HABITS, ATTITUDES AND ART

By André A. Odermatt

A habit is an established custom, repeatedly doing the same thing under the same conditions and always in the same way.  There are good habits and bad habits. We start to acquire habits in the cradle, through our social environment, inherited characteristics, speech and more.    When we hear the word “habit” often times bad habits come to mind.  After having developed enough muscle memory, (World of Welding, Spring 2005, page 12) reactions and responses to events come automatically without thinking.  As we go through life, more and more of our actions become part of our muscle memory or subconscious mind and are performed automatically.

At one point in my career, I was responsible for a manufacturing operation producing welding wires. We preferred to hire people who had never seen a wire drawing machine and who had never drawn wire.  Why? Because we wanted to train the new employees and instill the exact habits required to make good quality wire consistently and promptly.  We did not want to employ people who already had developed (perhaps bad) habits about wire drawing.  Whilst I recognize that “old habits” can be changed and new habits can be developed, there is a huge problem to overcome based on our attitudes. Over two thousand years ago, the Chinese philosopher Confucius said:  “Habits take us where we were yesterday and our attitudes keep us there”

Attitudes and habits are part of the “human system”.  If one is changed it influences the other.  The famous inventor and industrialist Charles Kettering once said:  “The only difference between a man being obsolete at 35 or a pioneer at 70 lies in his ability to change his attitude.”

Thousands of consulting firms are dealing with the management of change which, in business, has become a process and is no longer an event like in the past, when changing from one technology to another, or from one organizational structure to another, was a big step!  I surf the Internet almost every day, something I did not dream of just a few years ago. The word “change” has over 46 million hits, “attitude” over 16 million and “habit” over 7 million!  It seems to be a subject of keen interest nowadays!

Now, what has all this to do with welding? Let’s examine two groups of people who both would like to become masters in the art of welding. The first group is the young people who have never welded or have welded only for a short time in high school or at a vocational school. The most important traits we are looking for in young people to become HIWT certified welders are a positive attitude towards safety instructions, use of time, care of equipment, use of materials, attendance and being on time, promptness in completing assignments and cooperation with instructors and students. With a positive attitude towards these key factors our instructors will be able to train the young people to pass all tests with flying colors and to instill habits that make them the great welders of the future!

The second group of people is those already experienced in welding. They all have developed their own welding habits through years of practice.  Perhaps some of these may be bad habits that are a result of improper learning techniques early in their career.  Weld quality problems and high rejection rates may well be caused by welders that have acquired bad habits with regard to welding practice. 

At HIWT, we believe there is no such thing as a perfect weld and one of our slogans is “Striving for the Perfect Weld”. We expect a good welder to have a positive attitude to strive forever for a better weld. I am not talking about passing or not passing a test, because passing a test is, in my opinion, a prerequisite for carrying the prestigious name “Welder”. I am talking about reducing variability in bead appearance by adjusting those process variables controlled by the welder through habit, without thinking. Great musicians are always trying to improve their performance. A great pianist must develop a habit in playing each piece of music since he has no time to think before playing the next note. This is done through practice.  A great welder must be able to perform with different processes and in different positions habitually. He will be able to do this through practice and striving forever for the perfect weld. It takes the right attitude and good habits to do this. And this is what makes welding an art!