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SkillsUSA Receives Superior Ratings
Welding Technology students involved in the SkillsUSA program of Alpine High School maintained a winning and superior tradition in Corpus Christi March 25-27.
There were only two projects that had advanced from the district meet in Midland in February with Josh Criddle also placing second in the district weld off advancing him to compete at the State meet in Corpus Christi in technical information.
Josh exhibited his large propane grill with cabinets in Corpus and won an impressive 99 points to receive a near perfect score and stand in the top tier of superior ratings in the state. Judges expressed high comments on the quality and workmanship of Josh’s layout, design and his welds using the GMAW process.
The country club bridge, as large a project as it was had 16 SkillsUSA students working on the first half of the bridge. The second half, scheduled for completion by the middle of April has several other students in welding technology chipping in to finish the job. At Corpus the bridge also won an impressive 95 points out of 100, scoring high marks on originality, quality of design and welds which several of the judges commented would be difficult welds in the welding industry. Saul Ordonez and Emilio Lopez are two of the lead welders that have exhibited strong abilities and hard work.
Those judging the welding projects at State SkillsUSA are welding engineers, Certified Welding Inspectors, and welders from the industry in the Corpus Christi area.
The work of the students this year, Josh with his grill and it’s functionality and the country club bridge, demonstrate to these students what they can achieve when they set their mind to it and they will remember that hard work pays off for a long time to come.
One thing that is very important to know is that with 16 students working on the bridge, not all could attend the conference because of other commitments but even though they were unable to attend each student was able to receive the same state recognition as those that did for their work on the bridge.
These projects are jobs that have been done with their hands and their minds and the students along with the whole community has something to take great pride in.
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A Bridge to the Future
Alpine High School’s Welding Technology classes are fabricating an arched bridge to span Alpine Creek for the country club. The bridge is almost 64’ long, and when the two halves of the bridge are connected, the bridge takes up the entire length of the shop. It is being built out of 4” pipe, 4” channel iron and angle iron. It is the most massive project the welding technology class has ever attempted.
When approached about building the bridge, Ray Bullock, welding instructor at AHS could not say no. “At times that has been one of my downfalls,” he said. “Fortunately with some good hands working on it, some phenomenal welders, and great cooperation with the country club, this project is turning out to be a lot of fun. Many people think that we should not even be working pipe in a small High School welding shop like this, but working pipe presents the students with some of the best training in the welding industry they can get. Pipe layout and design and the weld out present challenges to the student that exponentially improve their performance in welding. Obviously, the bridge will be used for a long time at the country club, but as far as the SkillsUSA competition is concerned we hope to be able to take one half of the bridge on a trailer to exhibit as a project. Students in the SkillsUSA class are working on this project while others are working on their own projects and practicing for Skills competition coming up February 19th and 20th for district at Midland College and March 24-27 for State Skills in Corpus Christi.”
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Candice Tijerina looks on as Alfredo Armendariz (left), Fightin’ Buck # 8 is working on his 5G practice. Welding uphill after welding his GTAW root pass Alfredo is using 7018 in the uphill weld progression. Emilio Lopez (right), Fightin’ Buck # 10 is working on another 5G uphill weld using the GTAW process to make his root pass on ½” wall thickness v-groove.
Hand and eye coordination is essential in this process as it requires your foot to be on a remote control controlling the heat input, while one hand guides the filler metal and the other hand controls the GTAW torch. In this weld Emilio is using a technique called “rocking the cup” which simply means he constantly has to rock the torch angle from side to side while moving forward and feeding the filler metal into the weld pool. Agility in the shop and catching passes on the football field, these young men are talented no doubt. Mr. Bullock states, “I like having him in class because Emilio is about my height.”
District SkillsUSA competition is not until February19th and 20th of 2010, but the climb is steep and the road is long. Mr. Ray Bullock says of his students, “AHS welders are getting ready because the time is right and this year we have some outstanding young men that have demonstrated incredible ability.” The contest will be held at Midland College; a powerhouse itself as it sits right in the middle of oilfield country, and because Midland ISD trains their welders at Midland College through the Advanced Training Center. High School welders from Alpine, Midland, Odessa, Greenwood, Kermit, Andrews and other Permian Basin schools will be competing in the spring. The competition will consist of three primary welding processes. The Shielded Metal Arc Welding process known as SMAW, the Gas Metal Arc Welding Process known as GMAW, and the more sophisticated process in welding, the Gas Tungsten Arc Welding process known as GTAW. It is never known exactly what the weld test positions or the joints will be until the morning of competition, so the welders have to be ready to weld all positions and joints. Welding takes time and practice, and AHS welders have started early, and are working together in their practice while working on projects both personal and those that come into the shop. Mr. Bullock also projected, “we are not expecting the year to get easier. It will become busier and more hectic as we continue to keep our focus on practice, while trying to get our projects completed. We will have to have late evenings early in the fall not just the spring if we want to cultivate any chance of having a good showing at district. The advanced welders who are in their second year of welding technology are showing phenomenal ability, but have also been demonstrating what appears to be an attitude of excellence and success. It is something to behold to watch their success all the way across the spectrum of their high school schedule from the classroom, the football field and volleyball court, the cheerleading squad and the welding shop. This is fun; hard work but fun.”
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AHS Welding Students Visit Gulf Marine Fabricators
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Lowell Woodward,Saul Ordonez, Hector Mora of GMF, Caleb McBride, Kurt Foret of GMF, Johnny Ordonez and Colton Woodward
April 3, 2009 Alpine High School welding students visited Gulf Marine Fabricator-owned by Gulf Island Fabricators. GMF is a worldwide leader in offshore drilling technology having fabricated some of the largest offshore drilling facilities in the world. Students took a tour of the Ingleside facility and were able to see:
- Pipe Mill rolling-rollers roll up to 6” thick plate to form the cylinders called cans.
- Fabrication shop where large massive parts for the components of the platform are fabricated.
- The fabrication yard where the cans are joined to form the structure supports.
- The construction yard in Ingleside next to the ship channel
- The Special Lifting Device capable of lifting 4000 tons.
Of the experience for his students, Mr. Bullock, AHS welding teacher states, “There are those who can weld and then there are those who are welders. AHS has the avenues to prepare both.
“The welding industry is going to be healthy a long time and the careers available are phenomenal. Students can see only a very small segment of the welding industry in the high school welding shop. Experiencing industry up close and personal allows them to broaden their vision while they are in school and not sure what they want to do.
“All of education is to prepare an individual to go to work. GMF represents the welding industry, but also shows the importance of integrity, competition, quality, and incentive for a job a well done and last but certainly not least the high emphasis upon worker safety.
“I want my students to experience reality, and this is definitely the way it is done in the real world. Everything in education has its focus on places like GMF. Proper grammar, accurate math, science, the arts involved in the ingenuity even the extra-curricular competition spins off into such a massive project as the MINDOC spar platform.”
Weighing in at 29,000 tons and tethered to the sea floor in 7000 feet of depth, Mindoc is the latest technology for recovery of energy at deep depths.
Bullock continues, “This is the reason for having welding technology at AHS. I want your students, some of the best kids in the state, to have the same opportunities as kids in the larger districts have to excel and see what life is all about. I dream of a facility here in Alpine, a Career Center, in partnership with large companies, that will prepare our students in the tri-county area to go to work in such a healthy industry.
“We could do this. Industry would have direct input in setting completion requirements. Kurt Foret, general yard superintendent, and Hector Mora, general welding superintendent of GMF, welcomed AHS warmly and openly knowing that the future of the company rests in the ability of schools to adequately and genuinely prepare students to go to work for them. AHS is about excellence, and we should get along great with companies like Gulf Marine Fabricators.”
Caleb McBride, Colton Woodward, Johnny Ordonez, and Saul Ordonez standing atop their superior trailer
AHS Students Receive A State Superior Rating
Alpine High School’s Colton Woodward, Johnny Ordonez (trailer fabricators) Saul Ordonez (voting delegate), Caleb McBride (alternate) their advisor Ray Bullock along with parent sponsor Lowell Woodward attended the State SkillsUSA leadership and skills conference in Corpus Christi April 1-4. These young men received a state superior rating on the 12000 GVW -18’ bumper pull trailer, scoring 90 points out of 100. Their project was judged on its own merit and not in comparison. Students are required to create and judged on a notebook that must document the welding processes involved, tools, materials, a working drawing and written steps of how the project was built.
Additionally the project is judged on its workmanship including the following: Do the welds conform to industry standards? Is the fabrication and layout correct? Has there been genuine thought and ingenuity in the design? Does it present the standard of quality that is required in the welding industry? Out of 1,400 other projects, AHS students produced a project that was rated as one of the superior projects by its own merit.
Alpine High School has consistently proven itself as a genuine quality program in the state. Its students have a great reputation for producing not only quality welders, but also Alpine students have a reputation for producing quality work. The way in which AHS students conduct themselves at these competitions has always been something that has impressed people across the state.
The welding program is built on the objective of the importance of doing the job right.
It is important to recognize that our community expects the same, and helps us achieve that goal. Van and Sue Neie of BAM Automotive had a huge role in helping Colton and Johnny put the quality paint job on their trailer. BAM supplied the location and the expertise for an outstanding job. Because BAM has an expectation of quality and a job well done, it was fitting that they were able to help the welding technology program, as we have no paint booth or acceptable way to paint a project of this magnitude. We really appreciate the help BAM gave us.