Sea 5000 Future Frigates program contender has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Welding Technology Institute of Australia (WTIA), to explore cooperation in the design and development of new welding solutions and techniques for shipbuilding in Australia.
The agreement will also involve Cetena, a subsidiary company of Fincantieri, which undertakes research and consultancy programs in the naval and maritime fields, and Istituto Italiano della Saldatura (IIS), the national institute of welding in Italy.
According to the agreement, the four organisations will work together to design, develop and implement new and innovative welding production techniques and processes that will provide improved welding solutions to the commercial and naval shipbuilding industries in Australia.
The partnership will see cooperation across training, qualification, and the certification of welders in Australia. It will also see the joint development of new welding and testing procedures, a welding technology and knowledge transfer from Fincantieri’s Italian shipyards, and ongoing industry integration and cooperation.
Director of Fincantieri Australia Sean Costello said the MOU demonstrated that Fincantieri is serious about delivering on its promise to transfer knowledge and technology from its 20 shipyards across four continents to Australia.
“As part of this agreement, we will work together to ensure the cooperation between the Italian and Australian commercial and naval shipbuilding industries, develop joint training and certifications for local welders, as well as develop joint welding and testing procedures.”
WTIA CEO Geoff Crittenden said the Association is committed to ensuring that all new defence equipment is built by Australian welders and that defence contractors have no reason or excuse for importing skilled labour to deliver these projects.
“The signing of this MoU will help ensure that Australian welders, suppliers and contractors have access to new technology and techniques.”
In November, Sea 5000 rival Navantia Australia signed an MoU to establish a welder training facility in Adelaide.
In related news, welding fume was reclassified as “Carcinogenic to Humans” by the International Agency for the Research on Cancer (IARC) in early 2017, recognising there is a direct relationship between inhaling welding fume and contracting cancer.
The Australian Workplace Exposure Standards for Airborne Contaminants by Safe Work Australia was last published on the 18 April 2013, almost four years before the recent reclassification of welding fume as carcinogenic. The reclassification of welding fume as a confirmed human carcinogen should highlight for Australian welders, employers and Australian regulators the potential hazards involved and drive them to promote better controls and protection. This of course begins with a better understanding of the reclassification of welding fume and what it really means for Australian welders and employers of welders.
Australian welders operating within the occupational exposure limits for welding fume are exposed to four times the level of a known carcinogen than welders in Germany operating under their own local occupational exposure limits. For more information read this release from Australian Welding Supplies The Reclassification of Welding Fume as Carcinogenic from an Australian Perspective.