16 Mar Ensuring Quality in Structural Steel Fabrication Projects

With any construction project that involves structural steel, safety and quality are the two most important aspects to consider. The responsibility falls on the steel fabrication company that oversees the steel supply and delivery and ensures each component has been quality checked.

If a steel fabricator does not do the appropriate quality assurance checks for every single product, it can have dire consequences. In this article, we’ve outlined the importance of steel fabrication quality control, what that process involves and ultimately, how you, as a customer, can benefit from having it done.

Why Quality Control is Important in Steel Fabrication

Although structural steel beams, columns, channels and other sections are all immensely durable, resilient and sturdy, only the highest quality control standards will ensure these products are fit for purpose. In a structural steel fabrication facility, each component, right down to the tiniest of bolts, will have to be accounted for, inspected and checked several times to ensure that it retains its structural integrity.

Steel fabrication experts like Baker Steel Trading take quality assurance very seriously. We pride ourselves on delivering and supplying the highest steel quality for domestic and commercial use across the UK. We implement strict protocol and procedures to ensure our structural steel, mild steel, and all other metals we work with are 100% fit for use. 

Although metal or steel beams are not products that will easily succumb to damage or problems, they are as good as useless if they have not gone through the relevant, correct steel fabrication processes. These processes are inspected to ensure they comply with the applicable specifications, set out in the structural engineers’ drawings and steel fabrication drawings.

Steel Fabrication Quality Checklist

To assess a steel fabrication project’s quality, it’s important to start with your chosen fabricator. At the end of the day, you are working with them on your project. Therefore you must keep them on your side. Here is a small list that you can use to determine the suitability of any structural steelwork:

• Check the steel fabricator’s qualifications and experience.

Structural steel welding and fabrication must be carried out by qualified coded welders and fabricators, who have gone through the relevant training and qualifications. The wrong techniques can impact each steel section’s physical and aesthetic properties, which is not ideal if you fabricate full steel frame buildings in-house. Quality assurance checks can assess all your fabrication company’s processes to ensure they meet the required standards.

• Confirm the equipment is in good working order.

Qualified steel fabrication and welding experts are vital, but the equipment they use has to be correctly calibrated and regularly checked for defects. Inspections help to keep all equipment in good working order.

• Assess the quality of the materials used.

Steel comes in numerous grades. This, in turn, means that not every single structural steel beam is suitable for every project. Different types of steel contain varying carbon levels that affect how easy they are to weld, cut or bend and their overall tensile strength. Quality assurance checks confirm that the correct structural steel grade is used, whether it’s appropriate for your project, and whether the specification matches what’s been supplied.

• Confirm the measurements of the drawings and steel products both match.

Laying structural steel project details in fabrication drawings is no easy feat and should be approached with care, attention and never rushed. But when it comes to fabricating the required steel, sometimes it doesn’t always go as planned. This is why fabricators should pay particular attention to ensure everything they manufacture matches what has been set out in the drawings. One deviation can end up affecting the safety, security and durability of the structure. 

Like many other steel fabrication companies, Baker Steel Trading is required to comply with the European Construction Products Regulation (CPR)’s standards of BS EN 1090-1. This set of regulations requires both manufacturers and clients to check that structural steel meets the relevant technical specifications. This is more commonly known as CE marking, which affirms a product to meet these standards. All of Baker Steel Trading’s products have the relevant CE mark, so you know they have gone through the appropriate checks.

Structural Steel Fabricators 

To find out more about our steel fabrication services or discuss an upcoming project you need help with, contact Baker Steel Trading today. 

If you need high-quality, CE-marked structural steel, then we can supply you with anything you need. If you need on-site assistance, we offer a mobile welding and fabrication service, and one of our team can lend you a hand with welding any metals you need. Or, do you need a HIAB crane to deliver a steel frame building? Baker Steel Trading can help.