The arrival of the fiftieth qualified member into theIndustry-led quality assurance initiative Steel Fabrication Certification (SFC) means approximately 88 percent of the structural steel sector’s annual output is now produced by companies that are certified to manufacture structural steelwork in line with international best practice.
“SFC remains a cornerstone of our structural steel industry’s quality and compliance activities,” says Darren O’Riley, General Manager, Steel Construction NZ (SCNZ). “We’re delighted to say that there is increasing recognition of the scheme amongst specifiers, particularly structural engineers, who value SFC’s ability to provide certainty of product quality and significantly reduced compliance risk.”
“It gives me confidence as a technical specifier to know that a quality product is being provided that is commensurate with the designs I provide,” says Vijay Patel, Beca’s Technical Director – Structural Engineering, stating that SFC provides him with confidence in the quality and compliance of the materials being used on projects. “As we continue to push boundaries with our structural designs, knowing we can depend on the product supplied under SFC is key to allowing us to keep innovating.”
Scott Miller, Principal at Silvester Clark Consulting Engineers, agrees. “With compliance, quality and traceability of product being of high importance and a concern to parties in the construction industry, SFC certainly gives us confidence that the end product will be as specified at completion,” he says.
The scheme also enjoys national coverage, says O’Riley. “There are SFC-qualified structural steel fabricators throughout the country, from Whangarei to Dunedin. No matter where in New Zealand a project is being rolled out, there is a certified structural steel contractor with the appropriate personnel and quality management systems in place to deliver projects to global best practice.”
Recognising experience and training is central to the SFC scheme and is based on the competency requirements of the personnel involved. SCNZ and the Heavy Engineering Research Association (HERA) have partnered to develop training modules to support the success of SFC.
Participating structural steel contractors are certified by an independent auditing authority, HERA Certifications. Certification is valid for five years but is subject to an annual surveillance audit to ensure the integrity of the independent scheme.
For a complete list of SFC-qualified structural steel contractors, visit the steelfabcert.co.nz
