This article focuses on six essential facts about welding in the construction industry. Welding is essential in the construction industry because of its astonishing achievements of beauty and durability. Such is because a massive collection of infrastructure, like big houses, pipelines, refineries, artifacts, bridges, etc., uses welding.
Hence, it is essential to pay attention to the facts below.
Table of Contents
Massive Development Within the Building Construction Industry
Building construction mainly utilizes welding to create structural frameworks from different metal segments.
Welding helps connect:
- The roof
- The floors of a building
- Steel I-beams
- Trusses
- Footers
- Columns
- Supporting the walls, etc.
Such components are cut to shape and size, thrust into the position, and welded together.
In the US, the construction industry uses about 50 million tons of steel. At the same time, the building of residential and commercial houses consumes about 60% of the steel made worldwide. Such structures are essential to a vibrant economy and help local districts.
Thus, welding in the construction industry has caused a lot of growth over the years.
Construction Of Some Landmark Infrastructure
Many great minds have constructed numerous incredible landmarks with welding.
Gateway Arch
The creators made the Gateway Arch in Saint Louis with MIG and Spot welding.
Yankee Stadium
The new Yankee Stadium is one of the most expensive sports arenas ever built. More than 53,000 baseball lovers can assemble to watch games inside this massive structure.
Designers of the stadium incorporated elements from its prototype to please Yankee fans. The white frieze surrounding the roof, consisting of zinc-coated steel sections, is one such. Welders assembled these sections.
The frieze delivers structural reinforcement for the upper decks and stadium lights. Hence, steel beams do not block fans’ views of the field below.
Grand Canyon Skywalk
Another unique structure is the Grand Canyon Skywalk. Welders used over one million pounds of steel to construct and utilize a submerged arc welding technique.
The skywalk can hold up to 70 million pounds and sustain a magnitude 8.0 earthquake.
Liberty Ships
During the second world war, the US wanted to quickly build inexpensive ships for cargo transportation.
The US military tailored a British design to develop Liberty ships. The ships lacked aesthetic beauty and even earned insulting nicknames like “Ugly Duckling,” but they fulfilled their mission and helped move goods safely from the USA to Europe.
Over 2,700 Liberty ships were produced during the war. A team could convene an entire Liberty ship in about 40 days once the process was simplified. The secret to the rapid construction was submerged arc welding. Previously similar ship models mainly used rivets, which took longer to assemble.
Essential Skills Required From A Construction Welder
Besides welding skills, construction welders must also have the following skills:
- Manual dexterity
- Maths and problem-solving skills
- Love a job involving travel
- Attention to details
- Interest in science and technology
- Hand-eye coordination
- Physical strength and stamina
Some Problems Construction Welders Face
Here are some of the problems faced by construction welders:
Welding Defect
The violence of WPS (Welding Procedure Specification) parameters is the primary cause of welding defects.
Fronius machines have several parameter locking functions based on the industry requirement. Such is effective in preventing defects.
Using The Best Welding Parameters
Selecting the proper parameter is a time-consuming process. Yet, the industry needs competent welders who can flawlessly join two metals.
The Fronius GMAW machine is one of the best solutions. They are synergic machines, which implies that you have to lend some primary inputs to the machine. Input such as wire diameter, gas composition, wire grade, and thickness of base material.
The machine can then automatically set the proper parameter based on the application demanded.
Welder Safety
Welder safety is one of the biggest challenges welders must address to avoid problems that may arise.
Putting on safety gear like welding helmets, goggles, gloves, and other fire-resistant PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) of the best quality will help reduce the risk.
Weight of Welder
Conveyance of welders is usually challenging due to their heavy weight.
Yet, the newest welding machines are very lightweight, and the output quality is advanced compared to transformers due to technological improvements in power electronics.
Important Positions In Construction Welding
Below are some vital positions in construction welding:
- Structural Joining Expert
- Welding Foreman
- Joining Experts
- Welding Supervisor
- Welding Fabricators
- Pipe and Tube Joining Expert
- Welding Engineer
- Welding Inspector
- Quality Engineer
Growth of Welding Within the Constitution Industry
According to the Executive Director & CEO of the American Welding Society, the United States alone may be confronting a deficit of over 400,000 welding professionals in 2025.
One of the good things about construction welding is how often it is utilized. For instance, more than 144,000 vehicles cross the Brooklyn Bridge daily, making it the second busiest in all of NYC.
Structures like the Brooklyn Bridge allow everyone to explore their environment, examine structural masterpieces, and perfect daily tasks such as driving to work in the most accessible form.
Thus, there is a strong request and continued growth in the industry. And so, if you’ve selected this path, you will be happy with the opportunities before you as you grow in this profession.
Conclusion
In summary, the construction industry involves building residential structures and many other extensive infrastructures and industrial structures.
Welding in construction is a critical part of the industry as it uses many metals to clench the structures intact.
