By Mary Ruth Johnson Editor’s Note Dear Readers, You may have seen a news item recently about the collapse of an outdoor deck at a popular Miami area sports bar during a Miami Heat/San Antonio Spurs game. The deck fell into Biscayne Bay and rescuers had to pull people out of the water. Although about two dozen were injured, fortunately there were no fatalities. I’ve never eaten at that restaurant, but my husband and I have good friends who go there often and we had talked about joining them there sometime. We were grateful to learn our friends weren’t there that night. Investigations are still being conducted as to why the deck collapsed and, of course, lots of fingers are being pointed as to who is to blame and lawsuits are being filed. Many of the questions being asked are related to when and if the deck had been inspected. There are no definitive answers yet about this particular situation, but the episode got me to thinking about inspections and how important they are to the public’s well-being. And that doesn’t apply solely to weld inspections, but to all types of health, safety, and quality inspections. Governmental bodies at all levels, from your local muncipality to federal agencies, are working on tighter budgets and I’ve read about or heard of proposed changes to codes and regulations that would reduce the frequency of certain types of inspections as a way to save money. It’s a move that worries me. When I first came to work at the American Welding Society, I knew little about welding or weld inspection, so when I would hear AWS officials or CWIs talk about how human lives could be affected by the quality of welding or of weld inspections, I thought they were being somewhat melodramatic. I’ve learned a lot since then. I know that most of you are very proud of your CWI credentials. You have worked hard to earn your certification and to keep it in good standing. However, out of modesty, most of you would downplay the significance of your role in the manufacturing/fabrication industries. You’d say you’re just doing your job. But don’t sell yourself short. The general public may not be aware it needs and depends on you, but it does. We’ll never know how many tragedies have been prevented because you did your job well. 6 Inspection Trends / July 2013 Publisher Andrew Cullison cullison@aws.org Editor Mary Ruth Johnsen mjohnsen@aws.org Associate Editors Howard Woodward woodward@aws.org Kristin Campbell kcampbell@aws.org Editorial Assistant Melissa Gomez mgomez@aws.org Production Manager Zaida Chavez zaida@aws.org Senior Production Coordinator Brenda Flores bflores@aws.org National Sales Director Rob Saltzstein salty@aws.org Advertising Sales Representative Lea Paneca lea@aws.org Senior Advertising Production Manager Frank Wilson fwilson@aws.org Subscriptions Representative Tabetha Moore tmoore@aws.org American Welding Society 8669 NW 36 St., #130 Miami, FL 33166-6672 (800/305) 443-9353 Copyright Copyright © 2013 by American Welding Society in both printed and electronic formats. The Society is not responsible for any statement made or opinion expressed herein. Data and information developed by the authors of specific articles are for informational purposes only and are not intended for use without independent, substantiating investigation on the part of potential users.
Inspection Trends | Summer 2013
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