Miller Product Manager Bill Gardner, along with two industrial hygiene and safety experts presented an hour-long webinar discussing heat stress in welding environments, including common symptoms of heat stress, their dangers and best practices for preventing heat stress-related illnesses and injuries.

In case you missed it (or if you did catch it and want to download the PowerPoint document) the webinar is now archived on the Industrial Safety and Hygiene News (ISHN) Web site, and will be available until June 23, 2011. Visit the ISHN Web site to register (free) and begin listening to the webinar. Click this article to read about the experiences of five manufacturers and two schools and the productivity and weld quality improvements they realized by making the switch to inverter-based controls for aluminum, stainless steel and carbon steel applications.

As an example, A1A Dock Products, a small manufacturer of aluminum ladders in Hollywood, Fla., achieved an annual savings of $28,224 by investing in inverter-based TIG power sources. Their investment paid for itself in just two weeks!

But that’s just the beginning. Click here to see what advanced TIG controls can do for you.

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.