DVS expert committee at ABICOR BINZEL

Occupational safety and environmental protection in welding technology are becoming increasingly important. The DVS (= German Welding Society) expert committee for this topic meets twice a year and discusses current activities and developments in this field. After two years with only online meetings, the working group came together at ABICOR BINZEL and was able to experience the new developments in action and hands-on.

The participants of the DVS expert committee for occupational safety and environmental protection in welding technology, chaired by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Emil Schubert – CTO at ABICOR BINZEL – come from very different business areas and form a diverse body. Welding companies, equipment manufacturers and gas manufacturers are represented as are research institutes, trade associations and statutory accident insurance. They all have a common goal: to ensure and improve occupational safety and environmental protection in their own operations.

Diverse tasks for research, industry and authorities

What exactly is the task of a technical committee for occupational safety and environmental protection in welding technology? The tasks are varied:

Research institutes determine the needs of industry and present their project outlines, which are then evaluated, discussed and recommended for elaboration. This is followed by an application from the institutes, which in positive cases is approved and funded in research projects. Interim reports of this research are presented in the joint committee and transferred to application-oriented research in an industrial working group.

Another division of this technical committee draws leaflets for example for the proper operation of welding workshops. In addition, standards in the field of welding technology are discussed, actively shaped and reported on in order to keep all committee members informed about necessary revisions and new publications of standards. This working committee also takes a professional position within legal regulations and the corresponding amendments.

Positive developments at ABICOR BINZEL

During the committee's visit to the headquarters, a number of things were shown during a presentation of the current new product developments at ABICOR BINZEL: the new extraction torch line xFUME^®, but also the "clean" welding cell with the potential of measuring and influencing the CO₂ footprint in welding cells. Prof. Dr. Emil Schubert: “Our new developments, which we partly are already selling worldwide, generated great interest. In fact, one can almost say that they sparked enthusiasm about what has happened at ABICOR BINZEL in the past two years in terms of occupational safety and environmental protection. A key element in manual welding is the constant optimisation of the extraction torch design in order to make it as easy to handle as a standard torch.”

This exchange at expert level with proven specialists is important for everyone involved, because they have a common goal: Heading in the same direction together as an industry with safe and healthy workplaces in welding technology!