African Fusion August 2018

SAIW bulletin board

SAIW establishes Future Welder Training Centre

T he old adage ‘The future is not what it used to be’ is no more evident than at the SAIW with the in- troduction of its Fu- ture Welder Training Centre, which will use augmented or virtual reality welder training techniques. Augmentedwelder training, in essence, al- lows students to work with real 3D objects combined with virtual computer-generated

designed curricula; trade theory; simulated practice; andwork experience, whichare all tightly interwoven. All studentswill nowget practical training andwork experiencewith employers selecting and managing their own apprentices. In the latest project, ArcelorMittal S.A. (AMSA) has committed to appointing 15 apprentices and to signing an MOU with the SAIWthat will provide all the theoretical and practical training over the next three years. AMSAwill supply all workplace learn- ing while Nell will oversee overall quality assurance. industry feel that there hasn’t been suffi- cient change in the past 50 years in theway welding is taught. This, they say, may have led to a negative image of the profession and the consequent shortage of welders worldwide. “Many other industries are ahead in the useofmodern technologies for trainingpur- poses and its time that thewelding industry caught up. We hope that the SAIW will be able to show the way in Africa,” he says. The first machines that will be used in the new SAIW Future Welding Training Centre are the Lincoln Electric REALWELD® and ClassMate™ Robotic Welding Trainer systems and the Soldamatic Augmented Reality Welding Simulator. With the REALWELD Trainer, students can practise stick, MIG and flux-cored arc welding, while receiving audio coaching and weld performance tracking on five key parameters. It’s like having a teacher’s assistant right in the booth helping to advance every student along his or her career path. The Lincoln ClassMate is a complete ro- botic training solutiondesigned tomeet the

Lourens Hand has been appointed as a Welding Instructor to run the new SAIW Future Welder Training Centre. “I am excited about making our centre an ex- ample of excellence for the rest of the continent.”

Lincoln Electric’s ClassMate™ Robotic

Theoretical and Practical sections of the training will be funded by the SAIW FoundationandAMSAhas agreed todonate all the steel required for the project. Nell says that this is a pilot project and that the SAIW is looking for other compa- nies that would be interested in this new and exciting way of training welders. “This new systemwill certainly make a palpable difference to the quality of graduates and of the welding industry as a whole. I urge other companies to take a leaf out of AMSA’s book and initiate training in thismanner in conjunction with the SAIW,” he says. need for advancedmanufacturing training. Instructors can teach robotic concepts in the classroom and quickly move to the lab for welding practice. Students can perform offline programming and then test their skills at amanufacturing-ready robotic cell. Lourens Hand, a long-time staff mem- ber of the SAIW, has been appointed as a Welding Instructor to run the new Future Welder Training Centre. Welding Trainer system enables programming to be taught in the classroom before moving through to the welding lab for robotic welding.

images to give them the most realistic welding experience possible,” says SAIW executive director, Sean Blake. “They can repeatedly practise techniques, at no extra cost, and the system can be networked and controlled by the tutor, for optimal teaching.” He adds that augmented welder train- ing could possibly revolutionise the way welding is taught. “Many people in the T he SAIW Foundation, an NGO that the SAIW started as a public benefit organisation to provide training to disad- vantaged individuals in a wide range of areas including: welding and inspection; the training of trainers for welding and re- lated technologies; andmore, is changing with the times. In the past, learners recruited by the SAIWFoundationwereplaced inan Interna- tional Institute of Welding (IIW) programme with the aim of equipping them with IIW International welder diplomas. “This has been very successful,” says SAIW’s Etienne Nell, “but with the advent of the dual training QCTO system, a Depart- ment of Higher Education and Training ini- tiative,wearechanging the training format.” In essence, explains Nell, future SAIW Foundation trainingwill align itself with the Quality Council for Trades andOccupations (QCTO) ArtisanWelder Curriculum, which is aimed at producing: a skilled and capable welding workforce to support economic growth; an increased availability of inter- mediatewelding skills andan increasedde- livery of properly qualified artisanwelders. This system, unlike the old one, reflects occupational competence; new, industry-

SAIW Foundation students to enter SAIW/AMSA QTCO programme

Successful SAIW Foundation Students show off their IIW International Welder Diplomas.

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August 2018

AFRICAN FUSION