The Last Pass: The confusing alphabet soup of welding acronyms

The welding industry commonly uses many acronyms, abbreviations, and slang terms, and that can be frustrating for new students and entry-level welders.

I recently spent 46-plus hours in orientation and training related to an industry I know very little about. I was apprehensive about the training at first but excited to be learning something new to expand my knowledge base.

The beginning of this training included the typical expected formalities: introductions, paperwork, the referencing of locations and offices I was unfamiliar with.

I soon was overwhelmed with abbreviations, acronyms, and slang terms that I had no reference for and didn’t understand. As I sat through the next six days of training, this issue continued to rear its ugly head much to my growing frustration. I could have remedied the problem with cell phone access, but that wasn’t an option during training. I was completely burned out by instructors showing slide after slide filled with unfamiliar acronyms and slang terms as though the attendees already knew them.

One evening after a long day of classes, my phone rang, and soon I was neck deep in deciphering a welding-related problem. It was during this conversation that my metaphorical light bulb turned on. It dawned on me how ingrained each industry is with a tremendous number of abbreviations, acronyms, and slang terms, and welding is no different.

The phone conversation was filled with a slew of WPSs, PQRs, GTAWs, GMAWs, SMAWs, and CWIs. For me, these are common, everyday terms to know and be comfortable with—but they can be overwhelmingly daunting for a new person in the industry. Add to this mix the mass confusion caused by the terms certification and qualification and you have the perfect storm for misunderstandings and frustration.

At this point, you might ask, “With all the technology at our fingertips, why is this even a point of frustration? Just look it up.” But when was the last time you were able to keep up with a conversation filled with foreign acronyms and slang terms while using a device to look up the ones you didn’t know? How often do students, new hires, or new office staff stop us mid-sentence to ask for clarification of a technical term or abbreviation? I know that in my recent training experience, I missed important information while trying to figure out what the instructors were talking about. And the pace of the presentations left few opportunities to stop the speakers and ask for clarification.

Personally, I once again found a spot to improve how I deliver information to my students. Instead of acronyms, I will work on using the actual words when talking with those who are trying to learn, clarify a need, or just understand what exactly these terms are that welders use. I hope I can help those working their way into the industry understand the importance of the hierarchy of a paper trail, how and when to use correct terminology, or why we might need a WPS—I mean, a welding procedure specification—for a specific weld.