TWI encourages diversity in welding
27/03/2019
AEMRI employee Jane Allwright completed a two-day welding appreciation course at TWI’s Cambridge premises in January 2019. This event was organised through the TWI Tipper Group, created to encourage diversity in engineering.
The Tipper Group was launched by a group of engineers at The Welding Institute (TWI Ltd) and the National Structural Integrity Research Centre (NSIRC) in autumn 2016. It is named after Constance Tipper, a female Cambridge fracture engineer who investigated the Liberty ship failures during World War II. The Tipper Group holds events and networking opportunities to support diversity in welding, joining and associated technologies in order to offer inspiration, support and professional development.Jane studied mathematics for four years at Cambridge University before moving to Wales in 2016. She is very much enjoying the Welsh culture, so much so that she is learning the Welsh language. Her current activities at TWI under the AEMRI programme include finite element analysis (FEA) for a range of projects and industries, particularly the modelling of ultrasonic guided waves in pipes and other structures, the modelling of ultrasonic testing (UT) more generally and the application of mathematics to non-destructive testing (NDT) research and development.
Jane said of her experience: “Normally I deal with technology on the theoretical side, but going on this welding appreciation workshop has given me a much better understanding of how welding is actually carried out. Over the two days we learned about and produced three different types of weld: manual metal arc (MMA), metal active gas (MAG) and tungsten inert gas (TIG). The instructors were great and I learned so much about the techniques and the differences between them that I would not have got by just studying theory. This has helped me to understand the types of defect that can occur during the weld processes, which will come in useful for my work in NDT and also my simulations.
“This workshop was a brilliant opportunity for me and I hope that events such as this will encourage more people, both men and women, mathematicians, scientists and engineers, to have a go at something that they might never have thought of doing.”
This training demonstrates TWI’s support and encouragement of greater diversity in engineering, while also offering a genuine hands-on insight into the skills required by welders. This activity has been part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh government.
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