Q&A with Welding Engineer, Craig Thompson
Craig Smith is currently working at Sulzer Flow Equipment. He recently took the European/International Welding Technologist course with us at TWI Cambridge.
We spoke to Craig about his experience of the training and how he feels it is going to help him advance his career.
Diving into the conversation, Craig explained that his current role as a Welding Engineer for his company is split into 3 parts. He explained that he reviews and approves the suppliers and that his role is to ensure that the company maintains a constant level of quality from them; making sure they understand the requirements of the projects being worked on. In addition to working with current suppliers, Craig audits and approves new suppliers, ensuring that they are up to the level required.
Adding to his roles and responsibilities, Craig coordinates the welding activities within his company, ensuring that production have the correct weld procedures for the jobs they are working on and that any new procedures are qualified. He also reviews non-conformances and looks for opportunities to improve the systems that the company already has in place. In addition, he manages the welder prolongation and ensures that the welders are fully qualified for the work they are carrying out. Furthermore, he carries out reviews and approval of customer facing documentation as well as reviewing customer specifications, part of this includes attending meetings, both in person and through conference calls, as well as reviewing customer comments to keep improving the service provided.
Answering the question about how he thinks about his work and life, Craig said, “My company is a great place to work. The work I do involves a lot of problem solving and decision making, which fits well with the type of person I am. Although it can be difficult managing workloads and other responsibilities, I like the challenge. In previous roles, where the work had been easier, I was constantly looking for new challenges and now my current role allows me to use the knowledge and experience I have gained throughout the years to solve these complex problems.”
Craig also pointed out that, with a young family at home, his work/life balance is the key. He said, “I manage my time wisely and tend to arrive at work early to allow me to finish early. This allows me to spend more time at home with my family.” His employer, being accommodating, also gives him days to work from home when needed.
Talking about his experiences, Craig said that he recently took the welding technologist diploma and achieved the European/International Welding Technologist qualification from TWI. And, for next year, he has arranged to come back to study the Engineering Level of the course.
In the past, Craig also took CSWIP welding Inspection courses (3.0, 3.1 and 3.2.1) at TWI.
Talking about his experience of training at TWI, he said, “Every course I have attended throughout my time in welding and fabrication has been taught in a way suitable for the people attending the course. The lecturers have also been very knowledgeable about the areas they are teaching and have been more than happy to explain the principles of what they are teaching in a way that people will understand.”
Craig has been a responsible welding coordinator since 2015, during which time he has continually gained experience and carried out other training and qualifications such as a bachelor’s degree in Materials Engineering and the CSWIP Senior Welding Inspector course.
On being asked how the course that he took with TWI went, he revealed that it started out pretty straightforward, but he quickly found challenges to his knowledge, which helped with his growth as the lecturers helped ensure that he was kept on the right track.
“The lecturers were very helpful and shared their knowledge and quirks to aide in ways to remember key information,” Craig noted, “Everything required was discussed and there was enough information given to ensure people were not overloaded by information they did not need.”
He went on to say that, “Overall, I had a positive experience and the subject was exactly what I expected. Although there were a few challenges, there was enough information passed through the lecturers for me to pass the course successfully.”
Craig intends to come back to study and take the Engineer Level of the International Welding Engineer Diploma course next year. He urged everyone who is planning on developing their expertise to look to TWI, saying that, “TWI has great lecturers and a great understanding of the courses I took,” adding, “whilst not easy, the courses are worthwhile and you will gain a lot from them.”