Welding As A Matter Of National Security
According to a recent news article, the Navy has ordered the re-inspection of thousands of potentially faulty pipe welds on three classes of ships after an oil lubrication problem on one ship required an emergency docking in Bahrain. Investigators believe that up to 10-15 percent of the welds do not meet specifications.
Unfortunate as the problem is for the Navy and the company responsible for inspecting and repairing the welds, the situation calls to light the importance of welding—highly skilled welding, specifically—to our national security.
Welding literally holds together the ships, airplanes, tanks and other vehicles that protect our country and its people on a daily basis, and the problems encountered in these ships is evidence of the skill and knowledge required to successfully perform a weld that will endure extreme stress and pressure.
It’s also sadly ironic that this news story emerged just about a week after welding was listed as the fifth worst out of 200 selected careers. The welding industry needs people with the ability and desire to perform the welds critical to our national security, yet surveys like these could discourage those people from considering a career in welding.
On a positive note, the company that builds these ships for the Navy said that it has recertified its welders and inspectors and stepped up its pipe weld inspection system. Hopefully their efforts will result in improved weld integrity and very little downtime for these ships.
What are your thoughts on this topic? Have you noticed a lack of skill at the highest level of safety-critical welding? Do you believe that companies are not enforcing their welding specifications as strictly as they should? What can be done to show our best and brightest the potential for rewarding and important work within the welding industry? Share your thoughts by posting a comment below.
Average (Not Rated)
February 10th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
I am not surprised that companies will allow subpar quality to pass. I have seen it time and again when a delivery or sale is compromised. I as abuyer would gladly take late delivery over downtime. This failure impacts hundreds if not thousands of people that were depending on their vessel to perform when needed. Too bad some think a dollar is worth more than a quality reputation!
February 10th, 2010 at 10:45 pm
if anyone has been around gov.contracts whether the work is done at a military installation or a ship yard or defence contractors plant. always remember the weapon is being built by the contractor who is the lowest bidder. with that said time is money. so where do they make a profits. is it by cutting corners in quailty? do they hire personal and pay lower wages to workers that are not qualified ? are the inspecters looking the other way? it cost hundreds even thousands of dollars to fix a defect, and where does that money come from? every project has a time line to meet,so that means the supervisers are pushing formans the formans are pushing the workers to get the job completed. it seems we have nearly low bidded quaility out.
February 12th, 2010 at 9:22 am
Show me the money,as well as for the above post’s which I agree wtih, they need to pay welders more to attract the best, computer geeks sit behind a desk and push buttons making $100 to 200 k and they can’t even mow there own lawn.
February 14th, 2010 at 12:12 am
Where has the pride in a job well done gone? regardless of pay as a welder you should always remember that a poor weld you leave behind has the potental to cost lives. A weld is eather done rite or not rite there should not be a gray area in quality. while everyone has an off day and things go wrong with eqpt,loss of sheld gas ect, A good welder will fix a bad weld always if it cannot be fixed rite then at least grind/carbon arc it out so it dosent get over looked. i have seen some places where goodenuf was the standard opperating procedure and weld heat perameiters were not followed. thankfully that is not the norm. The bottem line is to make shure you do your job well and try to pass a good work ethic on to the next generation behind us.
February 24th, 2010 at 1:25 pm
In short, not sure if these are union welder or not.
One major problem I find with the union is, not always the best person gets the job.
Your 1st qualification is “How many years do you have in” and try to teach that person on the fly to perform what takes years and lots of practice to do.
And heaven forbid we tell the unions and it’s lawyer’s NO!
Rid the unions and get some skill in there!
(PS. Not all union activities are bad, unfortunately I haven’t worked with any I’m impressed with (there are some great people in the union so don’t get me wrong) I find myself trying to teach/train people that clearly should not be in their position, but only there due to time put in!!!!!!)
February 25th, 2010 at 6:11 pm
You pay cheap - you get cheap - don’t complain.
Did they expect better quality awarding contracts to lowest bidder???
Now you buy it twice…
February 26th, 2010 at 5:19 am
In 1972 The GM Terex Plant on Clinton Rd. In Brooklyn, Ohio was hiring welders. Since Terex was a supplier to the U.S. government it had to comply with federal guidelines regarding race and ethnicity in it’s hiring practices. In order to get the job, a person had to be the right color first, and if he or she posessed the skills for the job that was a plus. I’m sure it is the same with all government contractors. Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not being prejudiced. All I’m saying is, That skill should be the first and most important attribute for such critical occupations. The Terex Plant closed up a few years later, Due in part to huge amounts of rework, faulty equipment recall, work delays, Quality problems, absenteeism, and numerous other personnel problems.
February 27th, 2010 at 8:59 pm
I have been in shipyards that build Navy ships and subs, and I am working for a defense contractor now. Every shipyard I have been to is a union shop. I have not been impressed with many of the workers, however on a Navy ship virtually every weld gets inspected and approved. (Note that they said “re-inspection”)This makes me think there are problems at several levels with the operation including with the government.
I don’t believe it has to do with “lowest bidder” issues. Union employees at defense companies get paid very well.
March 1st, 2010 at 10:43 am
I have welded with both union and non-union companies. I currently teach welding. I train both. The big problem has to do with having pride in what you do. Many view welding as a trade, however it is only one skill you will have to use to be a shipbuilder, boilermaker, ironworker etc. I have seen all to many times the student who think that all they have to do is weld and can’t read a tape or a blueprint. Many are not ready to be out there, but are hired because they can run a bead in 2G, 3G, 4G and do it cheap. The problem is compounded by the fact that contractors have to bid low. ( Spent several years as a construction project manager)
There needs to be more people who love thier work and not just people who choose welding as a default career. If you love what you do you will learn what you need to do better and try to do it good.
March 3rd, 2010 at 12:41 pm
As both a welder of some 42 years experience and a business manager/project engineer with experience in many different areas of machining and manufacturing, I have observed a few things in my career. In any discipline whether it is welding, machining, or other areas it has been my experience that the person who really enjoys doing their vocation will usually be the most comfortable doing it, and produce consistant high quality output.
I have taught many people to weld and machine who had never tried it before and nurtured them into good welders/machinists. To do this, management has to understand it (management) has to invest in the employees education and skill building training, to get the best quality employee and to retain the higher skill level employees. It is not just money but the respect that employees and employers build between each other.
This respect has to be earned by both parties. “I” builds very little by themselves, but “WE” as in a team(company) or dedicated group can accomplish amazing things if a companies management/employee team is committed to the long haul and understands the “big picture”. It amazes me that companies consistantly let the bean counters have the final say so in budget meetings instead of managers having the foresight to prepare realistic cost projections of training and retaining skilled help and having the guts to present it. Employees must understand that to rise to the top of their vocation and receive better compensation/respect they MUST eat-sleep and drink whatever it is that they want to pursue to truly become the best at their craft.
March 14th, 2010 at 11:25 pm
I have only been welding for 27 years and it has been non union and union. whatever the case may be, it all came down to the individual. Welding is not a job, it’s a skill and I’ve have seen welds in refineries, ethanol, powerhouse plants that just made me sick. People being hurried up for they can move on and hit another project. QC’s at times looking the other way and not going through the process of a visual test or x-rays cause the COMPANY can’t afford to do them all (welds). In the long wrong failure appears in the process and then they have to spend more to fix the weld. The only way the COMPANIES are gonna get there money’s worth if they do a 100% x-ray and then COMPANIES can weed out the industries weakest links and pay the skilled welder what he deserves, and those who are not as skilled can keep attending welding classes until they are.