PDF | 8 MB - Australian Building Codes Board

INTERNATIONAL Regulatory Development
Factory Production
Control System
formability. Metallurgical behaviour and
performance of steel materials are also
highly dependent on the manufacturing
process like de-oxidation method,
and quenching and tempering. For
instance, rimming steel associated with
internal voids shall not be allowed for
structural use whereas application of
quenched and tempered steel with low
ductility and formability shall only be
restricted to steel plates and hot rolled
sections. Lastly, deviations from nominal
dimensions and mass shall be well
within the manufacturing tolerances
to assure member resistance and
structural safety, and constructability.
Manufacturing tolerances are therefore
important to prevent manufacturers
from under-sizing and taking advantage
of the liberal requirements.
Due to differences in technical
requirements ranging from
manufacturing process to structural
performance, BC1 has to adopt a more
realistic and reasonable approach to
make these requirements materialspecific.
Different sets of requirements
are imposed on each of the nine
different categories of steel materials,
namely steel plates, hot rolled sections,
hollow sections, steel for cold forming,
non-preloaded bolting assemblies,
preloaded bolting assemblies, welding
Integrated Resort at Marina Bay - roof top skypark with 60m cantilever
consumables, profiled steel sheets
and stud shear connectors, which are
commonly used in the construction
industry.
RELIABILITY OF STEEL MATERIALS
Another critical aspect is the reliability
of steel materials which is the ability
to meet the quality assurance
requirements; for steel manufacturers
to provide adequate assurance to
ensure the compliance of the actual
performance of their products with the
nominal specifications stipulated.
The utmost importance of material
reliability is understandable as the
so-called ‘adequate’ materials are
theoretically sound on paper only
and their ability to perform up to their
nominal specifications in reality needs
some form of guarantee or assurance,
if not justification. In view of this, BC1
requires manufacturers, as a minimum,
to establish an approved factory
production control (FPC) system and to
provide assurance to their products in
the form of authenticated manufacturer
or mill test certificates (MTC). The core
objective this requirement is driven by a
desire to use only ‘quality products from
quality mills’ in Singapore’s building and
construction industry.
In fact, it is indisputable that only
‘quality mills’ are able to produce
‘quality products’. A thorough factory
production control system is a
necessary evidence to substantiate the
status of ‘quality mills’. According to
BC1, manufacturers of steel materials
must maintain an FPC system which
consists of quality procedures, written
instructions, regular inspection
and test plans to control feedstock
materials, equipment, personnel and
production process which can affect
product quality in anyway. Therefore,
proper documentation of feedstock
materials, inspection, calibration and
maintenance history of equipment,
personnel background and qualification,
organisational charts defining
responsibility of individual personnel
and their inter-relationship, results of
product testing, as well as procedures
on product marking and nonconforming
products, are required to
facilitate audit and attestation by thirdparty
accredited certification agencies.
To attain the ‘quality mills’ status under
the BC1 framework, manufacturers
need to have their FPC system ‘audited’
and attested by an independent thirdparty
accredited certification agency
acceptable to or recognized by BCA
– for instance, Bureau Veritas, TUV
Rheinland, Det Norske Veritas, Lloyd’s
Register, Germanischer Lloyd, etc. A FPC
certificate from one of these agencies,
on the basis of initial inspection as
well as continuous surveillance and
assessment through annual inspection,
shall form the acceptable indicator for
an attested FPC system.
It shall also be noted that compliance
with ISO9001 is merely complimentary
but insufficient to justify the reliability of
a manufacturer’s reliability in producing
structural steel materials. Meanwhile,
FPC certificates to manufacture EN
steel materials under the European
Union Construction Product Directives/
Regulations or API Monograms, both
are already widely recognised in the
European markets and the oil and gas
industry respectively, are considered
‘acceptable in lieu’, under the provision
of BC1.
16 • Australian Building Regulation Bulletin