PRESIDENT’S COLUMN Tata Steel’s Celsius®
8 NSC
October 18
Steel completes at Bradford leisure scheme
Working on behalf of main contractor ISG, Billington
Structures has completed the erection of the steel
frame for the new £17.5M Sedbergh Sports and
Leisure Facility in Bradford.
The scheme is part of an ongoing investment
programme by the council to replace outdated and
inefficient leisure facilities with modern, purposebuilt
amenities that better serve local communities
and encourage greater participation in sports.
The high-specification new build leisure centre
includes a 25m swimming pool, eight-court sports
hall, 80-station fitness suite, dance studios and café as
well as outdoor pitches for football and rugby.
The two-storey steel-framed building also boasts
a 12m learner pool with a moveable floor, to help
younger or less able swimmers enter the water safely.
Designed to complement its surroundings on the
Sedbergh Playing Fields site, the 5,100m2 building
features a large expanse of glazing to its façade, with
solar shading panels and timber cladding elements,
as wells as a striking aluminium roof design that
wraps around the structure. The project is scheduled
for completion in summer 2019.
News
I sometimes wonder whether main contractors and
clients really understand how the structural steelwork
sector works or the structures and processes we have
in place to ensure sufficient quantities of high quality
structural steelwork fabricated in the UK make their
way onto the market.
The construction industry’s response to issues
in the UK steelmaking sector a few years ago, the
possibility of a no deal Brexit, and the US trade wars
make me think not. Or maybe the media just likes to
spread bad news.
Either way, those of us involved directly with the
structural steelwork supply chain know that there is
an adequate supply of high quality steel onto the UK
market – both now and into the future.
During the so-called steelmaking crisis of 2015, the
structural steelwork sector just got on with its day-today
business, supported by an uninterrupted supply
of raw steel from steelmakers and its strong steel
distribution and stockholding network.
The structural steelwork sector works on a just-intime
basis, receiving raw steel deliveries daily, usually
to go straight into the fabrication process. This is why
the sector is so efficient and has long delivered to
construction sites in a similar, just-in-time way.
The reason this is possible is because steel
distributors and stockholders hold stocks of raw
steel, ready for these daily deliveries to steelwork
contractors. It is these stocks that help facilitate the
continuous flow of structural steelwork to site.
It may be that a no deal Brexit causes some
delays at customs. But the risks to the structural
steelwork sector are low because steel distributors
and stockholders have always held adequate stocks
of steel in the UK to meet forward demand, and will
continue to do so.
There has also been some concern about the US
trade wars, especially the safeguarding measures that
the EU has put on imports from other countries. But
again, BCSA does not expect any negative effect on
steel supply to the UK. First, because imports of raw
steel from countries outside the EU have always been
low, around 10%. And second, because on a pro rata
basis, imports of steel from outside the EU are sitting
well below the current quota levels.
All of this means that clients and steelwork
contractors can be reassured that today and
tomorrow, the supply of structural steelwork onto the
UK’s construction sites will continue uninterrupted
and the sector will work as efficiently as it always has.
Tim Outteridge
BCSA President & Sales Director Cleveland Bridge
sections approved to NHSS
Tata Steel’s Celsius® range of hot-finished hollow
sections have achieved external certification to the
National Highways Sector Scheme 3B (NHSS 3B).
Since September 2018, the National Highways
Sector Scheme 3B has been a mandatory requirement
for all Highways England projects, and other public
bodies adopting the Series 1800 specification for
structural steelwork.
All companies involved in the stocking and
distribution of structural steel products into UK
infrastructure projects and all suppliers within
the supply chain will need to demonstrate their
compliance.
Widely used for gantries and bridges, Celsius®
hollow sections are produced at Hartlepool and
Corby.
Chris Western, Works Manager at Corby
said: “Although the focus is on the stocking and
distribution of structural steel products, the scheme
is applicable to manufacturers.
“We are proud to have achieved this prestigious
certification which endorses all the hard work we
have undertaken in achieving all the mandatory
requirements to allow us to supply structural steel
products, further tightening the full supply chain.
“Designed to work together, the NHSS and ISO
9001 are intended to offer peace of mind and will
amongst other things act as an industry benchmark;
help identify risks and opportunities; ensure all
processes are planned; provide a basis for continuous
improvement; and a focus on quality as an objective.”
Jersey office
development opts
for steel solution
Working on behalf of developer and contractor
Dandara, Elland Steel Structures is currently
fabricating, supplying and erecting 500t of steel for
the 5/6 Esplanade office scheme in St Helier, Jersey.
One of a number of ongoing commercial
developments currently being undertaken in Jersey,
5/6 Esplanade is a six-storey building which will offer
over 4,000m2 of prime office space.
The steel composite designed scheme also includes
approximately 6,100m2 of metal decking.
Due to complete next year, the building will be clad
with pink granite stone in order to blend with the
older surrounding structures.
/Construction#Steel_erection
/Leisure_buildings
/Braced_frames
/Steel-supported_glazed_facades_and_roofs
/Use_of_steel_in_cladding_systems#Solar_shading
/Construction
/Steel_manufacture
/Fabrication
/Specification_of_bridge_steelwork#Specification_for_Highway_Works
/Steel_construction_products
/Bridges
/Steel_construction_products#Structural_hollow_sections
/Fabrication
/Construction#Steel_erection
/Multi-storey_office_buildings
/Multi-storey_office_buildings
/Composite_construction
/Steel_construction_products#Decking_for_floors