate you will receive a free membership for the coming year. There is space for 150 attendees, first come, first serve. Please email winnipeg@cwa-acs.org to reserve a spot.