A Diamond in the Rough

In this industry, Faramarz is most certainly a diamond in the rough! He is a licensed Professional Engineer, with an International Welding Engineering degree and a PhD in Structural Engineering. He is also a CWB Level III Certified Weld Inspector and has earned his Level III NDE certification from the American Society for Nondestructive Testing.

As you can see from his collection of degrees, he is very driven and accomplished. There are structural engineers who are trained in and understand welding, but there are few Structural Engineers, like Faramarz, who have all the formal training, an Engineering license, a Welding diploma, professional welding inspection and NDT certifications, and experiential knowledge to understand structural behavior the way he does.

After earning a Master’s Degree in Structural Engineering, Faramarz worked in a steel structure maker company where his journey in the field of welding and non-destructive testing began. Early on, instead of merely researching and finding a mentor to help increase his knowledge, he decided to attend the International Institute of Welding, where he earned an International Welding Engineering diploma. As a structural engineer with welding engineering knowledge, he embraced his career in the oil and gas industry for nearly 10 years by delivering technical support and conducting weld and non-destructive inspections. Then, He became even more passionate and focused about this industry and about what he could do to make sure he was able to make the absolute best safety judgments. He was interested in even more training, empirical evidence, and using the two to offer the best engineering solutions to his customers. All of this led to him working toward and earning a PhD in Structural Engineering in Japan!

After he earned his PhD and while waiting for his Canadian immigration approval, Faramarz moved to Australia. While there, he worked in the industry, delivering training courses in the field of weld inspection and NDT. He earned his training accreditation from Australian Institute for Nondestructive Testing, and was instrumental in establishing Australian Laboratory Services (ALS) Academy.

Faramarz describes himself and others like him as “Life savers.” The folks who are deeply involved in pre-planning, engineering and construction to ensure all precautions are taken and all guidelines are followed, which ensures a solid and safe structure.

Faramarz has a tremendous amount of hands-on industry experience, including with steel structures, steel bridges, pressure vessels, storage tanks, welding inspection, and heavy equipment. Along with his formal training, he believes his tactical site visits coupled with his hands-on experience, allows him to provide the safest solutions for customers. He explains that being out in the field and seeing the projects yourself “is really what makes a practical engineer.”

His expertise benefits IIA’s customers in many critical ways, like within the area of inspection of heavy equipment, like cranes. He explains, “When we inspect and find defects like cracks or corrosion, we must have sound structural engineering judgement to discern between whether the damage is critical or not, and we also know how to repair it.” He goes on to say, “Our role, as Zero Responders, is to not allow any failures happen.”

Faramarz asks a question of himself and of his technicians. He says, “Think about why we are doing this. Before asking what we’re going to do or how we’re going to do it, ask ‘why?’” He says, “The ‘why’ is to save lives.”