Welding peak body warns of potential safety risks of shoddy welding

The Welding Technology Institute of Australia warns that shoddy welding will lead to death unless politicians legislate to enforce compliance with Australian standards for fabricated steel.

“All fabricated steel being erected in Australia must be certified as compliant with the standards and the standards must be enforced,” said WTIA CEO Geoff Crittenden.

Mr. Crittenden said he received copies of documentation showing a grain silo being constructed in a rural Australian location is using imported fabricated steel modules that are not compliant.

He said a report from a WTIA-certified senior welding inspector showed ten separate items tested did not comply. The problems which were identified included undersize, missing and incomplete welds.

A separate visual weld inspection of the imported silo support structure found none of the welds inspected were compliant with the Australian standard. AS/NZS 1554.1:2014.

“Despite the serious safety issues raised in these reports, my understanding is construction is proceeding with no rectification of the non-compliant welds,” said Mr. Crittenden.

“Compliance with Australian standards is not mandatory and there is no way anyone can legally force the owner to rectify the shoddy workmanship.

“The standard is a toothless tiger. We need a law that says no fabricated steel structure can be erected in Australia without being inspected and certified as compliant.”

Mr. Crittenden said it is important to have a regulation protecting Australians from unsafe and non-compliant fabricated steel.

“This silo is just one example of a problem that is rampant across the nation. About 85% of imported fabricated steel is non-compliant. My colleagues and I in the steel supply chain have provided details of dangerous structures, including a footbridge between two schools, to government agencies but our warnings have been ignored,” he said.

“We’ve got a watchdog, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, that protects children from unsafe imported toys, but there is no regulation to protect the Australian public from imported, fabricated steel that poses serious safety risks to all Australians.”

Mr. Crittenden suggested a two-tiered scheme with audited self-certification permitted from some fabricated products and a compulsory third-party certification for fabricated steel used in high-risk projects, including road, rail, mining and energy infrastructure.

“We need commitments from all sides of politics to legislate,” he said. “Must we wait for deaths to occur? We need action now.”

Author:     Haydee

Source:    www.safetyculture.com.au