"And adopting this certification system is hopefully going to make it a little bit more difficult for competing imported products out of China, which are starting to be a bit of a problem for us in New Zealand."
The recent boom in construction activity, centred on Christchurch and Auckland, had seen an increase in the amount of imported prefabricated steelwork entering New Zealand, according to industry body Steel Construction New Zealand (SCNZ), which developed the certification with the Heavy Engineering Research Association.
SCNZ members include manufacturers of structural steel and steel products, distributors, fabricators, designers, detailers, galvanisers, and paint and building supply companies.
"The launch of the Steel Fabricator Certification scheme is an important milestone for our industry," said SCNZ manager Alistair Fussell. "As with other construction materials, the current compliance regime for structural steelwork relies, for the most part, on self-inspection and self-certification. This new scheme raises the bar by providing independent, expert certification of New Zealand fabrication companies."
Mr Fussell said the scheme created an important point of difference for locally fabricated steel compared with imported prefabricated steelwork.
There had been cases involving imported prefabricated steelwork where paperwork had been missing or the steelwork had not met the required specification, leading to costly project delays, he said.
"The SFC scheme, on the other hand, provides procurers and specifiers, such as engineers, architects and contractors, with certainty of product quality and significantly reduced compliance risk."
Mr Jensen said the industry ran a pilot study with one of Auckland's major steel fabricators.
It had taken four to six months of intense work for the first group to achieve the certification.
"One reason we became involved was to generally lift our game," said Mr Jensen.
At a glance
• The Steel Fabricator Certification (SFC) scheme is based on the European system, which is part of the CE-marking (originally Conformite Europeenne) regulatory environment and represents international best practice.
How Jensen achieved the top category
Jensen Steel Fabricators was not only part of the first group of eight companies to qualify under the new Steel Fabricator Certification scheme, but was also one of only two in the group to achieve the highest certification, Category Four.
And the key to achieving that ranking was the completion of the new Apata Bridge for KiwiRail, said director Greg Jensen. The bridge, about 120 tonnes and 40m long, was installed last month.
"We pursued the contract in order to achieve the Category Four certification, which qualifies us for bridge work under the new scheme," said Mr Jensen.
A second bridge is to be installed in the New Year.
Jensen Steel Fabricators has been in business since 1987 and is primarily a steel contracting company focused around the construction sector and providing steel work for warehouses, multi-storey office buildings, schools and hospitals. The company works both in the Bay of Plenty and across the central North Island.
Projects have included reworking the Tauranga Harbour Bridge, which involved fabricating a 70-tonne custom-welded beam; the new ANZ building in Tauranga; the DHL warehouse next door to Auckland International Airport; and the Sky Tower masthead, made and assembled in Tauranga, then disassembled, transported and installed in Auckland.
