Join the Resistance!

Recently, Don DeCorte was interviewed by Welding Productivity to talk about the resistance welding industry, the RWMA, and the CRWT.  The RWMA is the Resistance Welding Manufacturers Alliance and is a subcommittee of the AWS (American Welding Society). RoMan has been a member since 1980 and this year Don will be the Chair of the organization.  The RWMA has been working on an exciting project for the past 3 years—

the Certified Resistance Welding Technician, or CRWT.  Several people from RoMan have been involved in the process of making this certification a reality.

An excerpt from the article explains the new certification:

For more than 40 years, the RWMA has offered an intensive 1.5-day Resistance Welding School that covers all aspects of resistance welding. Their Fall Resistance Welding School will be held from Nov. 11-14 at McCormick Place in Chicago. More information, including the method for registration, is available online.

Also available through AWS is an online course titled Welding Fundamentals II that focuses on the science, equipment, consumables, variables, safety precautions, and advantages and disadvantages inherent to resistance welding, plasma arc welding, electron beam welding, laser beam welding, cutting and drilling. More information is available on the AWS website. AWS and RWMA are also pleased to introduce a new certification (and the first in resistance welding), the Certified  Resistance Welding Technician (CRWT) certification, which will be offered in late 2019. This certification is targeted for skilled tradesmen, technicians and engineers that work with resistance welding in their daily jobs and want a deeper understanding of the process.

“Until now, the only real measuring stick for employers to gauge an individual’s knowledge of the resistance welding process was to ask if they had taken the RWMA welding course,” DeCorte explains. “Starting later this year, the addition of the CRWT and the fact that it will be managed and maintained in the same way that all AWS certifications are managed will allow employers to know before they hire someone that they have a specific working knowledge of the process. This is win/win for both employer and employee.”

Candidates who pass the CRWT exam will have demonstrated that they have the knowledge and skills to operate resistance welding machinery, perform weld quality checks and manufacture consistent products. Those who earn the CRWT credential may have more opportunities for career advancement and higher income. “When companies are seeking high-quality individuals in the arc welding industry, they recognize the value of the AWS CWI certification and are willing to pay individuals more when they have it,” DeCorte says. “With the CRWT, the resistance welding industry will have a recognized certification that employers can use as a benchmark when hiring new operators, technicians and engineers. The RWMA school along with the addition of the CRWT certification will assure individuals have knowledge of machines, setup, testing and quality processes, all of which are directly related to resistance welding.”