National events spotlight how the structural steel industry contributes to building America
September 24, 2010 is SteelDay, the largest educational and networking event the steel industry has ever seen. Encouraged by the overwhelming success of the inaugural event last year, the American Institute of Steel Construction has organized SteelDay again, this time with even more events from more companies occurring in more states than last year. Industry partners such as the American Galvanizers Association have taken the event to a new level of participation, and the event has even crossed international borders — Canadian as well as Italian steel industry representatives will participate as well.
All events are free to attendees, and it is a tremendous opportunity to get to know what the structural steel industry does and who the people are. Aside from networking with peers, colleagues, clients, and vendors, it’s your chance to get to know the people who fabricate structural steel. See the list of scheduled events on page 22.
Types of events
Each SteelDay host will provide attendees details of their individual events at www.SteelDay.org The following descriptions will give you a general idea of what to expect at various types of facility tours:
Structural steel fabricator tours — Witness the heart of the structural steel supply chain by visiting a steel fabricator near you on SteelDay 2010. Learn how off-site, controlled conditions ensure a consistently high-quality product and reduce or eliminate errors and fixes at the job site. Experience the use of advanced machinery and technology; see how the steel industry has taken advantage of BIM for over 20 years and how it has streamlined production and increased efficiency. Attendees will learn about the processes steel fabricators go through from receiving the steel through to shipping steel to the job site.
Steel mill/producer tours — Witness the beginning (and end) of the structural steel supply chain by visiting a steel mill and seeing the awesome capability of these huge scrap metal recycling and steel production facilities. Experience the quality control procedures throughout the process and develop an understanding of rolling schedules and steel availability. Attendees will learn about and witness the steelmaking process from start to finish.
Steel service center tours — Come and visit a structural steel service center and see what thousands of tons of steel looks like. Plus, experience the crucial role these facilities play in the structural steel industry and learn how they can help you and your project. Attendees will learn how and why steel is distributed through service centers, and how service centers can help with their projects. In addition, the nationwide inventory of structural steel will be highlighted and witnessed
HSS producer tours — Witness the incredible machinery and processes used to manufacture top quality hollow structural sections (HSS). Learn the differences between HSS and TS or HSS and pipe and how to call them out appropriately. Experience the quality control procedures throughout the process and develop an understanding of manufacturing schedules and HSS shape availability. Attendees will see first-hand the fascinating process of manufacturing hollow structural sections out of steel coil.
Bender-roller tours — Curved steel doesn’t just happen. Precision instruments and expert benders are responsible for these increasingly popular architectural and structural elements. Learn about the various methods of bending and rolling steel shapes and develop an understanding of these specialty sub-contractors and how they fit into the structural steel supply chain. Attendees will learn about and witness the very specialized and skilled process of bending and rolling steel shapes.
Galvanizer tours — Visit a hot-dip galvanizing facility and watch as fabricated steel is staged, cleaned, prepped and finally dipped into a kettle full of molten zinc to complete the galvanizing process. Attendees will learn about the Hot-Dip Galvanizing (HDG) process, from staging material through each process until the steel is silver-gray and fully protected against corrosion.
Other types of tours — SteelDay hosts will also be offering other types of events and activities including: jobsite tours, multiple facility tours, presentations and seminars, walking tours, and “hands-on” activities.
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Visit www.SteelDay.org to learn more, as well as to find an event near you and register to attend.
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More details on SteelDay 2010
About structural steel fabricators
The fabricator works to a predetermined schedule developed in consultation with the project team. This schedule controls everything, from how the detailers release information, to when material is sent to the shop, to the order of trucks shipping fabricated steel to the job site. One of the major advantages of building with structural steel is the quality of the fabrication process. Off-site fabrication allows for a quality controlled environment unaffected by climate and weather changes, or by adverse site conditions. The nature of the material allows it to be fabricated to very close tolerances and at every stage of fabrication the steel is inspected to help guarantee a quality product and eliminate mistakes and costly site work. Fabrication itself consists of tasks such as cutting, drilling, punching, shearing, welding, piece assembly and assembly of complex geometry and trusses. Fabricators have invested in advanced computer-controlled (CNC) machinery and material-handling equipment to perform the more common tasks such as cutting to length, drilling and shape burning. The CNC machines are extremely fast and efficient and are fed automatically from the BIM systems used by the detailers. About steel service centers
Steel service centers buy steel from each rolling cycle at every mill and keep it as inventory to sell to fabricators. They keep a full range of steel products in multiple lengths and also provide value-added services to fabricators such as first-stage, pre-fabrication processing (cutting beams to length, tee splitting, cambering, plate burning) and meeting staged delivery requirements (such as delivering multiple shapes from various producers according to the project sequence). Service centers maintain inventory levels according to market conditions; ensuring steel is always available by acting as a “shock absorber” for any unexpected peaks in demand. About galvanizers
Steel is galvanized post-fabrication and generally en-route to the project site. The galvanizing process consists of moving the steel through various “baths”. The first bath ensures the steel is free of grease, dirt and oil and following this it is neutralized, and then dipped in an acid bath to remove any oxidation. To prevent further oxidation and prepare the steel for actual galvanizing, the steel goes through another chemical mixture before arriving at the zinc kettle. The zinc kettle contains 99 percent pure molten zinc, heated between 815 and 850F. Once the steel is dipped into the kettle the chemical reaction occurs naturally and once the base metal reaches the same temperature as the molten zinc it is complete. There is no cure time needed although each batch is typically then dipped into a vat of water for cooling. |
SteelDay Events Alabama
Arkansas
Arizona
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Iowa
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Massachusetts
Maryland
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Mississippi
North Carolina
North Dakota
Nebraska
New Jersey
New York
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Vermont
Washington
Wisconsin
West Virginia
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