When it comes to the design and construction of facilities, there are those who wonder why hire an AISC certified fabricator. The answer to this and several other questions is addressed in this article.
What is the AISC?
AISC, the American Institute of Steel Construction is a technical institute formed in 1921 for the benefit of steel fabricators and erectors.
For 95 years, the Institute has involved and formed many committees of experienced Civil, Structural and Mechanical Professional Engineers who developed the criteria and procedures in accordance with the recognized industry standards, codes and practices, which have made the AISC what it is today.
The AISC was not only built around a wealth of knowledge and expertise, but maintains a bank of resources available for the benefit of the certified steel fabricator.
What is the difference between an AISC certified and a non-certified fabricator?
A certified fabricator can provide their customers with the assurance that their fabrication facility has the personnel, organization, experience, procedures, knowledge, equipment and commitment to produce fabricated steel to the standard of quality required for structural steel building construction.
Not only do the certified fabricators comply with the industry standards, codes and practices, they go beyond the call of duty to meet or exceed the expectations of their customer requirements and contract specifications. From the receipt of a contract or purchase order to the day the steel components are delivered to the customer, every procedure is reviewed, monitored, inspected and recorded to assure full compliance of the AISC standards, codes and practices.
All welders within the fabrication facility must go through a testing and qualification process of all the Welding Procedure Specifications written for the various types of welding that will be used.
The difference between an AISC certified fabricator vs a non-certified fabricator is having the knowledge, expertise and ability to provide a higher level of quality control and quality assurance for the customer.
Quality, Safety and Accountability
Through the process of providing a higher level of quality control and quality assurance for the customer, the certified fabricator is maintaining compliance with State and Federal Regulatory Agencies to provide a safe environment and workplace for their employees and customers.
The inspections and record keeping procedures involved in the fabrication process not only provide the many records on file to assure that each procedure is conducted, it also provides the accountability of each procedure in the event something is determined to be substandard.
These procedures include Certified Welding and Coating Inspector inspections and records consisting of mill test reports, material receiving reports, product conformance, fit-up inspections, welding inspections, surface preparation inspections, ambient conditions, dry film thickness along with a final inspection prior to delivery.
Some projects require specialized testing consisting of Mag Particle Testing, Ultra Sonic Testing or Dye Penetrate Testing to assure the quality that is required. All these records are required to be maintained by the AISC Certified Fabricator for review.
How to become a Certified Fabricator?
- You must first submit an application with all the required documentation to become a Certified Fabricator. This process is outlined in the AISC Certification Program for Structural Steel Fabricators, Standard for Steel Building Structures – 2006 Volume. The Certification Program involves nineteen elements, which are used to develop a Quality Manual and documents to support the manual.
- Along with the documents to support the manual, you must submit an Organizational Chart, personnel biographies and job descriptions representing the level of personnel, knowledge and expertise within your organization. Included with this application, you must include the results of your internal audit with a documented QMS, Management Review Agenda and a list of the attendees involved in the Review Meetings.
- Once the application is submitted, it goes through an AISC review process that can take several months. If there are any deficiencies found, you have to submit additional information or documentation to resolve the deficiencies. Following the AISC review process of all documents submitted, an external audit will be arranged and scheduled by AISC.
Any deficiencies found during the external audit are issued by the Auditor in the form of a Corrective Action Request. You are given a set number of days to respond with your corrective actions. Once corrective actions have been submitted, they are reviewed, and if found acceptable, the AISC Certification will be granted.
If you submit an application for AISC Full Membership prior to submitting an application to become a Certified Fabricator, you will receive a discount in the pricing to become a Certified Fabricator. There are several different Certifications one can apply for and it will be up to you to determine the need for your particular facility. This can be determined with support from the team of professionals within the AISC Committee.
How does a Certified Fabricator add value to your project?
A Certified Fabricator provides a higher level of Quality Control and Quality Assurance for your project, which is in accordance with the recognized industry standards, codes and practices.
You will know that the value of your project goes above and beyond others because it has met the rigorous and stringent requirements of the AISC procedures and protocols.
Industrial Resources, Inc. is 100% committed to fulfilling the obligations of the AISC Quality Management System and providing its customers with project quality second to none.
To learn more and watch our steel fabrication video, click here! If you are in need of an AISC Certified Steel Fabricator, click below or call (304) 363-4100.
Industrial Resources Fabrication from InnerAction Media on Vimeo.
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Thanks for reading,
Phil Burnside
President Emeritus