7 Benefits to Exploit with Professional Membership of ICorr

7 Benefits to Exploit with Professional Membership of ICorr

Boosting Your Career Credentials

In the connected, social media world in which we live, some professionals question whether membership of an organisation is still as relevant as it was, say, 20 years ago. Now you are only a Facebook message away from your peers. You can interact with likeminded people in groups such as the Institute of Corrosion on LinkedIn.

However, even in our globally connected society, professional membership of the Institute of Corrosion provides powerful benefits that are not available otherwise. Here are a few of these benefits.

1.      Improves your personal branding

Membership of the Institute of Corrosion is viewed highly positively by employers. It demonstrates that you are committed to your profession and to remaining current. Membership credentials add gravitas to your CV.

2.      Opens exciting CPD opportunities to you

There is no doubt that Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is critical to your career. Through membership of the Institute of Corrosion, you’ll be kept informed of all the training and professional qualifications that we offer through our partners.

You’ll also benefit from greater access to ICorr technical events, workshops, working days, and other events that we provide or sponsor through the year.

3.      Networking opportunities for you

As a professional and modern organisation, we recognise the importance of social media. We’re boosting our presence across LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and other social media, making it easier for you to stay connected with us and our membership. (We already have almost 2,300 members on our LinkedIn group – why not join?)

However, the real networking advantage of membership of the Institute is the potential it provides for you to connect with professionals closer to you. By attending ICorr events, you will help to unlock the power of building a more personally connected network – you’ll meet people you would not have met otherwise.

4.      Opportunities to improve your professional profile

As you progress through your career and through the different grades of membership of the Institute of Corrosion, you will find that you have opportunities to give back to the profession and simultaneously improve your professional profile.

For example, you might offer your expertise to present at an ICorr event, or perhaps you could submit an article for publication in Corrosion Management, the bi-monthly magazine distributed around the world.

Better still, you could put your name forward to be an officer on your local Branch committee, volunteer to chair a CED Working Group or join the organising committee of an Institute event.

Becoming involved in your profession through your membership of the Institute of Corrosion not only helps to raise your profile in the community, it adds credible authority to your CV too.

5.      Access to the Members Area of our website

As a member of the Institute of Corrosion, you have access to areas of our website that are not available to the general public. This includes access to the magazine archive, minutes from the AGM, meeting notes and technical papers of the Corrosion Engineering Division and free download of EuroCorr conference papers.

The Members Area also includes access to the Engineering Council’s ‘mycareerpath®’ professional development system for you to record your CPD activities.

6.      A route to Chartered Engineer status

Chartered Engineer status offers real tangible benefits such as:

  • Improving your career prospects
  • Improving your earning potential
  • Your competence is internationally recognised
  • You increase your professional network

As a professional member of the Institute of Corrosion, you will be eligible to become a Chartered Engineer (CEng). Should you wish to do so, as part of our commitment to you we have designed an exclusive mentoring programme to help you achieve CEng status.

7.      Individual Recognition

We also sponsor prestigious awards that are recognised across the world, helping to improve visibility of the important work that people within the field do. These cover scientific and engineering achievements on the international stage, as well as outstanding contribution to furthering the objectives of the Institute.

View from our expert

Of the benefits of membership of the Institute of Corrosion, David Horrocks, Chair of the Professional Development & Training Committee (PDTC) says:

“As a professional member and Fellow of ICorr, I feel the Institute has many benefits to offer. The membership grades on offer will not only enhance an individual’s visual status professionally to the outside world, but will also show that prerequisite competence levels have been met to achieve professional status.

“The process of membership – and, indeed, up-grading current membership – is a process made easy by ICorr. There are mentors available for individuals with the aim to enhance their standing professionally within the Institute of Corrosion.

“The members area on our new website and our social media platforms are great tools to broaden your knowledge, ask questions, seek advice, and generally engage with other professional members.

“Membership is not a standalone rubber stamp on an individual: it’s potentially life changing. If combined with enhanced networking opportunities and joining ICorr committees, the potential benefit for individuals and their continuous professional development is immeasurable.”

For more information about membership of the Institute of Corrosion, check out our membership page.

What Happens When Corrosion Control in Infrastructure and Transport Is Ignored?

What Happens When Corrosion Control in Infrastructure and Transport Is Ignored?

The Real Cost of Poor Corrosion Prevention Practices Is Human

The financial cost of corrosion to the global economy is enormous, and estimated to be more than 3% of global GDP. Corrosion control is essential to reducing this cost, and is critical within infrastructure and transport. The economic benefits of longer life of transport and infrastructure assets are clear. Therefore, it is crucial that governments and businesses invest in corrosion control.

However, there is a far bigger reason why the Institute of Corrosion is leading the global corrosion conversation. People’s lives depend upon it.

Catastrophe is the real cost of infrastructure corrosion

Morandi Bridge Corrosion causes collapseIn August 2015, the catastrophic effects of a lack of corrosion management was made abundantly clear in Italy. During a violent storm in Genoa, the Morandi Bridge collapsed. 43 people lost their lives. It is not as if the disaster could not have been foreseen. Its designer Riccardo Morandi warned of the risk of corrosion to the bridge all the way back in 1979. He said:

Sooner or later, maybe in a few years, it will be necessary to resort to a treatment consisting of the removal of all traces of rust on the exposure of the reinforcements, to fill in the patches.

Indeed, of all infrastructure, bridge collapses have been one of the most common examples of the cost of lack of corrosion control. Other notable bridge collapses include the following tragedies:

  • Silver Bridge, on a major highway in the United States, collapsed under the weight of rush hour traffic one afternoon in December 1967. A total of 75 vehicles crashed into the Ohio River. Nine people were seriously injured. 46 people were killed. The cause? Corrosion fatigue of the bridge’s suspension chain.
  • The pedestrian section of the Gokhale Bridge in Mumbai collapsed in July 2019 due to corrosion, killing one person and injuring four others.
  • Preliminary evidence points to corrosion as the cause for the sudden collapse of the Nanfang’ao Bridge in Taiwan. One of only two bifurcated single-arch bridges in the world – and only 20 years old – the 320-ton bridge killed six people when it fell in October 2019.

Inevitably, when corrosion control is ignored or mismanaged on highway bridges, buildings and other infrastructure, that infrastructure is weakened and lives are put at risk.

Corrosion causes tragedy in transport disasters

Corrosion is also a huge financial cost to the transport economy. Components that corrode must be repaired or replaced, and can cause breakdown and costly delays. Massive ships have enabled vast amounts of goods to be transported around the world, but they only last around 30 years before they must be scrapped due to the effects of corrosion.

Once more, though, the financial cost pales into insignificance when compared to the human cost of poor corrosion management. Examples include:

Join the corrosion control conversation

The first of our core values is Trust and Respect. The Institute of Corrosion is an independent professional body, trusted and respected by the public with the goal of reducing the environmental impact of corrosion on our infrastructure.

It is crucial that we encourage the innovation that enables greater sustainability of our infrastructure and transport. Developments in corrosion science, prevention and management should reduce (and, eventually, eliminate) the cost of corrosion to society.

To this end, we have designed this year’s Corrosion Engineering Division (CED) Working Day around corrosion control in transport and infrastructure. Held on 29th April 2020, only five days after Worldwide Corrosion Awareness Day, the original venue could not have been more appropriate – the meeting was to be held at the National Railway Museum, York. However, as you know, world events have overtaken us this year. Consequently, we are now holding the Working Day online.

It remains a fantastic opportunity to network with other professionals from different industry sectors (albeit through cyberspace and not face-to-face) and to learn about some of the latest developments in the field of corrosion control in a variety of transport and infrastructure applications across diverse industries.

This full day event will now be free. We have an excellent group of speakers lined up, including Phillip Watkinson (Corrocoat), Chris Atkins (Mott MacDonald), Steve Paterson (Arbeadie Consultants), Cliff Harris and Clive Harrison (Jacobs), and Pablo Merino (CLH Pipeline Systems). The series of lectures will cover:

  • Fascinating Uses of Heavy Duty Glassflake Coatings in Transport Applications
  • Innovations in Preserving Transport Infrastructure
  • Managing Corrosion in Ageing Offshore Infrastructures
  • Corrosion Monitoring of Dry Fuel Storage Containers in Nuclear Facilities
  • A New CP Approach on Non-Isolated and Aged Pipelines: A Case Study

If you are interested in taking part, please send an email to admin@icorr.org by 24th April. In return we will send you a link to be able to join the meeting. Please also indicate which working group discussion you would like to join in the afternoon.

Prestigious Engineer Training for Young Engineers

Prestigious Engineer Training for Young Engineers

What engineer training is best for young engineers?

Despite the UK government pushing engineering as a career choice in 2018 (the ‘Year of Engineering’), apprenticeship starts fell by 2.5% in engineering and manufacturing technologies between 2017/18 and 2018/19 (House of Commons Library Apprenticeship Statistics). That’s bad news in a sector that is suffering from a skills shortage, and in which it is estimated that 203,000 people with Level 3+ engineering skills will be required each year to 2024 to keep pace with demand.

To combat the skills shortage in UK engineering, it is incumbent on the industry to ensure that young engineers have access to the very best engineer training opportunities. Here at the Institute of Corrosion we are committed to professional development and training, with a particular focus on our early career members.

In this article, you’ll learn more about one of the most prestigious training initiatives for young engineers – the Young Engineer Programme (YEP).

Investing in the future

young engineer training in classroomAt the back end of 2018, IMechE Argyll Ruane noted that ICorr are investing in the future with initiatives that focus on attracting the younger people from our community. It noted the success of Young ICorr, the redevelopment of inspector training, and the new engineer training programmes such as ‘Fundamentals of Corrosion.

The Young Engineer Programme is pivotal in the development of young engineers.

What is the Young Engineer Programme?

Designed for the engineer who has been practicing in industry for a few years but wishes to develop their skills and knowledge more broadly, the Young Engineer Programme is an 11-month programme run every two years.

The 2018 programme reached its climax in November 2018, when teams presented to a judging panel, with the winning team crowned and given its reward – a trip to the NACE Corrosion Conference & Expo 2019.

How could the Young Engineer Programme benefit you?

The Young Engineer Programme provides a threefold process of learning:

  1. Delegates receive a series of lectures from industry experts in a range of subjects. This helps them broaden their own knowledge outside their own specific area of industry.
  2. Delegates then work in ‘project teams’ of four. The objective is to collaborate to discuss a real-world corrosion case study provided by an industry partner and come up with a practical engineering solution.
  3. The teams make a presentation of their findings to a panel of ICorr judges and the winning team gets to attend the NACE Corrosion Conference the following year.

In this way, delegates broaden their knowledge, improve their collaborative and project management skills, and develop their communication skills.

Other benefits of becoming a delegate on the Young Engineer Programme include expansion of your professional network and, of course, a major plus on your CV.

You receive mentoring throughout the Young Engineer Programme

mentoring for young engineersWith the group of young engineers split into teams of four, each team is assigned a dedicated mentor. It is the mentor’s job to ensure that their team stays on track and works as a team. The mentor will make sure that the team answers the questions raised by the case study.

As a delegate, you and your team will meet face-to-face with your mentor during the May to November period of the programme. You’ll also meet with your mentor on Skype, and the mentor can ask the author of the case study any questions that your team may have.

What do delegates say about engineer training during the Young Engineer Programme?

Word gets out when engineer training does what it says on the tin – and then some. Responses from 2018 delegates included:

This programme has altered the way I think about my work and how I carry it out.

I hadn’t realised the value of ICorr and I will go back to work on Monday and encourage them to engage.

A senior engineer in the ICorr fraternity said:

This is probably the most important function in the UK Corrosion calendar, it’s truly fantastic.

How do you join the Young Engineer Programme?

The Young Engineer Programme runs every two years. We open the programme to applicants in the September of the year before the programme starts and email our entire membership about the programme prior to this. We also send personal emails to the engineering community.

The programme has exploded in popularity. In 2018, there were 12 delegates in three teams of four who presented their findings on the case study. The current crop numbers eight teams of four. We expect programme applicant numbers to increase further next time round.

To ensure you learn of the next Young Engineer Programme at the earliest opportunity, we recommend that you become a member of the Institute of Corrosion. There are several grades of membership.

The Young Engineer Programme – a summary

As a ‘cradle to grave’ organisation, we support our members with engineer training throughout their career, from apprenticeship to Chartered Engineer status. Young ICorr (aimed at young professionals aged 35 and under) has an expanding membership base, supported by ICorr initiatives such as our free student membership.

The Young Engineer Programme is an invaluable addition to our training initiatives, helping you to expand your knowledge and network, improve your competencies and capabilities, and add prestigious training and development experience to your CV.

To learn more about the Young Engineer Programme, visit our YEP pages or email the Institute of Corrosion at admin@icorr.org.

Winner of the Photo Competition

Winner of the Photo Competition

As has already been announced, the Institute has a new image and this will involve rebranding of the website, stationery, documentation and marketing material, and of course this magazine.  To help with this new image, the Institute launched a photo competition to find images that are people-focused and celebrate the people that make ICorr, or capture a wide range of activities, such as people networking, working on-site, people in labs, people inspecting, or people achieving accreditations and awards, rather than tired-looking images of rusty components previously used. The designers were looking for uplifting photos of pristine, gleaming infrastructure to emphasise that our members get things right!

The winning photo of an under-deck inspection on an offshore wind turbine jacket, picked by a panel of ICorr judges, was submitted by Simon Dunn, Dangle Ltd, and is featured on the cover of this issue of the magazine.  It will also feature on the landing page backdrop of the rebranded website.

ICATS Latest News

ICATS Latest News

Mr Steve Barke, the Managing Director of CORREX (which manages the ICATS programme), retired in December 2019 after several years at the helm. Steve took up the reigns at CORREX during a time of change and created much needed stability and new enthusiasm during this most important phase of ICATS.   Kevin Harold, was appointed as the new MD effective from 1st January 2020, and Steve will remain on the CORREX board and continue to help during 2020.

Towards the end of 2019, meetings were held between CORREX, IMechE and Hodge Clemco, which culminated in the creation of a new ICATS ‘Approved Training Centre’ in Sheffield. The ICATS courses will be delivered in Sheffield starting early 2020, with the theoretical aspects being taught at IMechE and the practical aspects of the courses held two miles down the road at the equally superb facilities of Hodge Clemco.

I think you will agree as a collaboration this has the ‘hallmark’ of quality written all over it.

ICATS Apprenticeship Update

The new Industrial Coatings Apprenticeship scheme started at the beginning of 2019 with CORREX (ICorr) providing the technical information, DN Colleges supplying the mandatory apprentice information and Jack Tighe would deliver the whole package. This was the first Industrial Coating Apprenticeship ever (in the UK).

Training continued throughout 2019, with a second wave of students started training during the summer of 2019.  The first students will complete their apprentice training in May/June of 2020 and our industry will have the first ever qualified, industrial coating applicators apprentices.

Corrosion and Protective Coatings Management, CPCM course

The CPCM course (previously the ‘managers course’) was launched in 2019. It was created for managers and engineers or anyone involved in management of protective coating applications, but who didn’t have the best understanding of what the Industrial Coating Applicator, ICA, was really doing. The one-day course takes attendees on a journey of the ICA and includes, H&S, preparation techniques, ISO standards, paint technology and paint faults. The course has been presented a number of times during 2019, and in fact has proved so popular that it is soon to be mandated for all trainees and apprentices at the Sellafield Nuclear Facility, thereby bridging the gap between management and applicators.  By the time this issue goes to print the latest course would have been delivered, exciting times.

The ICATS Family

ICATS continues to grow in the UK, with new companies joining, new trainers teaching, many more safe applicators on our projects, plus three new approved training centres in 2019.

ICATS has some representation overseas, but the family is about to grow with our delivery partner, IMechE, who have global distribution of many courses that includes Painting Inspection and NDT testing. IMechE will be expanding the ICATS family on a global basis during 2020 under the direction of Director Mr Chris Kirby and his team in Sheffield.

Dates for your diary

For those requiring a company trainer certification, the next ICATS Company Trainer Course will be held on 31st March – 1st April at Corrosion House, Northampton. This course teaches presentation skills, tests knowledge and demonstration of the ICATS ICA, Industrial Coating Applicator course and the ICATS Sprayer and Blaster specialist modules.

The next Supervisor course is on the 25th and 26th of February at Corrosion House. The supervisor course is now mandated in many places/industries including Highways.

Finally, the next Corrosion and Protective Coatings Management course (CPCM) is on the 2nd of April, also at Corrosion House.

Up-to date course information can be found at www.icats-training.org/