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3 tips for building an effective welding workforce

Remain engaged with the welding talent and work to keep the pipelines filled with potential new talent

Figure 1
While each welder has a production goal to meet each day, the type of work can vary, such as welding on these small-diameter pipes.

In the metal fabrication industry, welding is perhaps the most indispensable skilled trade. But is it a dying trade? Industry professionals are concerned that an increasing number of welders are approaching the retirement age. Where can fabricators find younger welders, and what do they need to do to bring them up to high levels of productivity?

One company that has had good experience bringing younger welding talent into the fold is Shapiro & Duncan Inc., a third-generation family business based in Rockville, Md. The company provides preconstruction, engineering, construction, design-build, fabrication, installation, and maintenance services to commercial, industrial, institutional, and government customers.

The company’s 51,000-square-foot fabrication shop in Landover, Md., is outfitted with state-of-the-art workstations and hoisting equipment for cutting, welding, and joining all types and sizes of pipe. The fabrication shop can fabricate and assemble accurately any type of piping configuration, from the simplest riser to complex mechanical and boiler rooms. The shop’s controlled environment enables it to maintain a high degree of quality and a constant level of productivity regardless of weather or project site conditions.

The current labor force of 40 workers includes plumbers, pipe cutters and fitters, warehousing personnel, and truck drivers, and six pipe welders. Three of them are veterans who have been with the company for at least four years. The other three are new employees who have been on the job for 90 days or less. Until four months ago, the company ran one three-man welding shift, but because of a surge in work, it added a second three-man shift.

This is how Shapiro & Duncan built and expanded its welding team.

1. Create a Challenging and Rewarding Work Environment

Welders in our fabrication shop are expected to complete at least 100 inches of welds during an eight-hour day (see Figure 1). The desired outcome is a quality joint on every weld. Ninety-nine percent of the time, our welders are able to meet this daily production goal and specification.

Our longest-tenured welder is Richard Youngbar, 29, who has been with us for more than 10 years. He specializes in gas metal arc welding (GMAW). He came to us through the Job Corps, where he received basic training in GMAW along with training in advanced pipe welding.

According to Youngbar, the key to success on the job is to “keep the shield down and keep welding.” He keeps motivated and is quick to take the initiative. Being our most experienced welder, Youngbar also acts as an informal mentor to the newer members of our welding team.

Youngbar and his welding teammates use a custom-designed project management software program called Fab Man to stay on top of the work flow. The software provides a toolkit for short interval planning (SIP) and time entry. Each welder clocks into the program at the start of the workday and then selects work orders that show how much time is allotted to complete each weld. They are encouraged to beat those times, with the understanding that they are responsible for completing a weld that meets the specification. A spool map shows a drawing of what needs to be done. Upon completion of a work order, they clock out and select a new one.

From a quality control standpoint, it’s important to be out on the floor watching the welders as they work. We eyeball every joint—everything that comes off the floor. While some complex welds may have to be sent out to a vendor for X-ray or ultrasound inspection, for the most part visual inspection is the standard for determining if our welders are meeting fabrication expectations. In addition, we’ll give pointers to individual welders to help them perform the proper root pass, maintain a uniform bead, and, most important, stay within the desired specs.

Figure 2
Shapiro & Duncan conducts its early, pretest, and continuing training at its 51,000-sq.-ft. facility in Landover, Md.

Over the past 10 years, we have lost only one welder. In addition to a commitment to employees and providing them with the resources they need to do the job, we find that good communication is a big part of it too. We treat each other like family and strive to have some fun out on the floor every day.

2. Maintain Relationships Create a Talent Pipeline

That good employee retention record, however, doesn’t mean it’s getting easier to attract and train welders, according to Geoff Phillips, human resources director.

“Fewer people are going into the skilled trades such as welding,” he said. “It’s a difficult job with demanding skill requirements, and not as many people want to do it. At the same time, we’re seeing more and more people retiring. Mobility is another factor we have to deal with; increasingly, welders tend to move from job to job.”

In the Washington, D.C., area, no high schools currently teach welding. Welding courses are taught at several local community colleges, including Northern Virginia Community College in Springfield, Va., and Anne Arundel Community College, Arnold, Md.

One of Shapiro & Duncan’s biggest hurdles when it comes to hiring and retaining welders is the more challenging set of welding specifications we often have to deal with on our projects. For example, hospital construction requires welding to the specifications in Section IX of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. It also can be a challenge for a nonunion shop like Shapiro & Duncan to find welders because those who have worked in unions may not be interested in leaving that workplace to work for a shop where pay increases are merit-based.

To recruit welders, we are involved in quite a bit of outreach. It starts with recruitment ads in local newspapers, trade magazines, and on our website and extends to community relationships.

For example, we have relationships with local welding schools and with associations such as Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). ABC recently started a welding and pipefitting apprenticeship in which we are hoping to become involved. Our relationships extend further to government agencies such as the D.C. Department of Employment Services. We also leverage our connections with community training centers in D.C.; for example, we have a relationship with a training and placement organization that acts as a liaison with trade schools.

The prime difference between the hiring process for welders and processes for other trades is that welders have to go through hands-on testing. New welders with no previous experience are given a week on the job before we test them. If they have previous welding experience, we may test them right away.

Our in-house GMAW test requires the candidate to weld a joint on Schedule 80 pipe to ASME’s B31.1 power piping code. The weld has to be perfect, with no cracks or pits. After one week of training, the welders’ pass rate is 90 percent.

Training people at our fabrication shop is in a controlled environment (see Figure 2) for learning the fundamentals of welding—before those skills have to be applied under more challenging conditions in the field. It is one thing to weld two sections of pipe together on a workbench, with all of the tools and equipment in place, and another thing to weld pipe sections that are 9 feet off the ground and in a tight space. We give our new people the opportunity to get it right in the fabrication shop before we send them out into the field.

3. Don’t Stop With the Technical Training

Partnering is a critically important part of our onboarding process for welders. While it is important for our new welders to understand the technical aspect of the job, it is just as important for them to develop soft skills and learn about our company culture.

No matter how good you are or how many times you’ve been around the block, every person who comes into our organization has to live our company values and work toward the company goal of being “a total value industry leader for mechanical solutions.” That’s why we partner every new welder with an experienced supervisor in the field.

We give motivated candidates every opportunity to make it as a welder.

Some of our best outcomes have been with young people who didn’t know what they wanted to do, but who had the enthusiasm and enjoy a kinesthetic style of learning. Once they establish themselves in the trade, their outlook is bright. Pipe welders will always be able to find a job. Job security and high pay are guaranteed if you have the right attitude and determination to continue your training.

About the Authors

Jeff Keen

Quality Control Manager, Fabrication

14620 Rothgeb Drive

Rockville, MD 20850

301-315-6260

Mike Canter

Fabrication Shop Manager

14620 Rothgeb Drive

Rockville, MD 20850

301-315-6260