CWA 2011 Conference
We are pleased to announce that our second annual 2011 Conference will be held at the Banff Centre in Banff, Alberta from September 19-20. The topics will focus on new welding technologies, weld repair, failure analysis, welding productivity/lean manufacturing, pipe welding, weld overlay, welding research and welding safety. The Conference will also have a focus on NDE.

We are seeking industry leaders involved in materials engineering, design, manufacturing, construction, and maintenance to provide technical presentations on current advancements in non-destructive inspection, testing and equipment.

The 2011 Conference will attract the well-known welding and NDE speakers on a broad range of topics that will be of interest to our audience. Don't be left behind - register early! More detailed information will be posted on our website and also communicated to you in our Journal and Newsletters.

Become a Member and Win a Hypertherm Power Max 1000 Plasma Cutting Machine!

Sign up as a Premium CWA member or upgrade your Basic CWA membership and become eligible to win a Hypertherm Plasma Cutting Machine. Anyone who signs up for a $75 CWA membership from January 3 until March 31, 2011 will have his/her name entered in the prize draw. The prize value is $3000. This special issue machine has a cutting capacity of ¾" and will run on any voltage from 220 – 575 volts single or 3 phase.

Sign up as a Premium CWA member or upgrade your Basic CWA membership and become eligible to win a Hypertherm Plasma Cutting Machine. Anyone who signs up for a $75 CWA membership from January 3 until March 31, 2011 will have his/her name entered in the prize draw. The prize value is $3000. This special issue machine has a cutting capacity of ¾" and will run on any voltage from 220 – 575 volts single or 3 phase.

CWA Open House
On Tuesday, January 25th over a 100 CWA members and CWB clients visited the CWB Group headquarters. Attendees were able to view our new state-of-the-art Advanced Welding Technology Centre (AWTC) and training facilities. They also received hands-on experience with industry experts who revealed the latest in welding technology. Based on everyone's positive comments it was a great success! This event will be held annually and will feature new technologies that are being introduced into the market place.

Click here for the article featured on the Canadian Manufacturing website.

Welding Automation
The average age of today's welder is 54 years old. It is estimated that the year 2014 will be a peak year for retiring baby boomers generation. Many are predicting that we are not producing enough skilled welders to take their place. Our industry needs to improve its processes by investing in automation technologies. We are living in a highly competitive global environment and by all accounts more of our work is being done offshore. As a general guide, any welding and joining operation with ten or more welding arcs should seriously consider automating their processes to improve productivity, and efficiency that will lead to greater competitiveness.

We have recently opened an Advanced Welding Technology Centre (AWTC) in our effort to showcase to the industry and educational institutions some of the latest welding technology innovations and how these technologies could improve their processes and increase productivity. We are using these technologies to provide training for industry and educational institutions. Please contact our office to see how one of our programs can help your enterprise become more competitive, efficient and productive.

64th Annual Assembly & International Conference of the International Institute of Welding
The Indian Institute of Welding (IIW-India) is honoured to host the 64th Annual Assembly and International Conference of IIW from July 17-22, 2011, in the vibrant South Indian city of Chennai. Weld India 2011 exhibition will also be held concurrently at the same venue. We hope you will participate and benefit from attending this event, which is sure to bring together the international welding fraternity under a single roof. On behalf of the hosts, we wish all the authors, delegates, exhibitors and participants a highly successful gathering and an enjoyable stay in Chennai and India.

Date : July 17-22, 2011
Venue : Le Royal Meridien Hotel, Chennai India
Organised by : The Indian Institute of Welding
Website : www.iiw2011.com/

If you plan to attend, please advise the Canadian Council of the IIW (Hilary Barton, 1-800-844-6790 or Hilary.barton@cwbgroup.org). Note that early discount registration ends April 30th!

IIW is a Standardization Body Recognized by ISO
For many years, ISO/TC44 has had a special relationship with the IIW. This arose from the dual participation of welding experts in the working units of TC44 and the Commissions of IIW and resulted in IIW Commissions being requested to formulate draft standards or to resolve particular technical issues in order to relieve TC44 of some of its workload. More recently, the Council of the International Organization for Standardization has approval the IIW as an independent international standardization body able to submit draft international standards to ISO voting systems without the need for these drafts to be reviewed and processed by ISO Technical Committees. The preparation of draft international standards in the IIW is carried out by Commissions and special groups. The overall standardization program is administered by the Select Committee on Standardization (SC STAND). The membership of SC STAND is made up of specialists and experts in the field of standardization. It includes representation from national standardization bodies including CWB Group representing Canada. Whilst the IIW is one of three separate organizations developing international welding standards (ISO, IIW and CEN), it has a combination of features that makes it suitable for dealing with certain subjects and types of issue. Besides having strong representation from many national standardization bodies, it draws together a broad body of specialists and experts from different geographical locations in the world with experience covering most areas of welding technology. The IIW has made various contributions to international standardization. Its aims are to continue in this role, to maintain its competence as an ISO approved international standardization body and to work in close cooperation with ISO/TC44 on the development of international welding standards and the resolution of welding standardization problems. A coordination committee exists between IIW and ISO/TC44 with observers from CEN/TC121. Its purpose is to eliminate duplication and allocate standardization projects between IIW, ISO/TC44 and CEN/TC121. This has been a successful cooperation and the Committee now reviews the progress of IIW standardization projects as part of its activities. Go to the Working Group Standardization page to learn more on the Standardization in IIW.

The aims of SC STAND are detailed below.
1. To provide the central administration within IIW for the coordination, processing and monitoring of IIW standardization work items and documents.

2. To liaise on behalf of IIW with ISO through the ISO/IIW Coordination Committee and other Regional Standardization organizations, as necessary, on all standardization matters affecting IIW.

3. To provide guidance to ISO on international standardization needs and to instigate work within IIW when technical clarification is requested by ISO.

4. To establish and maintain internal IIW procedures for: processing new standardization work items within IIW; identifying the different type of ISO normative documents and preparing internal procedures; identifying the processing routes within ISO for their approval; liaising with ISO to avoid duplication of effort on standardization projects; allocating standardization work items to IIW working units; establishing schedules for the preparation of normative documents and targets for their completion; monitoring progress of IIW standardization projects/work items; vetting IIW normative documents to ensure they are coherent and comply with ISO Directives; and ensuring that balloting on standardization projects and normative documents is in accordance with rules acceptable to ISO transmission of normative documents and associated records to ISO.

5. To undertake standardization tasks as directed by the Board of Directors of the IIW

For more information please contact-IIW General Secretariat | Contact-IAB Secretariat