Maintaining Standards

Updated Steel Australian Standards

Revisions and updates to a number of Australian Standards applicable to the steel industry include changes to structural, building, fabrication and manufacturing material specifications.

Many have been driven by customer demands for improved product traceability and conformance, due to increased volumes of imported products in the local market and the potential for varying quality levels. The aim is not only to improve compliance, but to increase confidence in the quality of steel available across all applications.

Risk and reward

Imported steels can vary greatly in quality due to significant variances in international standards and subsequent mandatory conformance criteria. Steel non-compliant with Australian Standards puts users at risk in terms of safety, reduced structural performance and even potential litigation.

The rewards of using compliant steel products are many. They include knowing the materials used meet all design and safety requirements, helping ensure building integrity and preserving hard-won reputations. Compliant materials also lead to greater transparency and traceability of processes, providing recognised testing protocols that are easily verified by all parties.

The steel industry recognises customers want quality assurance, minimising risk to themselves, their businesses and their customers. The revised Australian Standards help customers to ensure they are receiving products that conform to the standards they require.

The new Standards

Australian Standards AS/NZS 1163:2009 (hollow sections for structural applications) and AS/NZS 3679.1:2010 (hot rolled bars and sections) now have mandatory requirements for markings and test certificates. These let users check to see if the steel they’re buying is produced to Australian Standards and up to the performance required of it. This is good news because until now, all structural steel has appeared the same. The changes have been introduced in response to industry concerns regarding product quality, identification, certification and traceability. The major changes to these standards include mandatory requirements for:

• For AS/NZS1163:2009: Individual length identification marked on all exmill tube lengths with information such as the manufacturer’s name, site identification, traceable text identification
• For AS/NZS3679.1:2010: A rolled-in mark on the product identifying the manufacturer and also that it is produced to this Australian Standard, indicated by “AS”
• Specific information on test certificates
• Testing to be performed by laboratories with third-party accreditation from a signatory to International Laboratories Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), such as NATA The changes make it easy to check the steel specified is produced to the appropriate new standards. Additionally, Australian Standard AS1397:2001 (steel sheet and strip – zinc coated), as applied to BlueScope Steel products like COLORBOND® steel and ZINCALUME® steel, has tangible benefits and users should consider these points:   Imported material might have base steel properties different to those required by Australian Standards and therefore might have lower ductility and be more prone to cracking under design load. All steel manufactured by BlueScope Steel is quality assured to meet or exceed applicable Australian Standards, which can specify minimum requirements for mechanical properties e.g. ductility
• If the metallic coated steel product is not legibly and durably marked with ‘AS1397’ then it might not comply with AS1397:2001. However, this requirement does not apply to pre-painted steel products. Metallic coated steel products made by BlueScope Steel that meet AS1397:2001 are legibly and durably marked to visibly show compliance, as required by the Standard
• Many foreign standards use Total Coated Thickness (TCT) to describe steel product thickness that might not be suitable for design loads under Australian Standards. The thickness of BlueScope Steel products is specified as Base Metal Thickness (BMT) not TCT. BMT is the relevant measurement for structural strength

Quality and support guaranteed

BlueScope Distribution supplies an extensive range of quality, approved steel products. These include plate, sheet and coil, reinforcing fabric, bar and building products, merchant bar, structural steel, tubular, engineering steel and aluminium products. BlueScope Distribution is a quality-accredited organisation focussed on customer satisfaction – your satisfaction.

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