IoRW - one year down the line

The IoRW celebrated its first birthday on 22 April 2003. Time has flown by, so it's hard to believe that the hugely successful launch event took place a full twelve months ago! But it did, and so now is a good time to look back on the hopes and aspirations we all had a year ago, to see whether they have reached fulfilment.

Firstly, the hard facts. At the launch, we set ourselves a target to recruit 800 members in the first year. The current membership is 840 and so a major objective has been achieved. Sceptics will say that the objective was an easy one because membership is free. However, there was always a concern about the level of support for the IoRW concept by the wide range of individuals and organisations involved in rail welding. These fears proved to be unfounded as people enrolled in their hundreds and as volunteers came forward to help bring about the improvements for which IoRW was created. From the very beginning, and all through the first year, interest and support has remained at a high level and this has enabled a number of other key objectives to be achieved, as itemised below.

Membership services

Newsletter - The commitment to publish four IoRW Newsletters per year has been fulfilled. The current issue is the fifth. Feedback on Welding Lines has been good but more comments, letters, etc would be welcome. A particularly popular feature has been the Job Knowledge section. These will build up into a significant information resource which members can always refer to.

Web site - This has evolved continuously during the first year. It now contains a wealth of information, not only on the IoRW itself but also on news of the industry, events, technical articles and standards and specifications.

This information is constantly updated so it's important to visit the web site regularly to keep up to date. You will also find valuable information on training organisations, suppliers, contractors and manufacturers, job vacancies in welding and NDT and links to other relevant web sites.

Technical Meetings - Two meetings per year are held and attendance is free of charge to members. The subjects covered so far have been: aluminothermic welding, flash welding and arc welding. A further one will be held this year on rail steels. The events have all been well attended with lively discussion and networking sessions. Reports on the meetings are published on the web site and in Welding Lines.

Technical enquiries - IoRW members have access to a technical enquiry service on rail welding matters which is provided by relevant experts from within the industry and from other bodies. Since the launch, some 96 enquiries have been dealt with on subjects as diverse as novel methods for electrical heating of rail to prevent water vapour condensation on rail tracks, to requests for specifications for flash butt welding of rail.

In addition to the above, members also have access to the benefits and services of The Welding & Joining Society. These include: a journal, Welding and Cutting; a magazine, Connect; Technical Group and local Branch meetings; and access to information services through TWI.

New approach to competence and QA in rail welding

The progress in this area was reviewed in the previous issue of Welding Lines (February 2003, Issue 4). The key features of this work are:

• Development of standardised aluminothermic welder training package (by April 2003).
  
  
• Development of a standardised arc welder training package (by September 2003).
  
  
• Development and accreditation of National Occupational Standards for rail welders covering aluminothermic welding, arc welding and flash welding.
  
  
• Development of training and certification schemes for rail welding inspectors and rail welding engineers (by December 2003).
  
  
• Certification criteria for rail welder training organisations and rail welding instructors (already on web site). Network Rail have indicated that these schemes will become mandatory by October 2003.
  
  
• Certification criteria for rail welding contractors based on EN 729/ISO 3834 (already on web site).

All of the above activities are supervised by the IoRW Management Committee, which comprises representatives of all aspects of the rail welding community. The Committee meets on a quarterly basis. The training packages have been developed by a Training Sub-Committee, made up of representatives from rail welder training organisations.

So, what does the future hold? Financially, the IoRW is secure for at least as long as Network Rail underwrites it. The current contract runs to the autumn of 2004. In the meantime, a membership subscription facility is being established for people who do not qualify for free membership (e.g. people outside the UK). This will be accompanied by a separation of the web site into 'public' and 'members only' areas.

It is also hoped to publish data on rail weld rejects and rail breaks caused by welds. The IoRW can only claim to be totally successful if these show a downward trend in the years ahead.

In conclusion, we can be happy with the accomplishments thus far but there is no room for complacency! We look forward to working with the rail industry to build upon the good start that has been made.