13 Feb Why are Steel Fabrication Drawings Important?

Steel Fabrication Drawings

Structural steel detailing, in other words, the process of providing working steel fabrication drawings, is often disregarded and overlooked. We can’t stress enough how important they are.

Any fabrication drawing is arguably one of the main advantages of any good-quality structural steel fabricator. These drawings detail precisely how each steel component is built, installed and depicted.

High-quality 3D steel detailing drawings give on-site contractors precise measurements, and the correct amounts of products needed for the project. Inaccurate illustrations can lead to potential delays in the completion of the build, and incorrectly-sized steel beams being fabricated on-site. It’s therefore imperative that steel fabrication companies get their drawings correct. What other issues can arise? Let’s take a look.

What Types of Fabrication Drawings are there?

Firstly, it’s important to understand just what types of fabrication drawings there are. Each of them plays a vital role in the building process, with complex projects requiring all three main types of steel drawings. The three main categories are as follows:

1. Single part drawings – these emphasise the intricate details of the project, including specific weights, dimensions and the procedures for the structural steel.
2. Assembly drawings – these help the coded welder work with joining all the relevant parts together and how. They also include details on steel finishing.
3. General arrangement drawings – these illustrate how each component will fit together, providing a working view of the finished project from various angles.

Incorrect Fabrication Drawings

What happens if 3D steel fabrication drawings are incorrect in any way? One or more things can happen, which can have dire consequences

• The structure could be wrong – if the steel beam sizes are incorrectly drawn up and not corrected before arriving on-site, the steel building could end up structurally unreliable. If drawings are vague, there lies a risk of assembling steel structures not to specification, thereby impacting the project in other ways.
• If so, it may need to be disassembled – this is a very costly and inconvenient measure. The structure might need taking down, even if just one I beam has the wrong dimensions written on the drawings. The building poses a safety risk if the building isn’t measured correctly.
• Imprecise amounts of materials – accurate steel fabrication drawings detail the exact numbers of components and parts needed, as well as the procedures required. Drawings that don’t list precise quantities can cause hold-ups on-site, due to a lack of materials that should have been outlined in the first place.
• Failed quality assurance (QA) tests – the steel detailing process involves a series of quality checks. These take time to complete, and if rushed, the on-site building manager may begin work without the fabrication drawings to hand, due to a tight schedule. We can’t stress how important it is to have correct structural steel fabrication drawings to hand when the build starts.
• Safety concerns – if any structural steel building is incorrectly assembled, it poses a health and safety risk from a structural perspective. The worst-case scenario is that it fails and damages other areas of the site, or people working nearby.

These are just some of the reasons why using steel fabrication drawings are important. Baker Steel Trading provide this as a standalone service alongside our many other in-house solutions, ranging from constructing steel frame buildings to steel welding.

We ensure we complete every drawing with meticulous attention to detail, and they are 100% accurate before being sent to any site. We use 3D steel detailing software to produce high-quality illustrations, and consult with installers and engineers to ensure successful, timely and accurate delivery of the project details.

How can Fabrication Drawings Help?

The process of thorough, high-quality structural steel fabrication would not be possible without the assistance of 3D fabrication drawings. Baker Steel Trading can be an incredible asset to your project, whether you are currently on-site or whether you’re in the planning stages.

Fabrication drawings play a pivotal role, but to get the full scope of the project, we often provide our clients with an on-site visit. We can survey and measure everything there ahead of time. We implement a rigorous review process, making any amendments in-house using our premium 3D CAD software. and being authorised with the relevant parties before being sent to your site.

Not only that, but we can add value by offering other services if you need any immediate help. We offer HIAB hire, mobile welding and on-site steel fabrication. After we have successfully delivered and installed the correctly-sized parts, these other services may be worth considering if you need further assistance.

Whether we can help you in-house or on-site, we want to be transparent and honest about our services. As CE-approved steel fabricators, we can go the extra mile for you.