VISION FOR WELDING INDUSTRY

G L Goswamy Memorial Key Note Address

S SankaranLarsen & Toubro Limited

I understand that the Indian Institute of welding, Mumbai branch has decided to dedicate the key

note address in their annual branch seminars to the memory of Shri. G L Goswamy and it is

named as “G L Goswamy Memorial Key Note Address”. I know Mr. Goswamy for many years

through his work in BARC, but only after my moving to Mumbai, I had the opportunity to meet him

and personally interact with him. For all his knowledge and contribution in the area of High Power

Beam Welding Process, he was a simple person and a very friendly person. Every member of IIW

visiting Anushakthinagar could not have missed his hospitality. We are sorry that he not with us

any more. The best thing we in IIW can do to perpetuate his memory is to have this key note

address dedicated to him. I feel privileged to deliver the first Key note address dedicated to Mr.

Goswamy. I thank IIW Mumbai branch for giving me the honour and privilege.

The Indian fabrication, construction and manufacturing industries are in the midst dramatic

changes and poised for massive growth. The fabrication of process plant equipment is moving out

of Europe and other developed countries and shifting to India and other third world countries. With

India emerging as a leading player in IT sector, the wage structure in the country is moving

upward, leaving surplus cash in the salaried class and it is pushing up the demand for

manufactured goods like refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioner, automobiles etc.

Massive investment is taking place in infrastructure development. The production and

consumption of steel, with which the fortunes of welding industry is very closely linked, is going

through exponential growth.

The question that comes up in every one’s mind is whether the Indian Welding industry is

prepared to face the unprecedented growth that is taking place and ready to take up the

challenges of globalization and exploit the opportunities to emerge as a world leader and retain

that position. With the increased globalization of business and markets for fabrication, the survival

and growth of any Indian fabricator essentially depends on how he can make them faster, better

and cheaper than his global competitors. The ever increasing demand for higher productivity and

better product quality cannot be achieved from a factory dependent on human operations.

Mechanisation and automation in welding will be a necessity for survival in the near future.

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If we look around to see what other countries are doing to face the challenges in welding, we can

come across many focused studies and workshops involving Government agencies, professional

bodies and wide cross section of industries that have taken place and they have come up with

strategic targets and action plans. For example, the “Vision for welding industry” workshop in USA

in June 1998 was organized by the American Welding Society, US Government Department of

Energy, and National Institute of Standards and Technology. Managers and experts from various

segments of welding industry discussed for two days and identified the driving forces and issues

that are likely to determine the future of welding up to 2020. Although USA derived, they are

believed to be accurate for most other countries also. The top of the list includes the following

Key drivers for welding – 2020

• Market & Customers

o Globalisation of business & market

o Competition from alternate technologies

• Product-Process Integration

o Integration of design, Process control, Materials

o Automation

• Education and Workforce’s Image

o Shifting of Manufacturing Careers

o Need for inducting talented people

• Business Practices & Economics

o Pressure on Cost & Productivity

This workshop also identified a series of strategic goals that should be met within the time frame.

These targets will form the base for future research and development efforts.

Strategic goals (performance targets)

• Reduce average cost of welding by one-third

• Integrate welding with the Production Cycle

• Develop welding technology along with new materials development

• Assure welding is a part of six-sigma quality environment

• Improve knowledge base of all people taking decisions related to welding

• Reduce energy use in welding by 50%

The Canadian Welding Association has come out with a Technology Roadmap for the Canadian

Welding and Joining industry in 2006. The exercise began with a session in late 2003 promoted

by the Canadian Welding Association and numerous industry partners. Number of meetings were

held culminating in four Regional Forums which was held in October 2005. Throughout the

process more than 250 participants representing a wide range of companies, associations,

educational and research institutions as well as all the levels of government participated. The

Technology Roadmap process moved from the Vision and Strategic Targets, through the Barriers

to Solutions and Projects.

Some of the Projects Listed are

• Create a Canadian Welding and Joining Productivity Network in four regions

• As a complement to the Productivity Network, establish and strengthen Welding and

Joining Centers at educational institutions

• Sponsor specific welding / joining technology demonstration projects or workshops in all

regions of the country.

• Create a “Best Practices” technology application database..

• Develop and advocate policies to governments, such as tax incentives, for investment in

automation and productivity improvement.

Similar actions are reported from most industrially advanced and developing countries. One such

report from China says that to promote the use of more and more continuous wire processes by

the industries in place of manual arc welding, the Chinese welding consumable producers have

voluntarily imposed a 2% cut every year on the production of welding electrodes for the next ten

years.

If we look inwards to see what is going on within India to identify the challenges and action plans,

you will be disappointed. In November 2006 the Ministry of Science and Technology, and CII

organized a Technology Summit in New Delhi. Materials and joining technology was one of the

various subjects discussed in the summit, for which Indian Welding Society was a partner. I

attended that meet with lot of expectation, but in the end I was disappointed that as in most of the

seminars in India, papers were presented in wide ranging topics without any focus. To the best of

my knowledge no conclusions or directions or action plans have emerged from the summit.

The future looks very promising for welding in India. But only if we as a nation are alive to the

challenges and hurdles we need to overcome and work in a concerted way to tackle them. We

have to become a productive, high quality and cost-effective manufacturing nation and maintain

that position. The welding industry must embrace all of the modern-day technological tools to be

ahead of the rest of the world.

Concerns in Indian Context

• Energy Optimisation in welding

• Reduce - Rework, Repair, Rejection

o Do it Right First Time and Every Time

• Enhance Image of Welding

o Attract talented youth

o Improved working environment

• Knowledge Management in Welding

• Multiple Qualifications And Certification

• Use of IT and computer control in welding

I have listed a few concerns for the Indian Welding Industry. If we talk to wider cross section of

people from different industry back ground a few more will crop up. A few industries with a

progressive outlook are tackling some of these issues within themselves. But if our vision is to be

ahead as nation, we need to involve the entire cross section of the Industry, policy makers in the

government, professional bodies and evolve the action plans. I know it is too big a task to expect

Indian Institute of Welding to do it alone. But can IIW Mumbai branch and Indian Welding Society

come together and take the lead for such an exercise with the industries in the western region

and set an example for other regions to follow.

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