Brock Smith

Anyone who has spent enough years in Australian welding workshops knows this pattern well. The incident rarely starts with a dramatic failure. It begins quietly — a consumable substituted because stock ran out, a machine hired in temporarily without full documentation, a test tag assumed to be current because it “looks fine.” On the surface, everything still appears compliant. Paperwork exists. Tags are attached. The job keeps moving. Yet when something eventually goes wrong, the trail almost...

A minor flashback can escalate into a serious compliance and safety incident. This guide explains flashback arrestor testing, common investigation findings, and practical steps workshops can take to maintain audit-ready records, verify device integrity, and protect staff under Australian WHS regulations.

Real Downtime You Can Avoid As a 15-year workshop supervisor in Queensland’s mining sector, I’ve seen how small consumable issues with MIG guns can cause hours of downtime, sometimes even halting production entirely. A worn contact tip or misaligned liner on a   Tweco 4  MIG gun can mean a full morning lost in a busy maintenance bay — a problem common in engineering workshops, quarries, and council fleets across Australia. Across workshops surveyed in Brisbane and Adelaide, over 70% of wire...