International Institute of Welding — Advancing Welding and Joining through a Worldwide Network

Welding is an essential component for almost any consumer product we use. From planes to cars to general-purpose items, we can find the significance of welding. We mostly don't notice every weld under the hod, but it plays an integral part in making our lives easy and advancing our quality of life. Indirectly, almost every industry depends on it.

International Institute of Welding (IIW) is the Association of the Welding Institutes and Associations representing 51 countries globally, from all continents. The company was founded in 1948 by the welding institutes or societies of 13 countries that realized the importance of making rapid scientific and technical progress possible globally. We interviewed Luca Costa, the CEO of IIW, to understand more about the company. Here are a few excerpts of the interview:

Q. What makes IIW relevant in today's times? Could you give us some context?

IIW was founded in 1948 to allow the exchange of knowledge in the field of welding. Since then, technology has evolved a lot, but welding is not an obsolete industrial application at all. As the market to global manufacturing and the attention has been concentrated on sustainability, the role of IIW is becoming more and more important as the best international provider of certification and best practices to ensure the highest standards for all welding projects with global scope and impact. In this respect, IIW delivers standards, best practices, and certifications that can be accessed globally and based on global contributions.

Q. What problem are you trying to solve at IIW?

The IIW vision is being the leading global community linking industry, research, and education to the advancement of welding and joining for a safer and sustainable world. This addresses several aspects of the manufacturing world: develops efficient and sustainable applications, allows safe design and reliable manufacturing, ensures proper quality control procedures, and enables qualified and capable individuals to manage safe execution of all these aspects.

Q. Who can join IIW? Is everybody eligible?

The contribution to our work comes from our community, which is composed of over 2000 individuals joining our technical groups and scientific commissions. Anyone interested in the field is welcome to join the community, bringing expertise and knowledge, sharing views, and supporting the work. They get access to one of the widest databases of scientific resources in the field, with over 20,000 documents available for a free consultation. To join the community, individuals can contact our local members in the country and become a member of the delegation, possibly free of charge or at a minimal cost.

Q. How important are events such as the Annual Assembly and International Conference by IIW? What do they aim to achieve?

Since our foundation, the "IIW Annual Assembly and International Conference" has been our major event. It offers multiple parallel sessions (10, on average), each one devoted to a specific area in the field. The major difference from a standard conference is that papers are presented and deeply discussed, and collaborative work is derived when possible. It's the place where the IIW also produces ISO standards and qualification and certification guidelines. Interestingly, external participants see attendees as welding addicted that never stop working during sessions.

The main aim of the assembly is to share, discuss work and develop ideas to help and support sustainable development. As a side effect, our members gather and develop friendship and long-term relationships around a common goal. This creates the feeling of an IIW family being the assembly of our annual family gathering.

"IIW is recognized as the largest worldwide network and center of reference for welding and allied joining technologies."

Q. How big is your organization?

Those involved in the management are five individuals located in Italy, Germany, and the United States of America. On another side, we have strong cooperation with the European Welding Federation to which the management of our Training, Qualification, and Certification System is subcontracted. The other soul is our network of volunteers and members. Those actively participating in IIW, joining meetings, presenting documents, and developing active discussions and collaborative work are estimated to be 800-1,000. The organization is based in Genoa, Italy, and governed under Italian Law. However, our members represent IIW in their own country.

Q. What does IIW do to help the young professionals of the world?

Several years ago, IIW launched a program called "IIW Young Professionals," which is aimed at helping young researchers, academists, technicians, and engineers in becoming leaders in the welding sector. Resources allocated to this program include a set of dedicated events (YPIC, Young Professionals in welding International Conferences), specific sessions, and gatherings during our Annual Assembly. In 2021 the IIW future leaders program is initiated. It includes financial support to allow two young professionals to join the IIW Board of Directors' meetings as guests, let them be involved in the association's management, and earn management abilities.

Q. The pandemic has impacted many industries. How has it affected the welding space?

Like any other area of business, welding felt the impact of the pandemic when it exploded all over the world. However, the technology is strongly related to essential services, infrastructures, equipment, and some essential goods. The ultimate impact is that the industrial activities slowed down and affected smaller organizations. Globally, the effect is temporary, and the numbers in countries where the pandemic seems to be under control show a significant re-growth is occurring. However, one of the areas that suffered the most is training, but our organization has been fast reacting and enabled protocols for blending remote with classroom teaching and remote assessments.

Q. Moving forward, what does the future look like for IIW?

IIW has a 2018-2023 strategic plan in place. Even If the pandemic has significantly changed the environment, the objectives are still valid. Internally, we are improving the organizational structure, increasing reaction speed to external solicitations, and assigning appropriate resources to reach our strategic goals. Externally, we are improving our relationship with the industry, improving our deliverables for certification, and our standards and best practices to support the achievement of the highest standards in all welding projects with global scope and impact. The ultimate goal is to improve safety and the quality of life in general. Our network appreciates the efforts taken and will come to be stronger in the future.

More operationally, we are looking at implementing technology tools for improving welding effectiveness in all aspects, including hybrid meetings for our community, distance training, remote assessments, artificial intelligence in welding and manufacturing, efficient use of welding technologies, safe design, and applications.

Meet the CEO

Luca Costa is the CEO of IIW. Having taken the role of CEO during the pandemic, he was highly engaged in transforming a potential disaster into a success. Luca is grateful to the IIW Board of Directors and to the association for getting this opportunity. He believes that IIW is in the hands of good management, and it's his pleasure to serve the company.

"It operates as the global body for the science and application of joining technologies, providing a forum for networking and knowledge exchange among scientists, researchers, industry and educators, and disseminating leading-edge information and best practices."