The Statistics House investigation has highlighted that had the Kaikoura earthquake have happened at a different hour – lives would have been lost. Now more than ever, urgent action is required to safeguard and ensure existing precast concrete floor designs are checked and the 10-year old concrete design standard updated. On 14 November 2016 the…
Improved technology in transport and communication have seen the fall of geographical borders – so much so, that many businesses now find themselves not only competing locally for work, but globally as well. Now, remaining competitive in what has become an increasingly crowded market for the New Zealand’s steel industry has become a prominent challenge…
Reinforced concrete structures often use the “seismic” grade of reinforcing bar 500E (to AS/NZS 4671). The designation “500E” means the reinforcing rebar must meet specific requirements in regards to mechanical properties to ensure the bar will have adequate performance under earthquake loading. The yield strength must be between 500 – 600MPa, the minimum elongation is…
The first joint New Zealand and Australian composite design standard DR AS/NZS 2327 has recently been published for public comment. The public comment period will continue until 24 January 2017 and electronic copies of the draft standard can be freely downloaded from here. This revision incorporates a number of technical and editorial changes, as follows: Changes…
A significant milestone for New Zealand structural steel industry has been achieved with the approval of the new standard AS/NZS 5131 Fabrication and Erection of Steel – released early this month. The need for this standard has arising out of concerns that product conformance does not meet the specified requirements in an increased global construction…
Our industry’s decision to harmonize bridge design with Australia has seen us travel a five year road, and we’re delighted to see it all come together as we announce the availability for public comment of the first joint New Zealand and Australian design standard for steel and composite bridges DR AS/NZS 5100.6. Chaired by our…
The big breakaway happened – with a slim 48/52 vote in favour of exiting the European Union (EU). The positives and negatives of the decision have been covered in much detail since it was made – and it seems the immediate effects of the UK’s withdrawal have been limited when it comes to New Zealand.…
New Zealand Steel and Pacific Steel’s flat and long steel products manufactured at the Glenbrook facilities south of Auckland and in Otahuhu have become the latest products to receive independent environmental endorsement from Environmental Choice. According to New Zealand Ecolabelling Trust General Manager Francesca Lipscombe, companies put their products forward for an ecolabel to both…
New Zealand’s structural steel fabricators are showing strong support for the industry’s recently launched quality assurance scheme, the Steel Fabricator Certification (SFC), an initiative designed to ensure safety of fabricated structural steelwork. Developed jointly by industry bodies HERA and Steel Construction NZ (SCNZ), the SFC scheme is based on the European system, which is part…
The Ministry of Business Inovation and Employment (MBIE) and Commerce Commission announcement that some concrete reinforcing steel mesh supplied into the New Zealand construction market doesn’t comply with New Zealand standards has caused considerable concern. Resulting in HERA staff recently being the target of extensive media attention with varying degrees of accuracy in being quoted.…
A SFC fabricator has demonstrated that all their welding and related activities are managed under a quality management system that fully complies with the requirements of AS/NZS ISO 3834; specifically for NZS 3404.1 Steel Structures Standard, and AS/NZS 1554 Structural Steel Welding. A quality management system relies on competent people: the fabricators welding co-ordination team. A key…
In today’s competitive structural steel market, the ability to meet the client’s expectations while making an adequate return requires the capability to meet specifications and to minimise profit-eating re-work. This is achieved by implementing a quality management system using the well-established “standard” methodology based on the following principles: Welders who follow suitably qualified, efficient procedures…