INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION, QUALIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION SYSTEMS IN WELDING. IIW International Institute of Welding

Transcription

1 INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION, QUALIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION SYSTEMS IN WELDING Qunno L. 1, Ferraz R. 2, Fernandes I. 3 IIW Inernaonal Insue of Weldng EWF European Federaon for Weldng Jonng and Cung ABSTRACT The Inernaonal Sysem for Educaon and Qualfcaon of Weldng Personnel has been mplemened based on he harmonsed European Sysem for educaon and qualfcaon of weldng personnel. Ths paper gves an overvew of he Inernaonal Sysem focusng on he ranng gudelnes and he qualy assurance sysem developed. Sysems for harmonsaon of Cerfcaon of Weldng Personnel and for supporng companes usng weldng o mplemen ISO 3834 have been developed by EWF and are presenly beng ransferred o IIW n lne wh he EWF/IIW agreemen esablshed n KEYWORDS Weldng echnology; Gudelnes for ranng; Personnel qualfcaon; Personnel cerfcaon; Examnaon quesons; Quesons daabase. AUTHOR DETAILS Professor TU Lsbon, EWF-IAB/IIW Chef Execuve Mechancal Engneer, Drecor of Tranng ISQ, IAB Chef Execuve Mechancal Engneer, Chef Execuve ISQ Accreded Body for Personal Qualfcaon and Cerfcaon, EWF-IAB/IIW Sysem Manager 1/14

2 1 INTRODUCTION The EWF-European Weldng Federaon work on he developmen of harmonsed courses whch sared n 1980, resuled n he mplemenaon of a seres of Gudelnes and n he defnon of examnaon crera for weldng personnel. In parallel, he IIW Inernaonal Insue of Weldng, Commsson XIV Educaon and Tranng has dedcaed s acvy o he nerchange of know-how n ranng n weldng. In 1998, EWF and IIW sgned he frs agreemen of co-operaon owards he developmen of a sngle nernaonal sysem for educaon and qualfcaon of weldng personnel. By use of a sngle syllabus for each level of ranng course and a harmonzed sysem for examnaons managemen, he same qualfcaon may be awarded n any counry. EWF has furher developed he sysem owards cerfcaon of weldng personnel and as well developed a sysem for cerfcaon of companes complyng wh he ISO 3834 requremens. These sysems have been mplemened n Europe for he las en years. EWF and IIW agreed o ransfer hese sysems o IIW and he approval and sar of mplemenaon of he IIW Cerfcaon Sysems for Weldng Personnel and Companes accordng o ISO 3834 a nernaonal level s expeced for THE INTERNATIONAL AUTHORISATION BOARD IAB In order o admnser he ranng and qualfcaon sysem and o develop sll furher, he IIW has esablshed he IAB Inernaonal Auhorsaon Board. Ths organsaon amed a he effecve mplemenaon of he sysem n all IIW counres, by publshng Gudelnes for ranng syllabuses and examnaons and mplemenng he Qualy Assurance sysem conrollng he sysem. An Organsaon, recognsed by he IIW Naonal member, s apponed as he Auhorsed Naonal Body (ANB) for he supervson of he sysem n each counry. Represenaves from hese ANBs form he operaonal managemen whn he IAB, nomnae and approve Lead Assessors and Peer Assessors whom ensure conformy of each ANB o agreed Rules. The IIW has operaed such a sysem for seven years, offerng courses and qualfcaons for Weldng Engneers, Inspecors, Welders and ohers. These qualfcaons form he bass of he wdely acceped Inernaonal Dplomas. Ths nernaonal sysem now comprses he followng documens: Educaon, Examnaon and Qualfcaon Gudelnes for: - Personnel wh Responsbly for Weldng Coordnaon ( ncludes former Inernaonal Weldng Engneer IWE, Inernaonal Weldng Technologs IWT, Inernaonal Weldng Specals IWS, Inernaonal Weldng Praconer IWP ) - Inernaonal Weldng Inspecon Personnel IWIP - Inernaonal Welder IW - Dsance Learnng ( IWE, IWT, IWS, IWIP C/S ) - Inernaonal Welded Srucures Desgner - IWSD Rules and Procedures for he mplemenaon of IIW Gudelnes for he Educaon, Examnaon and Qualfcaon of Weldng Personnel 2/14

3 There are now 37 counres ha have joned hs sysem wh an Auhorsed Naonal Body, as follows: Ausrala, Ausra, Belgum, Brazl, Bulgara, Canada, Chna, Croaa, Czech Republc, Denmark, Fnland, France, Germany, Hungary, Inda, Iran, Ialy, Japan, Neherlands, Ngera, Norway, Poland, Porugal, Romana, Russa, Serba, Sngapore, Slovaka, Slovena, Souh Afrca, Span, Sweden, Swzerland, Thaland, Ukrane, Uned Kngdom and Uned Saes of Amerca. Ngera, Sngapore and Uned Saes of Amerca are applcan ANBs. 3 THE INTERNATIONAL TRAINING AND QUALIFICATION SYSTEM FOR WELDING PERSONNEL The harmonsed courses, are now offered around he world hrough IIW/IAB. There are more han 600 Auhorsed Tranng Bodes approved and supervsed by he ANBs for mplemenng he IIW Qualfcaon courses, whch combne boh underpnnng knowledge and applcaon experence, hereby provdng close lnks wh ndusral pracce. Afer he man educaon, specal courses for addonal learnng are offered n many specal areas, hus provdng a specfc educaon sll closer o he job funcon. IWE IWS WELDING PROCESSES AND EQUIPMENT 93h WELDING PROCESSES AND EQUIPMENT 45h MATERIALS 111h MATERIALS 47h CONSTRUCTION AND DESIGN 64h CONSTRUCTION AND DESIGN 22h FABRICATION APPLICATIONS 110h FABRICATION APPLICATIONS 53h PRACTICAL PART 60h PRACTICAL PART 60h TOTAL 438h TOTAL 227h IWT IWP WELDING PROCESSES AND EQUIPMENT 76h WELDING PROCESSES AND EQUIPMENT 22h MATERIALS 82h MATERIALS 22h CONSTRUCTION AND DESIGN 40h CONSTRUCTION AND DESIGN 8h FABRICATION APPLICATIONS 80h FABRICATION APPLICATIONS 28h PRACTICAL PART 60h PRACTICAL PART 60h TOTAL 338h TOTAL 140h IWIP IWIC IWIS IWIB Comprehensve Sandard Basc WELDING PROCESSES AND EQUIPMENT 23h 13h 11h MATERIALS 52h 41h 25h CONSTRUCTION AND DESIGN 21h 17h 12h FABRICATION APPLICATIONS 24h 23h 17h WELDING INSPECTION MODULES 48h 40h 27h PRACTICAL PART 49h 23h 15h TOTAL 217h 157h 107h Fgure 2 Example of hemes and eachng mes for fve qualfcaon levels 3/14

4 Access 6 Module 6 EN ISO 9606 es(s) Theory Modules A + B + C + S (+ P) Inernaonal Ppe Welder Module 5 Access 5 Access 4 Module 4 EN ISO 9606 es(s) *) Theory Modules A + B + S (+ P) Inernaonal Plae Welder *) Module 3 Access 3 Access 2 Module 2 EN ISO 9606 es(s) *) Theory Modules A + S (+ P) Inernaonal Flle Welder *) Module 1 Access *) A he opon of he ATB and n agreemen wh he ANB, may no be necessary o ssue nermedae cerfcaes and dplomas. Fgure 3 - The over-all srucure of ranng and examnaon of he nernaonal welder The exsng Gudelnes defne he course syllabus, defnng for each subjec objecves, scope and expeced resuls, ncludng he mnmum eachng duraon n hours assgned o hem (Fgures 2 and 3). Access o he harmonsed courses s allowed only o hose who possess an approprae general educaon, equvalen bu dfferen for each counry as hese are based on naonal educaon sysems. A Inernaonal level whn IIW-IAB acves, he work under developmen comprses he developmen of new Gudelnes: Mechanzed Weldng Operaors and Mechancal Desrucve Tesng a Specals Level and he Defnons of a Harmonsed Examnaon Sysem ha ncludes Quesons and Answers daabanks and Operang Procedures. For more nformaon s possble o download shor versons of each IIW Qualfcaon Gudelene, on he IIW web se ( and EWF web se ( 4/14

5 4 THE INTERNATIONAL HARMONISED EXAMINATION FOR THE TRAINING AND QUALIFICATION SYSTEM FOR WELDING PERSONNEL The IIW s aware of he mporance of he mobly of labour whn he world wde communy, and a lo of work has been pu on he harmonsaon of a sandard examnaon sysem, o ensure ha weldng personnel raned n he EWF-IIW/IAB sysem s examned n a unform way, so ha hose ganng a Dploma n any EWF-IIW/IAB Member wll have acheved he same mnmum sandard. Ths wll be obaned by he developmen and mplemenaon of a EWF-IIW/IAB Harmonsed Examnaon. To acheve he above menoned goal, rules and procedures have been approved, and also an Inerne Daabase Sofware ool has been developed. The Harmonsed Examnaon Quesons Daabase wll be shared by all EWF-IIW/IAB members. The Daabase Sofware enables several feaures, such as: he approval of quesons by Teams of Inernaonal Expers, he ranslaon of he quesons o he several Members moher languages, auomac generaon of harmonsed exams, sor ou sascs regardng he quesons used on he exams and auomac exams scorng. Examples of Daabase Sofware Screens are shown bellow, focusng quesons, exams and users ools (see Fgures 4 o 6). Fgure 4 - Daabase Sofware screen regardng he ls of quesons wh acve saus 5/14

6 Fgure 5 - Daabase Sofware screen regardng Exams Generaon Fgure 6 - Daabase Sofware screen regardng Users 6/14

7 5 EWF CERTIFICATION SYSTEM FOR WELDING PERSONNEL Safey and prof depend on echncal conrol of weldng operaons. Key saff n all weldng relaed acves needs o have an approprae level of compeence n weldng echnology and s applcaon. In addon o employng compeen and esed welders, manufacurers should ensure ha engneers, desgners and echncans who deal wh weldng maers have proven relevan compeence. Ths s ncreasngly becomng a conrac requremen: a rend whch s expeced o accelerae as new European Drecves and Inernaonal Sandards for weldng come no force. ISO Wel d ng Coor d na on Tasksand Respons b l es r equ r espeopl e w h wel d ng relaed responsbles o be able o demonsrae ha hey are compeen o carry ou hose responsbles. The EWF Cerfcaon Scheme provdes a smple means by whch job capably can be assessed and recognsed. I defnes he profle of educaon, knowledge, experence and responsbly requred for a range of convenonal weldng asks, and provdes a professonal assessmen procedure. Because Cerfcaon s concerned wh curren compeence raher han hsorcal aanmen, perodc renewal s requred. The scheme provdes a convncng way of supporng companes seekng o acheve complance wh ISO I mus be remembered ha he only body whch can ssue an auhory o work o an ndvdual s he employer: EWF and n a close fuure IIW are only n a poson o asss and suppor hs pr ocess nawaywh ch sconv nc ng o heempl oy er scus omer spar cul ar l y nr el a on oiso Employers may also requre some hrd pary cerfcaon of her weldng operaons and one roue o acheve hs s he ISO Alhough does no requre he weldng co-ordnaors o hold any parcular qualfcaon or cerfcaon, possesson by he Weldng Co-ordnaors of a relevan EWF and n fuure IIW cerfcae wll asss n he process of company cerfcaon. Four levels of cerfcaon are avalable, based on he pas frs four EWF Dplomas: European Weldng Engneer, Technologs, Specals and Praconer nowadays replaced by he exsng Inernaonal Weldng Engneer, Technologs, Specals and Praconer. The frs hree of hese qualfcaons are deemed o sasfy he echncal knowledge requremens of ISO Techncal Knowledge Requremen 'European Weldng Engneer' (EWF/EOTC Dploma) 2 years recen experence relevan job conen and level Demonsraon of mananng and developng echncal knowledge ANB Assessmen Issue of Cerfcae 'Cerfed European Weldng Engneer' (Renewed every 3 years by repeang seps 2, 3 and 4 above - 'Survellance' Fgure 7 Seps o Cerfcaon 7/14

8 Fgure 7 shows he roue o acheve Engneer level cerfcaon and he roue for he oher levels are smlar. The cerfcaon les are shown n Fgure 8. Cerfcaon Tle Cerfed European Weldng Engneer Cerfed European Weldng Technologs Cerfed European Weldng Specals Cerfed European Weldng Praconer Weldng Knowledge Qualfcaon Level Requred European/Inernaonal Weldng Engneer European/Inernaonal Weldng Technologs European/Inernaonal Weldng Specals European/Inernaonal Weldng Praconer Fgure 8 Cerfcaon and Qualfcaon Tles The EWF weldng personnel cerfcaon sysem s n he process of beng ransferred o IIW. So far fve European members have mplemened he sysem and he openng of he sysem o he Inernaonal communy s expeced o srongly ncrease s use worldwde. 6 MANAGEMENT OF TRAINING, QUALIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION SYSTEMS FOR WELDING PERSONNEL In order o ensure ha he mechansm by whch he educaon and ranng Gudelnes esablshed by IIW/IAB are mplemened hroughou he world, IAB appons an organsaon n each counry. These organsaons are assessed and monored agans a se of rules compled n he IAB Doc.IAB Rul esf or he mpl emen a onofi ABGu del nesf or heeduca on,ex am na onand qual f ca onofwel d ngper sonnel. These organsaons are known as Auhorsed Naonal Bodes (ANBs) and are responsble for ensurng ha he sandards of educaon, examnaon and qualfcaon are mananed n her counry. In hs, he objecve s ha qualfed personnel a a ceran level wll acheve he same mnmum level of knowledge, rrespecve o he counry n whch hey have been qualfed. The role of he ANB n s own counry regardng personnel qualfcaon ncludes: ) ) ) The approval of ranng esablshmens, ATB- Auhorsed Tranng Body, for he conduc of courses n accordance wh IIW gudelnes. The conduc of he examnaons. The qualfcaon of personnel and he recordng of relevan nformaon. An ANB acceps responsbly n s own counry for he mplemenaon of he IIW/IAB requremens, for he manenance of he agreed sandards, and for promong IIW qualfcaons n accordance wh he provsons of hs Documen. The ATBs - Auhorsed Tranng Bodes are approved by he Naonal ANBs o mplemen he IIW ranng courses amng a awardng he IIW Qualfcaon Dplomas. Ths recognon s based on auds conduced by he Naonal ANB, hrough whch s assured ha he ATB has he capables o fulfl he requremens defned under he IIW rules, procedures and gudelnes. The ANB has he responsbly o develop and score he exams. The ATBs are allowed o nvglae he wren exams. If oral exams are needed he examnaon panel s composed by ANB and ATB represenaves. I s possble o approve ATBs n counres ha are no IIW members and hs can be done rough agreemens beween he applcan ATB and an acve ANB from anoher counry. Ths approval s ruled by a specfc procedure. 8/14

9 7 MANUFACTURER CERTIFICATION SCHEME 7.1. INTRODUCTION Manufacurng Companes are ncreasngly searchng for cerfcaon o comply wh he hree man sysems, Qualy, Envronmen and Healh & Safey, as a whole. Due o he mealworkng specfc requremens, he European Federaon for Weldng, Jonng and Cung has decded o develop and mplemen an Inegraed Manufacurer Cerfcaon Scheme, of whch he Manufacurer Cerfcaon Scheme complyng wh he ISO 3834 requremens has been adoped by IIW n 2007 and wll soon be mplemened also n counres ousde Europe. Weldng echnology s nvolved n a major par of meal consrucons many of whch requre gh echncal specfcaons and qualy conrol. The rsks assocaed wh a defaul n operaon of a welded consrucon can be very severe as shown by examples from he pas, whch led o he loss of human lves and hgh maeral damages. In 1994 he CEN - European Sandards Commee publshed he frs verson of he sandard EN 729 amed a he defnon of qualy requremens for weldng of meallc maerals. Cerfcaon of companes usng weldng, based n EN 729, has been n use snce hen on a volunary bass. In 1994 ISO (Inernaonal Sandards Organsaon) has also publshed he equvalen EN 729 wh he denfcaon ISO Laely ISO and CEN have been revewng he EN 729/ISO Ths revew process ended and he new EN ISO 3834 has been publshed. The mplemenaon of hs sandard wll become wdely used n he near fuure as s menoned n several CEN produc sandards and Drecves. Whenever a manufacurer refers o complance wh a ceran ISO 3834 qualy level, should be suf f c en odemons r a e hemanuf ac ur er scapab l es oc on r olwel dng acves for he ype of produc/work ha s beng produced by he company. The preparaon of a producon un o fulfl he requremens of hese sandards can be me consumng and complcaed. In hs conex EWF has prepared a se of gudelnes amed a supporng companes n he mplemenaon of he requremens ndcaed n hese sandards EWF INTEGRATED MANUFACTURER CERTIFICATION SCHEME European Federaon for Weldng, Jonng and Cung (EWF), by vrue of s unque nernaonal experse n he weldng feld has developed a specfc Cerfcaon Scheme o guaranee companes complance wh EN 729/ISO Ths work sared n 1995 and n 1997 he EWF Cerfcaon Scheme was approved. A he same me EWF developed collaboraon wh he European Co-operaon for Accredaon (EA). Ths had he am o suppor EA on he elaboraon of Gudelnes on he use EN and EN for Cer f ca on oen 729.Th sdocumenwaspr oposedby EWFDr af nggr oup andwasappr oved and publshed by EA n May 2000 as he doc. EA-6/02. EWF Companes Cerfcaon Scheme for qualy requremens no only provdes a way o companes o be Cerfed n complance wh ISO 3834 and bu also leads o he nroducon of he companes Daa on he EWF daabase of Cerfed Companes. Ths daabase s only open o companes ha were cerfed under he EWF Cerfcaon Sysem. The daabase can be seen n under Cer f edcompan es and sposs bl e omakeasear che herbycounry or 9/14

10 by process (usng he process sandard denfcaon code accordng o EN ISO 4063) or by base maeral (usng he maerals codfcaon based on he CEN ISO TR 15608). Due o he developmens and needs from he manufacurers regardng he complance wh oher Schemes, EWF Inegraed Manufacurer Cerfcaon Sysem has a he presen also he possbly o Cerfy Companes accordng wh he EWF Envronmen Managemen Scheme (EMS). The EMS was developed wh he am o Cerfy Manufacurers of Weldng Producs n complance wh EN ISO The nroducon of a Safey Managemen Scheme (SMS) was also developed and approved n The EWF Inegraed Manufacurer Cerfcaon Sysem s he unque Sysem ha can answer o a fully negraed manufacurers sysem on he mealworkng feld. A he same me he Techncal Commee of EWF s developng specfc supplemens for applcaon o specfc producs, such as, ralways vehcles and componens, pressure equpmen, welded srucures and so on, all of hs supplemens are namely o be appled for fulfllng he ISO 3834 requremens and specfc EN produc sandards. The EWF vew of he fuure s a holsc model - EWF Inegraed Manufacurer Cerfcaon Scheme encompassng qualy, envronmen and healh & safey as presened on Table 1. Table 1 EWF Inegraed Manufacurer Cerfcaon Scheme Holsc Vew Cerfcaon Schemes Qualy Envronmen Healh & Safey 7.3. Man Rules/Requremens Scheme for Complance wh ISO 3834 Scheme for Complance wh EN ISO Scheme for Complance wh Healh & Safey Specfc Rules/Requremens Gudance for complance wh specfc EN Producs Sandards,.e. Ralways, Ppng, Srucures No Applcable No Applcable IMPLEMENTATION OF EWF MANUFACTURER CERTIFICATION SCHEME For he Sysem mplemenaon, one organsaon n each counry s accreded by EWF, afer assessmenaga ns he EWF Rul es.these or gan sa onsar e known as he EWF ANBCCs Auhorsed Naonal Bodes for CompanyCer f ca on andar er espons bl ef orens ur ng heewf gudelnes of assessmen and cerfcaon are mananed. In hs, he objecve s he EWF Cerfed Companes wll have demonsraed hey have acheved a mnmum level of capably for a specfed scope of acvy, rrespecve of he counry n whch hey have been cerfed. The role of he ANBCC s o ac on behalf of EWF n respec of company cerfcaon, ncludng he conduc of company assessmens (eher drecly or hrough Parcpang Assessmen Bodes), he qualfcaon of ANBCC Assessors and he cerfcaon of companes and he recordng of relevan nformaon. A company auded and approved whn hs sysem s awarded a cerfcae ha saes he complance wh he EWF ISO 3834 Cerfcaon Scheme and/or also ncludng he EWF Envronmen Managemen and/or Healh & Safey Managemen Sysem f applcable. The Cerfcae shows he scope wh respec o ype of producs, produc sandards, paren maeral groups, weldng and weldng alled processes, devaons and auhorsed weldng co-ordnaors. 10/14

11 A daabase wh he relevan nformaon of all companes cerfed by EWF ANBCCs s kep connuously updaed and s avalable for consulaon on he EWF Web page as menoned above. EWF manans hs regser of EWF Cerfed Companes and he nformaon conaned n he r eg s er s smadef r eel yav a l abl e oenqu r er swor l dw de.th spr ov desan mpor ansal esbenef o he EWF Cerfed Companes. The presen EWF Manufacurer Cerfcaon Scheme accordng o ISO 3834, documenal srucure s he followng: Qualy Scheme Requremens Doc. EWF January 2007 Managemen Schemes Inerpreaon and Implemenaon Doc. EWF January Supplemen for he Implemenaon of EN ISO Orened o Welded Producs Doc. EWF January Rules for ANBCCs Operang he EWF Manufacurer Cerfcaon Sysem Doc. EWF January ANBCC sassessmen of Manufacurers of Welded Producs Operang he EWF Manufacurer Cerfcaon Sysem Table 2 summarses he conen of he abovemenoned documens. 11/14

12 Table 2 Summary of conens of EWF ISO 3934 Scheme documens Inerpreaon for Manufacurers Doc. EWF 636 explans he nerpreaon for each par of ISO 3834 on mporan ems: Assessmen of Manufacurers The Assessmen procedure (Doc. EWF 639) has hree phases: - Conrac and desgn revew - Subconracng - Weldng personnel - Inspecon, esng and examnaon personnel - Equpmen - Sorage of paren maerals - Calbraon - Idenfcaon and raceably Informaon phase and assessmen preparaon Assessmen phase Cerfcaon phase The assessmen eam mus be compeen n relaon o he specfc produc weldng acves Assessors Quesonnares The procedure for he evaluaon and regsraon of assessors descrbes ha he assessors mus be eher: Qualfed and experenced n qualy sysem audng and experenced n welded fabrcaon or The quesonnares (Doc. EWF 639): EWE or EWT wh a leas hree years of work experence n he feld of welded fabrcaon and famlary wh qualy managemen sysems Are used as check ls of all mporan ems of he sandard and he EWF nerpreaon n an nerrogave form, whch wll be used durng he assessmen. Afer approval assessors are regsered n he Regser of Assessors, accordng o her qualy and engneerng profles and accordng o he producs hey are experenced on. AS referred o before he EWF ISO 3834 Cerfcaon Scheme was ransferred o IIW n Ths sysem s beng adaped by IIW/IAB so ha s scope becomes Inernaonal and no jus European and s expeced ha n he begnnng of 2008 IIW wll sar he managemen of he mplemenaon of he IIW Manufacurer Cerfcaon Scheme. 12/14

13 8 RESULTS OBTAINED Unl he end of 2006, a oal of IIW dplomas had been awarded (see Fgure 9) and he accumulaed number of EWF and IIW dplomas awarded reached, (see Fgure 10). IIW TOTAL CUMULATED DIPLOMAS AWARDED unl unl 1999 unl 2000 unl 2001 unl 2002 unl 2003 unl 2004 unl 2005 unl 2006 Fgure 9 IIW Toal Cumulaed Dplomas Awarded Fgure 10 EWF/IIW Toal Cumulaed Dplomas Awarded Regardng EWF Personnel Cerfcaon Sysem for Engneer, Technologs, Specals and Praconer ll he end of 2006 aprox new cerfcaes had been ssued (see fgure 11). PERSONNEL CERTIFICATION SCHEME Only New Cerfcaes 1600 CEWE CEWT CEWS CEWP TOTAL unl Cumulave Fgure 11 EWF Personnel Cerfcaon Scheme Cerfcaes Awarded 13/14

14 For he EWF Manufacurer Cerfcaon Scheme accordng o ISO 3834, ll he end of 2006 approxmaely 500 companes have been awarded wh he EWF cerfcae (see fgure 12). Fgure 12 EWF ANBCCs ISO 3834 Cerfcaon Acves 8 CONCLUSION The Inernaonal Educaon and Qualfcaon Sysem for Weldng Personnel s recognsed worldwde and objecvely suppored by ndusry and by nernaonal ranng and accredaon enes, openng he way owards one Global Educaon and Qualfcaon Sysem for Weldng Personnel. The relevance of hs Inernaonal Sysem s ncreasng worldwde generang neres of new counres o ener he sysem. Every year new counres apply for membershp of whch Brazl, Inda, Ngera and Sngapore are examples. The consoldaon of he Inernaonal Sysem s n good progress wh an average number of dplomas awarded of per year and an expeced growh of approxmaely 5% per year. Ths consoldaon beng furher ensured hrough he mplemenaon of a harmonsed examnaon sysem, whch now represens 25% of he oal examnaon paper for Inernaonal weldng engneers. Regardng Cerfcaon of Weldng Personnel and Companes accordng o ISO 3834 he European Implemenaon s n good progress wh more han 500 Companes usng he EWF Cerfcaon Sysem, bu ceranly he ransfer of hese sysems o IIW and s consequen adapaon o nernaonal needs and requremens wll ncrease and broaden s use worldwde. A frs survey done among he IIW/IAB members demonsraed ha 60% of he members are wllng o sar o mplemen hese fuures IIW Cerfcaon Sysems whn he nex 3 years. I s expeced ha IIW Cerfcaon Sysems wll be approved and sar o be mplemened n Conac EWF-IAB/IIW Secreara Av. Prof. Dr. Cavaco Slva, 33 Taguspark Aparado 012 P Poro Salvo Porugal Tel: Fax: E-mal: ewf-ab@sq.p 14/14