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Welding Journal | January 2014

EDITORIAL The focus of my presidency is “continuous improvement through innovation.” Innovation comes in many forms and can be experienced through inventive, revolutionary, trial-and-error, borrowed, and even subtle changes that are difficult to notice but result in continuous improvement. Look to the birth of the American aircraft industry for a good example of trial-anderror innovation. During World War I, President Woodrow Wilson promised to produce 8000 American fighter planes, but there wasn’t a single American-made engine that had enough power. This challenge was on par with the Manhattan Project and the race to the Moon. It would be called the “Liberty” aircraft engine, and most of the young Detroit auto factories cooperated to build it. In doing so, their innovations would establish America’s place as a world leader in manufacturing. Many welding puzzles had to be solved for the Liberty aircraft engine to be produced in large numbers. The joining of intake and exhaust elbow fittings to piston cylinders was an immense challenge. Early welding engineers struggled with dangerous backfiring from the welding torches through the gas lines. The oxyfuel process was unsuccessful and a process of manual arc welding, rigged to a servo-controlled motor to feed the electrode also proved unsuccessful. Finally, they tried the resistance welding process, building a complex fixture for flash welding the elbows to the cylinder. The result was a resounding success. By war’s end, 18 months later, more than 20,000 Liberty engines were produced at half the cost of European aircraft engines. American ingenuity and the future of welding were both validated, and the aircraft helped bring the war to a quick end. At my company, Wilson Industries, we borrowed technology that led to an inventive innovation: the see-through welding curtain. In 1968, a welder working behind a canvas welding screen had a heart attack and remained there, unnoticed, for hours. This tragedy led to a movement to bring visibility into the welding booth. At the time we were developing the Wilson Spectra curtain, NASA was developing new chemical coatings used to filter light for satellite camera lenses, based on their studies of the sharp eyes of eagles. A major breakthrough was achieved by incorporating the NASA lens coating technology into sheet vinyl, allowing us to develop the Spectra curtain, which has been honored as a NASA spin-off product. Today, every part of our lives is influenced by welding, and AWS influences every part of welding. AWS is currently developing online training, mobile apps, a skills certification system featuring stackable credentials and digital badges, recognition of a Master Welder status, and an extensive video library. AWS has opened the door to lifelong professional development of all welding personnel via American Welding Online (AWO). AWO focuses on the science, economics, and higher knowledge skills from which welders and others can benefit. We are on the verge of creating the most empowered welding workforce in history through our devotion to innovation. Our Society is a partner in the Manufacturing Institute’s Skill Certification System. Soon, AWS will document, archive, and validate the career achievements of welding professionals on all levels with secure online transcripts, a national certification registry, new ID cards, and a certified welder passport. We are on a mission to approve community colleges nationwide as Accredited Test Facilities. This accreditation will enable schools to train and certify welders for the needs of their local industries, with transferable, stackable, nationally recognized AWS credentials. The American Welding Society is devoted to advancing the science, technology, and people of welding, by providing for the lifelong professional development of welders, educators, welding engineers, and inspectors around the world. In doing so, AWS aims to improve everyone’s safety, productivity, and career satisfaction, by dedicating ourselves to continuous improvement through innovation. 4 JANUARY 2014 Founded in 1919 to Advance the Science, Technology and Application of Welding Officers President Dean R. Wilson Welldean Enterprises Vice President David J. Landon Vermeer Mfg. Co. Vice President David L. McQuaid D. L. McQuaid and Associates, Inc. Vice President John R. Bray Affiliated Machinery, Inc. Treasurer Robert G. Pali J. P. Nissen Co. Executive Director Ray W. Shook American Welding Society Directors U. Aschemeier (Dist. 7), Miami Diver R. E. Brenner (Dist. 10), CnD Industries, Inc. D. J. Burgess (Dist. 8), University of Tennessee N. C. Cole (Past President), NCC Engineering G. Fairbanks (Dist. 9), Fairbanks Inspection & Testing Services T. A. Ferri (Dist. 1), Victor Technologies P. H. Gorman (Dist. 20), Sandia National Laboratories S. A. Harris (Dist. 4), Altec Industries K. L. Johnson (Dist. 19), Vigor Shipyards J. Jones (At Large), The Harris Products Group J. Knapp (Dist. 17), Gas and Supply T. J. Lienert (At Large), Los Alamos National Laboratory D. E. Lynnes (Dist. 15), Lynnes Welding Training C. Matricardi (Dist. 5), Welding Solutions, Inc. S. P. Moran (At Large), Weir American Hydro K. A. Phy (Dist. 6), K. A. Phy Services, Inc. W. R. Polanin (At Large), Illinois Central College W. A. Rice (Past President), OKI Bering R. L. Richwine (Dist. 14), Ivy Tech State College D. J. Roland (Dist. 12), Marinette Marine Corp. R. W. Roth (At Large), RoMan Manufacturing, Inc. N. Samanich (Dist. 21), NS Inspection and Consulting K. E. Shatell (Dist. 22), Pacific Gas & Electric Co. T. A. Siewert (At Large), NIST (ret.) J. Stoll (Dist. 18), Bohler Welding Group U.S. H. W. Thompson (Dist. 2), Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. R. P. Wilcox (Dist. 11), Ford Motor Co. J. A. Willard (Dist. 13), Kankakee Community College M. R. Wiswesser (Dist. 3), Welder Training & Testing Institute D. Wright (Dist. 16), Wright Welding Technologies Improving through Innovation Dean R. Wilson AWS President


Welding Journal | January 2014
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