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The American Institute of Steel Construction will post new rules and regulations Oct. 1 for its updated Bridge Quality Management System (QMS) Certification Program.
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LB Fabricated Products |
| The updated certification program will replace the current “Simple and Major Bridge Checklists” by July 1, 2014. |
In addition to the new Standard for Steel Bridges - 2011 (AISC 205-11), the new criteria will increase the requirements that participants must meet to become certified or maintain their current certification.
“Previously, companies were audited to a checklist, which was intended to demonstrate that they had created the required management and quality procedures,” according to AISC. “The updated program is designed to ensure that companies don't just say they have procedures in place, but are actually following them.”
‘Quality and Expectation’
"This program change will better communicate to owners, specifiers, and others in the construction industry what the QMS Certification Program provides in terms of quality and expectation," said Jacques Cattan, AISC vice president of certification.
The AISC Quality Management System Certification Program is similar to the more widely known ISO 9000 program, but is designed specifically to examine the unique requirements of steel fabricators.
Like ISO, the goal of the AISC QMS program is to "embed a quality management system within an organization to increase productivity, which helps to reduce unnecessary costs and ensure the quality of processes," according to AISC. The result, the group says, is a better-quality product without the need for special inspection.
Simple and Major Bridges
The transition from the current "Simple and Major Bridge Checklists" to the new bridge standard will be complete on July 1, 2014. After this time, "Simple Bridge" and "Major Bridge" will no longer be valid AISC Certification categories, and the design community will be able to specify a certified bridge fabricator to one of the three AISC QMS Certified Fabricator options under the Bridge QMS Certification category: Simple Bridges, Intermediate Bridges, and Advanced Bridges.
Program updates and key dates are available at www.aisc.org/bridgecertification. For more information, contact AISC's Certification Department.
The American Institute of Steel Construction, headquartered in Chicago, is a nonprofit technical institute and trade association established in 1921 to serve the structural steel design community and construction industry.
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