Selecting Orbital Welding Training: Tips on Finding the Right Program in Northern California

Orbital welding is the most efficient method for operators—compared to manual TIG welding—to achieve consistent weld quality for critical systems, especially when working with a limited workspace. Amongst other industries, the frequency of such critical weld systems is more common in refineries. To keep up with the rising demand for sophisticated production requirements, it has become imperative to add skilled orbital welders to the team. However, with the passage of time, orbital welding equipment has evolved to be more complicated than manual TIG setup. A simple orbital welding job can go wrong in a thousand different ways unless your operators have received orbital welding training and tips from experts. 

Training to develop advanced orbital welding skills can help your employees achieve weld consistency and reliability. However, the real challenge is to find the right partner to meet training goals with ease. Let’s have a look at some of the essential elements within an orbital welding training program to help you make the right choice. 

Orbital Welding Training: Tips on Selecting an Ideal Training Partner 

Make sure your training partner stands tall on the following requirements. 

Certified and Experienced Instructors

Training under learned industry experts always pays off. They use their field experience with technicians, operators, mechanics, and engineers to better train your associates. If they are trained by a reputable supplier, that’s an added bonus. However, when it comes to orbital welding, apart from experience, certification by a trustworthy organization also matters. It helps experts build elevated knowledge that transfers into skills in the field. 

Continuous Learning…Even After Training Is Complete

Learning doesn’t stop once training is over. It’s a continuous process. Your employees will learn through different stages of orbital welding, periodically encountering challenges. A partner that provides ongoing learning and support—even after training ends—would help overcome these challenges. Periodic sessions or weekly meetings with instructors post-training can help employees clear doubts and excite them to dive deeper. 

Hands-on Practical Activities 

A hands-on approach is a powerful way to help trainees learn, apply, and practice their new orbital welding skills in a safe environment. Trainees tend to soak in more knowledge when they take an active role in the learning than typically listening to lectures and forgetting. For instance, lectures don’t guarantee that trainees will have the knowledge retention to troubleshoot an unstable arc. But, having them participate in learning experiences similar to an actual situation can help them have a better understanding of how to identify the root cause.  

Typically, an ideal training program must devote 30% of the course time to practical application. To ensure even better knowledge transfer, the instructor should utilize every opportunity to spend one-to-one time with each employee during the course. 

Preferably an Equipment Manufacturer

Orbital welding training under local equipment manufacturers can benefit your employees in more ways than one. First, it will save you time and costs associated with employees' lodging, boarding, and other arrangements necessary for a distant training center. Second, manufacturers who conduct the training can better advise on how to overcome hidden challenges that their products may present. Third, your employees can rely on a quick response from a local trainer in case of any operational emergency arises. 

Choose the Swagelok M200 Orbital Weld System Training Course

Swagelok is a well-known brand in the fluid industry, designing high-quality fluid system products since 1947. As a responsible manufacturer, Swagelok offers a five-day intense, customized orbital welding (GTAW) course that aims to create a pool of skilled welders to benefit Northern California refineries. The course teaches how to acquire precision and consistency in orbital welding using the Swagelok® M200 welding system. 

The course is run by veteran instructors qualified at an Inspector (CWI) or an Educator (CWE) level with the industry expertise of more than five years. They combine traditional classroom teachings with hands-on field experiences to help trainees clear fundamental gaps with ease. The program also offers training to guide your operators long after the training ends. Our training program helps Northern California refineries save time and resources and achieve improved employee morale at the same time. With customized course content and certified experienced instructors, your employees get to know all critical aspects of orbital welding that skilled welders learn from years of experience.

To find out more about how Swagelok Northern California can be your ideal partner for offering bespoke orbital welding training and tips for your employees, contact our team today by calling 510-933-6200.

About Malik Durojaiye | Field Engineer, Assembly Services

Malik Durojaiye began his Swagelok career in 2019 as a Custom Solutions Engineer in our Assembly Services group. Prior to Swagelok, Malik developed as a design engineer as well as a manufacturing engineer for 6 years serving Kentucky and California with Altec Industries; a leading provider of products and services to the electric utility, telecommunications, tree care, lights and signs, and contractor markets.