Posted on May 18, 2016 by Institute of Technical Trades
The welding industry has experienced significant growth in recent years, with simultaneous changes made to the educational requirements for the welding profession. Today, welders require training and a strong academic background to keep up with the evolution. With a steady stream of demand and well-paid compensation, many self-taught welders are now pursuing educational training and certification. As technology progresses and more complex techniques are implemented in the welding industry, the hazards to untrained welders is increasing. Conversely, the ability for employers to track the quality of welding work is also improving, making a strong case for welders to gain proper education and certification. Let’s discuss the the common problems caused by hiring non-certified welders in Toronto and the GTA.
For both employers and clients, the most apparent problems of employing non-certified welders is commonly a subpar quality of work. Although many self-trained welders could develop their skills over time, there will be inconsistencies on how much they know; there is also a probability that they have not acquired some crucial skills needed to effectively complete a task that they would have received with proper training. Without a standardized and solid background knowledge, non-certified welders produce work with inconsistent quality levels, that commonly lead to faulty products, and in some cases project delays. An example of such scenario would be the costly $100,000 repair that the
Maritime Link project has to incur due to hundreds defective welds in the transmission tower. In addition to the repair fee, the project has also suffered from expensive timeline delay. The most concerning part about the incident is the fact that the defective parts were discovered during quality assurance. This means that if clients do not follow strict quality assurance procedures, they might be at greater risks.
In welding, the potential for health hazards is real without proper training. All welding techniques require strict safety requirements as exposures to fire, sharp tools, electric shock, explosives, and other dangerous chemicals, both as liquids and gases, are common parts of the job. Alongside safety courses that train welders to react to emergency situations, certification or training to handle potentially hazardous equipment are imperative. Having a welder who has not undergone proper training or education in a project puts everyone on the team at risk. For example, a welder suffered from injuries pertaining to explosions and fire occurred due to welding accidents. The explosion might have occurred due to the proximity of the welding process to fuel tank. While the incident might have been a coincidence, certified welders would be able to minimize controllable actions that could ignite explosions.
Lastly, most welding equipment is expensive. Without proper training on to handle these tools, non-certified welders may break machine parts and decrease the machine’s overall lifespan. This leads to additional and unnecessary costs that employers may incur when hiring non certified welders in Toronto and the GTA.
If you’re looking to become a professional welder, contact us to discuss the details for obtaining your welding certificates and training. At the Institute of Technical Trades, we believe that your safety and job security are priorities. Since 1968, we’ve committed to providing the best technical training possible for our students. Our office can be contacted at (416) 750-1950 or 1 (800) 461-4981.
