Monday was a busy day for seniors in the DCMO BOCES Welding program at the Alan D. Pole Campus– it was evaluation day for their senior projects, and The Raymond Corporation was on hand to provide expert and specialized testing and evaluation.
“Raymond Corporation will be with us at BOCES to pressure test and score the welding class senior projects,” according to Jann Aarismaa, Welding Instructor at the Norwich campus. “In the morning, they will evaluate blueprint layout and weld quality. In the afternoon they will have their testing machine to pressurize the fabrications.” According to Aarismaa, the senior project is a standardized welding competition used by Raymond Corporation and Toyota. “It embodies two major elements that a graduating senior would be expected to deliver when they enter the workforce in the field of welding: the ability to layout and build according to a blueprint, and utilize a standard work procedure while welding to code,” he said. “The beauty of the project is that all the seniors are fabricating and welding the same assignment, so they’re showcasing their skills and abilities on a level playing field.”
The project is scored in two parts: 50% is weld quality and blueprint accuracy, and 50% is the pressure that the project can withstand under hydrostatic testing. On Monday afternoon, Raymond Corporation employees D.J. Micha, Jim Clapper and Nathan Dunham loaded each senior’s welded project one by one into their testing machine to check how well the welds held under pressure, and then assigned a score. In the Toyota competition, “a good score can lead to the first prize winner competing in Tokyo, Japan,” as just happened a few months ago for Aarismaa’s former student and current Raymond Corporation welder Jordan Taft. “For my students, instead, they will have a representative from Fastenal Company, Scott Carlson, who is providing prizes to all the students.”
There is high demand for qualified welders, and the 17 students graduating from the DCMO BOCES Welding program at Pole Campus are well-positioned to enter the trade. “Five students have been confirmed to have jobs with Raymond Corporation, and two others will be working full time for Clifford Welding and Whites Welding,” according to Aarismaa. “Three or four are going on to college to pursue further education, and the rest are expecting to enter the workforce in some capacity after graduation.”
Aarismaa appreciates the support the industry provides to the welding program, including for this senior project. “Thanks goes to Raymond Corporation for providing the steel for the senior project, as well as their time to score and test them. A special thanks to Fastenal for donating graduation prizes for all the students, which included tools of the trade, so that they can get a good start on their future."
Photo Caption: Raymond Corporation employee D. J. Micha operates a hydrostatic testing machine as he evaluates a DCMO BOCES student’s senior project. Looking on are Scott Carlson from Fastenal, student Michael Blenis, Jim Clapper from Raymond Corporation, Nathan Dunham from Raymond Corporation, and student Justin Chesebro, Jr.