We’re sad to announce the passing of our former Executive Board member Kevin Spring at age 83. Kevin had a close association with HERA, first in the form of being an advocate for steel construction from a structural engineer’s perspective, and then in a governance role as a member of our Executive from 1994 to 2006. This…
A week on from the announcement that John Key is stepping down as Prime Minister we’ve had some time to digest the news and perhaps form an opinion on what it all actually means for not only the country, but the metals industry as well. In this short time, we’ve seen the National Party quickly…
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…
Steel Construction New Zealand (SCNZ) has appointed Darren O’Riley as its new Manager – based in the organisation’s office in South Auckland. Darren’s knowledge and expertise are a strong fit for SCNZ as the organisation moves forward. He has 28 years of sales and marketing, and business development experience – gained largely in the building…
In February 2016, Australasian Certification Authority for Reinforcing and Structural Steels or ACRS asked industry and stakeholders to have their say on “The Future of ACRS.” Asking “What do you think of ACRS? What should ACRS be doing? Or not doing? What steel and related products should ACRS assess and certify, and how?” Initial responses…
The Steel Fabricator Certification (SFC) scheme continues to grow strongly with the latest group of three structural steel fabricators to achieve certification recognised at the Steel Construction New Zealand (SCNZ) AGM in Napier on 16 September. Since SFC’s introduction, 23 fabricators – representing 75 percent of New Zealand’s structural steel output – have become certified.…
Around mid July 2016, Fairfax Media raised the spectre of NZ ‘steel dumping’ claims on imports from China. The response from our Prime Minister was to play it down, whilst MBIE would not even confirm or deny whether it had received two complaints from NZ producers. Trade Minister Todd McClay, whilst in Indonesia, said it…
The seminars took place in Hamilton, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown in July/August. Around 120 professionals attended the events, a record high for this series! Welded connections are subject to high levels of loadings in bridges and buildings in seismic zones, as well as in construction equipment, machinery etc. Achieving satisfactory performance in welded joints…
The steel industry continues to face a challenging economic environment due to the economic slowdown in China, volatility in financial markets, sluggish growth in global trade, and low prices of oil and other commodities. In the first quarter of 2016, per the World Steel Association, global steel production decreased 3.6% to 386 metric tons (Mt)…
“Quenched and tempered” (Q&T) steels for welded structures and pressure vessels provide enhanced hardness and strength properties compared to “regular” steels while maintaining adequate ductility, weldability and toughness. Steel manufacturers obtain these properties by using low alloy chemistries, heat treatment and controlled rolling. The regular structural grades of steel are designated by the specification, grade…
The Sustainable Steel Council (SSC) was formed in 2009 to promote the use of steel as a sustainable building material to the various stakeholders within New Zealand’s building and property industries. Following the formation of Metals New Zealand (MNZ) in 2011, SSC supports the wider MNZ activity on the sustainability of metal products. Since 2011,…
The two most advanced design guides on floor vibrations are SCI Publication 354 and CCIP-016 for steel-framed buildings and reinforced concrete buildings, respectively. Both design guides permit engineers to predict the response of structures due to human-induced vibrations to enable comparisons to be made with acceptance criteria contained within standards such as ISO 10137. Standards…