Page 39 - Structural Steel Designers Handbook AISC, AASHTO, AISI, ASTM, and ASCE-07 Design Standards

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Source: STRUCTURAL STEEL DESIGNER'S HANDBOOK

CHAPTER 2

FABRICATION AND ERECTION*

Thomas Schlafly
Director of Research
American Institute of Steel Construction, Inc.
Chicago, Illinois

Designers of steel-framed structures must be familiar with fabrication and erection practices to provide
designs that are practical and cost efficient. Awareness of the process and limits of routine practices will
facilitate orderly construction of the project with a minimum of problems and lead to economical design.

2.1 ESTIMATES, MATERIAL ORDERS, AND SHOP DRAWINGS

Structural steel fabricators may be classified as general industry firms. They participate in the con-
struction industry as suppliers, but also share many attributes with manufacturers. They operate
fixed facilities with full-time employees hired on a permanent basis, not just for the project. While
the successful fabricator considers the flexibility necessary to produce the variety of members
anticipated for the type of project furnished, much planning time is spent on setting up the shop for
efficient production. Issues such as information flow, material flow and handling, cost reduction of
routine tasks, and taking advantage of repetition are fundamental to daily operations of a fabrication
shop. Perhaps unusual in general industry is the size of projects in terms of annual sales, the physical
size of pieces, and the amount of variation between pieces and projects, along with other conditions
involved in construction projects. These all affect the balance of risk and cost against revenue and
success.
Successful fabricators strive to distinguish themselves from others with good records of perfor-
mance, experience with particular types of work, ideas to save money or time, or other attributes to
make themselves the preferred provider in their market. An experienced contractor will recognize
and reward companies that offer extra attributes of value, but price is usually one of the key factors
in selecting a fabricator.

2.1.1 Estimates
One of the needs encountered is the ability to establish the proper cost for a project. The estimating
department is the first group in a fabrication firm that considers a project in detail. Realistic estimates
are fundamental to initiating successful projects.

*Revised; originally authored by Charles Peshek, Consulting Engineer, Naperville, Ill., and Richard W. Marshall, Vice
President, American Steel Erectors, Inc., Allentown, Pa.

2.1
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