Improving Global Quality of Life

3 Significance of welding and joining
Other sectors which use welding are the white goods appliances industry and metal furniture as well as the
electrical and electronics industries. Furthermore, allied joining processes are frequently applied in these
sectors. Soldering is very widespread in the electrical and electronics industries. Another important sector
in which welding technology is applied is the packaging industry. The welding process is used for producing
cans made of metal (aluminium and coated steel - tinplate) and plastic packaging made of thermoplastic
films. Fully automatic welding installations working according to the principle of resistance roller seam
welding, laser welding or heated tool welding are utilised as a rule.
In addition to welding, soldering, brazing, high-temperature brazing, adhesive bonding and thermal coating
and mechanical joining processes with riveting and clinching systems, bolting and flanging are used as
further joining processes.
3.2 Social aspects and improvement of quality of life
Welding was developed for industrial and handicraft utilisation at the end of the 19 th century, initially as
oxyacetylene fusion welding and then as arc welding at the beginning of the 20 th century. At first, the work
was carried out exclusively as a manual process.
In order to produce defect-free, high-quality welded joints however, the welder must receive practical and
theoretical training related to the process and must be familiarised with regard to the product. Specially
set up training facilities in companies and at training providers with workshops and qualified trainers are
available for this purpose.
Building upon experience from member organisations, IIW has developed an internationally harmonised
education, training, qualification and certification programme for welding technology personnel, which is
implemented by its member organisations in compliance with uniform standards. Not only welders but also
operators of welding installations, welding instructors/trainers, welding coordinators/supervisors/foremen,
welding inspectors, technicians, technologists and engineers are qualified according to this programme.
Manual welding was, and even today, is still seen to be connected with adverse effects on the welders due
to heat, fumes and dust as well as radiation. This has led to the opinion that welding is dirty, dusty and
dangerous.
Today, welders are protected from these issues with special protective clothing and equipment. For example,
safety goggles and/or safety helmets with corresponding protective glasses and screens protect welders and
co-workers from arc radiation and breathing protection and extraction installations protect from fume and
dust. Regulations for health protection and safety at work of welders are issued in the respective countries
and must be complied with by employers.
Increasing mechanisation of welding work reduces the deployment of welders and permits improvement
in protection from radiation as well as the extraction of fumes and dust in the area close to the welding in
order to minimise adverse effects on all workers in the surroundings. Today, personal protection is mainly
utilised for welders working in the fabrication of extra small-scale series or single parts as much large scale
production is mechanised.
In the last one hundred years, welding technology has not only become cleaner, due to the refinement of
the materials and improvement in process technologies and facilities for welding, it has also resulted in
better joining quality and reliability. Refinements of non-destructive test procedures and improvement in
the monitoring of welded products have supported this development.
Therefore, it can be said today that welding is characterised by the three Cs: Cool, Clean and Clever - as it is
being called increasingly in the American linguistic usage.
Through Optimum Use and Innovation of Welding and Joining Technologies
Improving Global Quality of Life
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