European Federation for Welding, Joining and Cutting

The European Federation for Welding, Joining and Cutting (EWF) is an organization dedicated to education, training, qualification and certification in the field of welding and related technologies.

EWF - the European Federation for Welding, Joining and Cutting

History

In 1992, welding course providers of several EU countries wanted to harmonise their education, training, qualification and certification procedures. Thus, they set up the European Federation for Welding, Joining and Cutting (EWF). The objective was that same qualifications could be awarded in any country by using a single syllabus for each level of the training course and a harmonized system for examinations. EWF developed a comprehensive and harmonized system for training, qualification and certification of welding personnel and managed its application ever since. It took a leading role in the innovation of learning methodologies. It is also responsible for the certification system of companies that use welding, focusing on quality, environment, health, and safety.

The challenges addressed by EWF are two-fold: Respond to the industry's professional profile requirements and provide courses that leverage current technological trends and their impact on evolving lifestyles and information acquisition patterns.

Currently,⁽²⁰¹⁸⁾ EWF has members from 28 European countries and two observer members from outside Europe, represented by their national welding societies: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, as well as Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation.

Over the years, EWF has played an important role in the welding, joining and related technologies community. It prepares and disseminates information on vocational, educational, training and research and technological development. It also manages collaborative projects about these issues and takes part in them.

EWF system

Developing a mutually accepted International System for Training Qualification and Certification of both welding personnel and companies using welding, has made EWF a pioneer organization responding to one of the most demanding markets needs, the need for qualified personnel. The EWF system was the first system embracing all the European countries for the qualification of personnel for a wide range of levels in welding, related technologies and inspection.

The EWF training, qualification and certification system serves the worldwide welding industry. On the European level, it can be used by the EWF members, while at the international level, it can be used by the IIW-IAB members.

EWF/IIW network

The federation licensed its qualification system to IIW (International Institute of Welding) in 2000, and since then a combined EWF/IIW System has been offered in 46 countries worldwide, totaling 44 ANBs (Authorized National Bodies) and 683 ATBs (Authorised Training Bodies).

The network also includes 55,000 companies worldwide.

A certification system has been developed to guarantee manufacturer compliance with EN ISO 3834 and environmental and health safety schemes and its implementation is harmonized within EWF members.

Organization

The EWF has a General Assembly, a Board of Directors, a Secretariat and a Technical Committee with five working groups.

The EWF is governed by the General Assembly, which is representative of the member organizations. The General Assembly, composed of the members of the association, has full powers for accomplishing the objectives of the association.

The General Assembly is responsible for electing its president and a Board of Directors.

EWF - Presidents List since 1992 until present

Name	Years	Organisation	Country
Bent Koch	1992	FORCE Technology	Denmark
Jean Quéré	1993-1995	IS - Institut de Soudure	France
J. van den Brug	1996-1998	NIL - NEDERLANDS INSTITUUT VOOR LASTECHNIEK	The Netherlands
Giulio Costa	1999-2001	IIS - ISTITUTO ITALIANO DELLA SALDATURA	Italy
Jan Pilarczyk	2002-2004	IS - Instytut Spawalnictwa	Poland
German Hernandez	2005-2007	CESOL – Asociación Española de Soldadura y Tecnologías de Unión	Spain
Tim Jessop	2008-2010	TWI - The Welding Institute	United Kingdom
Dorin Dehelean	2011-2013	ASR - Asociația Română de Sudură	Romania
Henk Bodt	2014-2016	NIL - NEDERLANDS INSTITUUT VOOR LASTECHNIEK	The Netherlands
Chris Eady	2017-2019	TWI - The Welding Institute	United Kingdom

EWF - Board of Directors 2018.

Name	EWF Position	Position in EWF Member Organisation	Country
Chris Eady	President	Chief Executive of the TWI Certification Ltd and associate director for professional affairs at TWII	United Kingdom
Michal Kubica	Vice-President	Deputy Manager at Instytut Spawalnictwa	Poland
Luísa Coutinho	Executive Director	Professor at University of Lisbon	Portugal
Rute Ferraz	Chief Executive	Director of Training Division at Instituto de Soldadura e Qualidade	Portugal
Jorge Huete	Treasurer	General Manager at CESOL	Spain
Stefano Morra	Director	Technical Manager at Istituto Italiano della Saldatura IIS	Italy
Martin Lehman	Director	Head of Training and Certification in DVS e.V. and CEO of DVS ZERT GmbH	Germany
Vaclav Minarik	Director	Director at Czech Welding Society ANB	Czech Republic

The Secretariat is elected for a period of 5 years by the General Assembly from among the proposals made by the full members, in accordance with the criteria established by the General Assembly. []

EWF - Executive Management Team

Name	Position	Professional Summary
Luísa Coutinho	Executive Director	Professor of Mechanical Engineering, at Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, Portugal, as well as Executive Director of the European Federation for Welding, Joining and Cutting since 1992. Prof. Luísa Coutinho coordinated and participated in more than 100 national and international projects ranging from research to transfer of technology and training since 1986 and has published more than 200 papers, in national and international journals and conference proceedings, and books. Her work has been recognised internationally in different forums through two honorary doctorships and ten international awards.
Rute Ferraz	Chief Executive	Manages the International System for Qualification and certification of Personnel and Companies, since 2002 and is EWF Lead Assessor. Mrs Ferraz has an international professional career of over 25 years in Quality Management in Italy, Brasil and Argentina and at present also is Director of the Training Department at ISQ – Instituto de Soldadura e Qualidade.
Eurico Assunção	Deputy Director	Deputy Director of EWF as well as an invited lecturer at Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, in Laser Processing. Mr Eurico Assunção holds a degree as Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Welding Engineering, from the Cranfield University and a European and International Welding Engineer Diploma. Is responsible for the Collaboration Projects of EWF and has coordinated more than 20 large projects involving organisations from all EU. Also manages the Joining Platform, as a sub-platform within the EU Platform “Manufuture”.

The EWF Technical Committee is set up by the General Assembly for covering a technical area related to training, qualification and certification in the welding and joining fields, implying a continuous activity, without any time limit, and consists of the Chairman, the representatives of the members and Working Groups.

EWF - Technical Committees

Technical Committees	Description	Convenor	Organisation	Country
Technical Committee	The EWF Technical Committee is set up by the General Assembly for covering several areas of competence: Standardisation, Certification, Training and Qualification in the welding, joining and cutting fields and EWF System Rules. Each area of competence consists of several working groups implying a continuous activity, without any time limit. It consists of the Chairman of Technical Committee, a convenor per area of competence and the representatives of the members and working groups.	Stefano Morra	IIS - ISTITUTO ITALIANO DELLA SALDATURA	Italy
Training and Qualification	Develops, maintains and updates the EWF system for qualification of personnel to keep it consistent with the European rules and industry needs, assure consistency of the overall EWF system and keep liaisons with the personnel certification schemes.	Luca Costa	IIS - ISTITUTO ITALIANO DELLA SALDATURA	Italy
Certification	Develops the strategy for the EWF System for certification of Personnel and Companies in line with the European Standards, directives and industry needs; assures consistency of the EWF Certification Schemes with EU legislation.	Stefano Morra	IIS - ISTITUTO ITALIANO DELLA SALDATURA	Italy
EWF System Rules	Ensures the update of EWF rules and requirements for Personnel Qualification and Certification (PCS) according to the EWF developments; Develops the EWF Operational Systems documents depicting the EWF organisational structure and terms of reference for each body.	Italo Fernandes	ISQ - INSTITUTO DE SOLDADURA E QUALIDADE	Portugal
European Union Tools	European projects, collaboration between the European organisations, EU rules and instruments. Assists EWF members in developing project proposals and facilitate the dissemination of upcoming European project calls.	Luisa Coutinho	INSTITUTO SUPERIOR TECNICO	Portugal

Key activities

Education, training and qualification of personnel

The EWF qualification system has several types of professional training covering welding, bonding and related techniques. This harmonized system of education and training has been adopted by IIW as an international qualification system since 2000. Its relevance has been recognized both by ISO and CEN which have EWF as a liaison member. These different technologies, like particular processes, require that the quality of the product must be incorporated during the manufacturing/maintenance, and cannot be ensured only by final testing. That entails personnel with particular high level of knowledge, skills and competencies which can be obtained through the EWF qualification system.

There are three pillars which support the EWF Harmonised International Qualification System:

1. Technical Committee: Harmonised qualification guidelines, rules and procedures are developed and approved by all members
2. The National Member: Responsible for the supervision and implementation of the system through the Authorised Nominated Body (ANB)
3. The Approved Training Centers: Approved Training Bodies (ATBs) implement the qualification guidelines

In 2012, in its annual report about international qualifications, the European Center for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP), has considered the EWF qualification system as the best-case example, recognising the ground-breaking work done by EWF on creating a qualification framework which has been globally adopted.

EWF training guidelines

The EWF training guidelines cover all professional levels in welding technology and related areas, such as thermal spraying, adhesive bonding, plastics welding and underwater welding, leading to recognised qualifications in 30 European countries and also at international level. They can be listed as follows:

1. European/International Welding Engineer
2. European/International Welding Technologist
3. European/International Welding Specialist
4. European/International Welding Practitioner
5. European/International Welding Inspection Personnel
6. European/International Welder
7. European Arc Welder for Railway Tracks
8. European Thermal Spraying Specialist
9. European Thermal Sprayer
10. European Thermal Spraying Practitioner
11. European Adhesive Bonder
12. European Adhesive Specialist
13. European Adhesive Engineer
14. European Welding Specialist for Resistance Welding
15. European Welding Practitioner for Resistance Welding
16. European MMA Diver Welder
17. European Aluminothermic Welder
18. European Laser Processing Personnel
19. Special Course for Robot Welding at the Specialist Level
20. Special Course for Welding Reinforcing Bars at the Specialist level
21. Special Course on Weld Imperfections for Non-Destructive Testing Personnel
22. Special Course on Personnel with responsibility for Macroscopic and Microscopic Metallographic Examination of Structural Materials and their Joints Prepared/Produced by Welding and Allied Techniques
23. Special Course on Personnel with Responsibility for Heat Treatment of Welded Joints
24. Special Course on Risk Management in Welding Fabrication

Certification of welding personnel

Three certification schemes for personnel have been developed:

• Welding Coordination Certification exists since 1998 and was adopted by IIW in 2007 and is currently recognised worldwide, allowing Welding Coordinators to be certified according to the requirement of ISO 14731.

• Plastic Welders Certification exists since 2004, providing training and certification according to EN 13067.

• Welders Operators and Brazers Certification exist since 2010. The goal of this scheme is to harmonise the welder's certification process necessary for a welder approval.

Certification of companies

EWF has created an integrated Manufacturers Certification Scheme, which complies with ISO 3834 on welding quality requirements, which is in place since 1998, ISO 14001 and OSHAS 18001 on environment and also health and safety, which are in place since 2000. The scheme has been adopted by IIW, only for the quality field.

Projects

A good part of EWF's activities have been related to its participation in European cooperation projects, in particular under the European Commission's programmes such as Lifelong Learning 2007-2013, 7th Framework Programme, Erasmus+ and H2020.

Project focus on modernisation of teaching methods, harmonisation of qualifications, support for learning, implementation and benchmark to other teaching areas and cover a variety of areas like additive manufacturing, health and safety, microbonding, laser processing and adhesives that go beyond welding and joining but target manufacturing as a whole.