Winning Business: The Glencore GCAA Welder Qualification Scheme Case Study

Welder certification is a crucial component to ensuring your business and team are in the best position to secure future work.

As we emerge into the new normal, your welder’s capability to create welds to what the market is requiring is paramount.

In this session, using the Glencore model –The Glencore GCAA Welder Qualification Scheme, you will get insight into what is being required and what will set you up for success in securing future work.

Also, the session will use case studies to illustrate the value and on why Glencore have implemented the scheme. 

PRESENTER - GARRY HORNER 

Garry Horner worked in the coal industry all his life from the CSIRO in the early days, The Electricity Commission of NSW (EC of NSW), Shell Service and Shell corporate in my midlife and now working for Glencore Coal Assets Australia in their Corporate Engineering as the Groups Reliability Engineer.

During his time with the CSISO, he completed a fitting and machining certificate, Mechanical engineering certificate and Chemistry certificate. At the CSIRO he was involved in the feasibility of producing synthetic crude oil from coal, hydrogenation of coal into crude oil and assisted in the development of a pilot plant, again, burning coal to produce crude oil. All were very successful in the late 80’s during the countries fuel crisis.

EC of NSW observed Garry in the plant testing division of the generation group. He was performing balancing of FD and ID fans through to 660MW turbine and thermodynamically testing up to 660 MW coal fired boilers. During this time he headed up a Condition Monitoring group, performing CM techniques in a number of underground coal mines in NSW. 

Garry’s work with Shell services and Shell corporate was in their reliability area. With Shell corporate he was involved in the development of a CM process to monitor frequently reversing vibration signatures (FRVA) on shovels and draglines in Queensland.

In 2006, he joined Glencore at West Wallsend underground colliery. The position was Reliability engineer, for a short time, he was then the conveyor engineer and finally Engineering manager. Shortly after that I was asked to join Glencore’s corporate engineering group as their Group Reliability Engineer – Condition Monitoring and Failure Analysis.

This involved the development of CM Guidelines and technical references as well as technical references for procurement along with being the technical lead for diesel fuel, global lead for lubricants amongst other things.

The group started to see a number of weld repairs on our major open cut assets failing after a short period of time after the asset was returned to service. With the assistance of MC Quality and Weld Australia, I developed a GCAA Welder Competency training program for our full time boiler makers and third party repairers coming onto our sites to perform these weld repairs. Now, this training program is distributed to a large number of offsite repairer’s and OEM’s and other coal companies. We are now starting to see extended life from our assets after they have been repaired and new assets coming onto site.