Eskom Webinar on Where welding goes wrong

Eskom Webinar: Where Welding goes Wrong, Flaws, Consequences and Reasons
Time: 1-2pm, South Africa/11am, UK

Welding is a critical fabrication process and, if not correctly applied and controlled, can lead to unacceptable flaws in the finished and operating structure that can render it unfit for purpose as design intended. These situations can be very costly to rectify and may also lead to expensive legal proceedings in order to determine liability. Unfortunately, the liability in these cases isn’t always straightforward. Whilst the product might have failed or be rejected around or in the weld area, there are many potential causes of this. The failure of the owner or purchaser to correctly specify the level of quality of welding required for service, the designer in neglecting to take account of critical environmental factors such as fatigue loading or corrosion, the supply of poor quality base material and/or the welding fabricator not carrying out the proper controls of welding or inspections to produce a fabrication that is fit for purpose, can all be potential causes.

This presentation will cover some experience of the types of disputes related to welding that have occurred in recent years and that TWI has been involved with. Specifically in terms of how the failures in the welding process or otherwise were caused, how the liability was established and what were the consequences.

Speakers

Dr David Howse CEng, FWeldI, MIM

Technology Fellow – Arc Process and Welding Engineering (AWE) Section

David is a Chartered Engineer with over 30 years’ experience in arc welding. Prior to joining TWI in 1994, he worked in the Oil and Gas fabrication industry and, after completing a degree in Metallurgy at the University of Leeds, worked at British Steel Swinden laboratories as a Welding Engineer. He is currently employed in the Arc Process, and Welding Engineering section at TWI carrying out welding engineering support and project management for Industrial Members of TWI across a broad range of industrial sectors including the Oil and Gas, Power, Construction and Aerospace industries. TWI’s client list is global and projects carried out include expert witness work in High Court and arbitration proceedings, on site investigations of failures for the Oil and Gas and Construction industries, independent third party reviews of industrial disputes, design reviews for implementation of arc welding manufacture, sub-contract welding engineering, audit of fabricator suppliers, third party design review and support work for the Nuclear industry along with many individual projects relating to qualification and fabrication of a range of welded products to international welding standards.

David has authored and contributed to over twenty publications in international conference proceedings, seminars and journals on the subject of welding with arcs, lasers and hybrid laser arc processes.