BCSA completes member assessments

Last year all of the BCSA’s steelwork contractor members, both in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, were audited to assess their capabilities. Now all of this gathered information has been incorporated into the membership lists printed in the back pages of NSC.

Companies capabilities are defined in terms of two primary criteria, class and category.

Class gives guidance on the size of the steelwork contract the company has the financial and management resources to undertake. If a project lasts longer than a year, the value is the proportion of the steelwork contract to be undertaken within a 12 month period.

The Categories give guidance on what types of steelwork a company is competent to undertake. This relates to the company’s works facilities, its track record and its technical and management experience.

The assessments provide clients with an easy way to pre-qualify steelwork contractors before contracts are tendered. To assist specifiers, the categories have been extended as follows:

BUILDINGS

C  Heavy industrial platework for plant structures, bunkers, hoppers, silos etc
D  High rise buildings (offices etc over 15 storeys)
E  Large span portals (over 30m)
F  Medium/small span portals (up to 30m) and low rise buildings (up to 4 storeys)
G  Medium rise buildings (from 5 to 15 storeys)
H  Large span trusswork (over 20m)
J  Tubular steelwork where tubular construction forms a major part of the structure
K  Towers and masts
L  Architectural steelwork for staircases, balconies, canopies etc
M  Frames for machinery, supports for plant and conveyors
N  Large grandstands and stadia (over 5000 persons)
Q  Specialist fabrication services (eg bending, cellular/castellated beams, plate girders)
R  Refurbishment
S  Lighter fabrications including fire escapes, ladders and catwalks

BRIDGES

PG  Bridges made principally from plate girders
TW  Bridges made principally from trusswork
BA  Bridges with stiffened complex platework (eg in decks, box girders or arch boxes)
CM  Cable-supported bridges (eg cable-stayed or suspension) and other major structures (eg 100 metre span)
MB  Moving bridges
RF  Bridge refurbishment
FG  Footbridges and sign gantries
X  Unclassified Company