Thu, 15 October, 2020
Chin Kheng Kooi, who has worked as a quality assurance manager for more than 8 years, is completing the specialist level IIW diploma as a part of his career development and believes that these training courses are essential in getting a deep understanding of welding technology.
Chin’s company was going through an ISO audit that they realised that, in order to comply with the industry requirements, they needed to have a certified welding engineer. Since the company didn’t have such a resource, they have decided to send Chin to get certified.
Chin hasn’t always been in the oil and gas industry. He started working as a technician at an electrical company called SUNYO. That was when he learned about the job of a quality control inspector.
After three years, he found a better opportunity at a new company called Prestar Manufacturing, which enabled him to work as an expatriate. As he got the new role, he moved to Kuala Lumpur for a period of training and, after completing the training, he went to Vietnam to work on the project he was recruited for. He worked in Vietnam for three years as the QA for installation before he decided to return to Malaysia for a new challenge.
Chin came to TWI for Magnetic Particle Testing (MT) training when he was on one of his first projects. After five years, his company sponsored him to take the CSWIP Welding Inspector certificate and, now that 8 years have passed from that time, he is planning to upgrade his certificate to CSWIP Senior Welding Inspector or CSWIP Welding Quality Control Coordinator.
Chin explains, “Going through CSWIP Welding Inspector training, there are a lot of things that you can learn such as material requirements, material testing, and welding symbols. Prior to taking these courses you are not sure how to interpret the symbols and defects. But going through this training enables you to interpret these easily. For someone who works on the production line, having this knowledge is helpful to identify which parts need to be checked. Supervising the team of inspectors at our company, I can also monitor the team’s operations and guide them through the process.”
Now that Chin has progressed from Welding Inspection to IIW Diploma level, he can compare the two qualifications and he finds the IIW courses very extensive and more in depth, covering more details. He explains that the inspection courses give you a general knowledge of the topic, while the IIW courses go deep into the root causes.
He finds Mr. Faizal, who has been the lecturer for the past two modules, a very knowledgeable and helpful instructor who explains the concepts very thoroughly and gives candidates all the information they need for success in the qualification.
Chin mentions that, in recent years, the industry has recognised the IIW certification more and the demand for welding engineers who hold this qualification has increased. That is why, even if this wasn’t a requirement from his employer, he would still continue his personal development path through this training as he can see the positive impact it can have on his career prospects.
“Holding a degree can give you good knowledge to start off your career but, by completing the IIW modules, one can call himself a specialist in welding. This can not only improve one’s profile in the industry, but also within the company he works for as he can be better regarded as a person who masters his craft,” Chin said.
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