STEEL INDUSTRY GUIDANCE NOTES

The information given in this Steel Industry Guidance Note is for general informationonly and the reader should always seek specific advice on any particular issue.

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SN39 10/2009

Inspection Documents

Assurance that steel products meet the specifi ed properties is achieved by providing the customer with a manufacturer’s Inspection Document that contains the Chemical and Mechanical properties of the steel. The different types of Inspection Document provided by the manufacturer, their traceability through the fabrication process and some of the implications of CE Marking are explained in this SIGNS.

Manufacturers of steel products are required to test all steel materials and to provide documentary evidence of the steel’s properties. The testing requirements includes Chemical analysis of the steel, as well as validation of Mechanical Properties such as yield strength, tensile strength, elongation and Charpy impact toughness. All of this information is then displayed in the steel’s Inspection Document.

Types of Inspection Documents Manufacturers of structural steel products provide assurance that their products meet the specifiedproperties (yield strength, tensile strength, elongation etc) by providing the customer with either a Type 2.2 ‘Test Report’oraType3.1/3.2‘InspectionCertificate’(formallycalledTestCertificates)inaccordancewithBSEN10204.Although these two documents give similar information, engineers need to be aware of the differences.

In a Type 2.2 Test Report the characteristics of the steel are based on quality control tests on the manufacturer’s processes carried out as part of the initial product development. The Type 2.2 Test Report is therefore a declaration by the manufacturer that its product results are ‘typical’ of product characteristics for that particular producttype,butarenotspecificallytestsonthematerialbeingsupplied.(Thisisformallyreferredtoas“nonspecifictesting”).

The information given on a Type 3.1/3.2 Inspection Certificateareactual test results fromthematerial in thelot from which the steel products have been supplied (formallyreferredtoas“specifictesting”).A3.1InspectionCertificate is endorsed only by the manufacturers ownrepresentative who has to be independent from the manufacturing process (Test House Manager) whilst a 3.2 InspectionCertificatehasadditionallybeencountersignedbyanindependentinspectionauthoritywhohasconfirmedthat the testing and inspection process demanded by the specificationhavebeenadheredtocorrectly.

Both theNationalStructuralSteelworkSpecification (5thedition) (NSSS) and BS 5950-2 require that “specific

testing” be carried out on the steel and that Type 3.1 (or 3.2)InspectionCertificatesdocumentsshallbesupplied.

Responsibility of the Steelwork ContractorThe responsibility for ensuring that the steel used conforms to the specification lies with the steelwork contractor.This is achieved by ensuring that all the steel used on a particular contract can be related to a manufacturer’s Type 3.1(or3.2)InspectionCertificate.Thisincludessteelthatis obtained via a stockholder as well as steel obtaineddirectly from a manufacturer.

Most Inspection Documents are provided electronically and the requirement in the NSSS is for the steelworkcontractor to have access to these Inspection Documents without needing to obtain physical copies. However, the introduction of CE Marking for fabricated steelwork willchange this requirement and steelwork contractors willneed to obtain and retain copies of the relevant Inspection Documentsintheirprojectfilesasproofthatsuitablesteelmaterials have been used, if queried by the regulatory authorities.

TraceabilityThe NSSS requires that all steel used on a contract istraceable to a Type 3.1 (or 3.2) Inspection Certificate.However, there is no requirement for each fabricated element within a structure to be traceable to a particular InspectionCertificate.Thisprocessinvolvescheckingthatthe Inspection Documents provided are in accordance with thepurchasespecification.Afterthat,steelmaterialswithcommonspecificationmaybeheldinacommon‘batch’.

CE MarkingCE Marking of fabricated steelwork is covered by theharmonizedstandardBSEN1090-1which issupportedbytheexecution(fabricationanderection)standardBSEN1090-2.BSEN1090-1hasrecentlybeenpublishedbyBSIandCEMarkingoffabricatedsteelislikelytostartinMay2010andbecomemandatoryinmostEuropeanCountries

The information given in this Steel Industry Guidance Note is for general information only and the reader should always seek specifi c advice on any particular issue.The information given in this SIGNS is up-to-date as at October 2009.

Further sources of Information

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Key Points

1. Assurancethatsteelproductsmeetthespecifiedproperties is achieved by providing the customer with a manufacturer’s Inspection Document that contains the Chemical and Mechanical properties of the steel.

2. Type 2.2 Test Report or a Type 3.1 (or 3.2) Inspection Certificate(formallycalledTestCertificates)inaccordancewithBSEN10204maybeused.

3. The properties given on a Type 2.2 Test Report may not be from tests carried out on the steel products actually supplied.

4. TheNSSSandBS5950-2requirethespecificteststo be carried out on the steel and for Type 3.1 (or 3.2)InspectionCertificatetobesupplied.

5. Theresponsibilityforensuringthatthesteelusedconformstothespecificationlieswiththesteelworkcontractor.

6. TheNSSSrequiresthatallsteelusedonacontractis traceable to a Type 3.1 (or 3.2) Inspection Certificate.

7. There is no requirement for each fabricated element within a structure to be traceable to a particular Inspection Document

inMay2011.WithregardtoInspectionDocumentsBSEN1090-2requiresType3.1(or3.2)InspectionCertificateforall steel products except those steels with the following qualities S275JR, S275J0, S355JR and S355J0. Forthese steels a Type 2.2 Test Report is allowed. However, itislikelythatthenewCEMarkingeditionoftheNationalStructuralSteelworkSpecificationwillspecifyType3.1(or3.2)InspectionCertificateforallsteelproducts.

The European Commission is proposing to amend theConstruction Products Directive (CPD) and introduce the Construction Products Regulations (CPR). The main difference between the CPD and the CPR is that the latter isregulatoryunderEULawandisthereforemandatoryinallmemberstates.IfacceptedtheCPRislikelytocomeintoforcein2012.TheeffectwillbetomakeCEMarkingof construction products mandatory in all member states includingtheUKandIreland.

A Typical Inspection DocumentAtypicalCEMarked,Type3.1InspectionDocumentforasteelplateisshowninFigure1.ThisInspectionCertificateis issued by Corus UK and contains the name of themanufacturer and the name of the place where the steel wasmanufactured, theCorus logo and theBSEN ISO9001certificationbody(inthiscaseLloyd’sRegisterQualityAssurance).ThedocumentalsocontainstheCEmarkandunderneath a four digit number which is the number of theNotifiedBody thatassessed thesuitabilityofCorus’Factory Production Control systems for CE Marking (inthiscaseLloyd’sVerificationServices).TheChemicalandMechanical properties of the plate and a brief physical description of the plate are also given.

1. National Structural Steelwork Specification for Building Construction 5th Edition, Published by BCSA & SCI, publication No. 203/07, 2007.

2. National Structural Steelwork Specification for Building Construction 5th Edition (CE Marking version). In preparation.

3. Commentary on the National Structural Steelwork Specification for Building Construction 4th Edition, Published by BCSA & SCI, publication No. 209/03, 2003.

4. Guide to the CE Marking of Structural Steelwork, BCSA publication No. 46/08, 2008.

5. BS EN 10204, ‘Metallic Products – Types of Inspection Documents’, BSI.

6. BS EN 1090-1: 2009, ‘Execution of steel structures and aluminium structures – Part 1: Requirements for conformity assessment of structural components’, BSI, 2009.

7. BS EN 1090-2: 2008, ‘Execution of steel structures and aluminium structures – Part 2: Technical requirements for steel structures, BSI, 2008.

Figure 1. A typical CE Marked, Type 3.1 Inspection Document