One of our board members commented recently that, outside a World War, the COVID-19 pandemic must be the most cataclysmic event in any of our lives. It is affecting all of us, our way of life, our economic and physical survival and, inextricably, the economic health of our companies and our country. The SAIW is no exception.
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We began the year invigorated and determined, with a focus on building our membership, increasing engagement and ensuring we add value to our members’ lives. And then COVID-19 and the resultant lockdown struck.
This has meant that fabricators are experiencing severe cash flow problems as they reopen and get back to work. It is going to take time to get money flowing in our economy again. And, of course, when money is tight, companies cut back on the ‘nice-to-haves’ such as training and marketing.
Times are tough and the future is uncertain but the SAIW management team used the lockdown well. We have tried to remain calm and maintain a long-term mindset. It has been a time of reflection, to look at our purpose, what we offer, where we are delivering a great service and, even more importantly, where we can improve.
We believe that our NDT team offers the gold standard of training in South Africa with all lecturers being qualified to Level 3. We have now also started offering an NDT Consultancy service, such as Level 3 supervision during shutdowns.
Our Practical Welding school utilises the latest simulation welding equipment that combines virtual reality with live welding for training and testing of welders. This has the potential to save our client’s money by minimising training time, reducing consumable costs and ensuring the best quality welders.
Our Welding Technology department offers the renowned SAIW Level 1 and Level 2 Inspectors Course, while our new Robotic Welding Course brings the Fourth Industrial Revolution to the world of welding training.
We also have a fully equipped ISO 17025 certified materials testing laboratory and metallurgical consulting service that offers professional advice at a competitive price.
Going forward, our main focus has been on improving the quality of our customer service from reception, to lecturing, consulting and auditing. Although there is a lot of work still to be done, I am pleased to report that in our latest survey, SAIW Certification achieved a Net Promoter Score® of 68 from the ISO 3834 companies they certified, versus a global benchmark of 43, and with customer satisfaction exceeding 95%.
We need to work more closely with industry to make sure our products and services are ‘of the industry, by the industry, for the industry’, to paraphrase Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. We have thus reconstituted the Technology and Training Committee to guide us in our training and technical events such as webinars and seminars.
We are reaching out to all our present and past members as well as our auditing and technical services clients to reconnect and work with us in all welding and related technologies.
Together, we can get through this pandemic, build our businesses and grow the economy.
John Tarboton