I do a bit of consulting work for American Institute of Steel Construction. Currently they are redoing many of their certification programs and I was wondering if anyone had contacts at CSI, AIA, etc. that I could e-mail regarding the content relating to AISC Cert in the Structural Steel sections.
Thanks
You might try Aaron Titus who is the Tech. Project Coordinator. He would know who to talk to.
703-706-4750
800-689-2900-4750
or atitus@csinet.org
If you are referring to master guide specifications that might need changing due to the AISC changes, then I am your contact for BSD SpecLink.
How essential is it that a fabricator meeets the AISC-Certified plant certification? I have a subcontractor thatmeets the Certified Fabricator program for Clark County, but not AISC, and the General wants to know if this is acceptable. Any opinions?
You can look up the certification requirements on AISC website and compare them with local standards. I would be inclined to believe that the AISC standards are more rigorous and without bias to local fabricators; however, this may not be true. Moreover, local bias may benefit the project.
We recently had a public project where I specified AISC certification for a pre-engineered metal building. There were a number of certified fabricators in the area, and we (designer and client) felt this added a layer of quality control that would benefit our project without significantly restricting bidders and affecting cost.
Robin,
I believe one should research the availability of local AISC certified fabricators and utilize that information when considering including certification requirements for a specific project. While I include fabricators to be certified for local projects (1.8 million population) I cant expect to find a certified fabricator in more rural areas, especially for smaller projects.
Im sure it is just a matter of time until MasterSpec includes the requirement in their specifications, much like they have done for firestopping with FMG approved contractors. How many of you have included that requirement and actually had a FMG firestopping contractor that was FMG approved on the project?
Check AISCs web site for a listing of certified fabricators and one will discover that there are not that many fabricators currently certified, just as there isnt many FMG approved contractors for firestopping.
Also Robin, if you specified AISC certified fabricators, seems like its not your call to accept something different. I believe the only Owner has the authority to alter the Contract Documents once a contract has been awarded. Perhaps your role is to advise the Owner, if not explain why you had the requirement included in the first place but may now be willing to alter your position.
What has your Structural Engineer advised? It is likely that he was the one to propose this requirement in the first place.
How much is the Contractor willing to return to the Owner if this substitution is accepted? If the Owner is insistent on saving some money it may be appropriate to point out the risks associated with this substitution. I would treat this as a formal substitution.
How much additional testing and inspection of steel is appropriate to compensate for this change? What personal knowledge does your engineer have about this fabricator? Has your engineer talked with any of the local testing laboratories regarding the proposed fabricator?
Ronald,
MASTERSPEC’s Division 05 Section “Structural Steel Framing” (and its MF95 counterpart Division 5 Section “Structural Steel”) have for several years included AISC’s Quality Certification Program options for fabricator qualifications.
Likewise corresponding optional language for AISC-certified steel erectors is included.
I would add my support to verifying the availability of certified fabricators and erectors in different parts of the country before retaining these requirements.