Improving the Building Process:
New Accreditation Will Help the Metal Building Industry in Varied and Important Ways
Keith E. Fischer,
Posted
07/01/2008
On April 8, the accreditation committee of the International
Accreditation Service Inc., Whittier, Calif., approved new
accreditation criteria for inspection programs for manufacturers of
metal building systems (AC472). This comprehensive, third-party
accreditation program for the inspection of metal building
manufacturers is based on the requirements of Chapter 17 of the
International Building Code and provides code officials with a
means to approve the inspection programs of manufacturers involved
in the fabrication of metal building systems. To achieve the
accreditation, the manufacturer must put in place a comprehensive
quality-assurance program unequaled in the marketplace today. This
is significant for our industry and of great value to our builders
and customers. AC472 will give code bodies credible information
that can streamline approvals of metal building systems, helping to
speed and improve the overall building process. The AC472
accreditation program, which replaces the AISC-MB certification in
2009, promises to have a positive impact on metal building system
construction.
The Metal Building Manufacturers Association, Cleveland, strongly
endorses AC472. MBMA staff and volunteers have given countless
hours working out the numerous details of these new criteria; but
that is good news because this programis one of the most important
and far-reaching activities in the association's history.
As metal building manufacturers, MBMA members deeply believe our
constant and consistent commitment to unwavering quality and to
substantive quality-assurance programming is what truly
differentiates us. MBMA members believe it is the association's
role to foster quality and responsibility in the industry. In fact,
we attribute the industry's growth to the deep level of building
quality represented by MBMA members.
Affiliation with IAS gives us credibility among building code
officials and among governing agencies and bodies in cities,
counties, states and regions nationwide. IAS accredits testing and
calibration laboratories, inspection agencies, building
departments, fabricator inspection programs and IBC special
inspection agencies. It has a global presence and a solidly
respected reputation. As a result, building owners will benefit in
many ways from their inspection oversight and quality-assurance
requirements as they relate to metal building systems
manufacturers.
A significant value of the program is that it is based on the
requirements of Chapter 17 of the IBC (IBC 2006), now adopted by
most states. Chapter 17 outlines special inspection requirements
for fabrication plants. Therefore, code officials can accept IAS
accreditation as sufficient evidence that manufacturers are in
compliance with those requirements of the ICC code, preventing the
need for further inspections.
AC472 will replace the AISC-MB certification program that has
provided third-party certifcation for metal building system
manufacturers since 1989. The American Institute of Steel
Construction, Chicago, and MBMA jointly decided to end AISC's
sponsorship of the Metal Building Certification Program effective
Dec. 31. MBMA and IAS collaborated to give life to the metal
building accreditation program over a nine-month time frame, from
August 2007 through April 2008. The effort culminated in unanimous
approval of AC472 on April 8.
To begin the education process, MBMA and IAS jointly held a
two-day training workshop from April 22-23 in Dallas. Over 70
representatives from MBMA member firms attended the workshop to
learn more about the specifics of the program.
MBMA Members Will Benefit
For building systems manufacturers, eliminating additional
in-plant inspections over and above the inspection program
requirements is a value-added attribute of the new program.
Currently, under Chapter 17 of the IBC, code officials can require
in-plant inspections of every building a manufacturer
produces.
Under the IAS program, that number is reduced to two, which allows
compliance to become less cumbersome. These process changescan,
therefore, potentially result in savings in both time and effort
that can be passed on to building owners and developers and/or
enhance a company's efficiency and bottom-line results.
Under the program, each accredited company will participate in two
inspections per year at each of its primary manufacturing and
engineering design facilities. The first inspection will consist of
an audit performed by IAS representatives and an independent
inspection agency. Then, approximately six months later, the
inspection agency will perform another inspection.
The IAS AC472 Program covers three parts: Part (A) is modeled
after AC172 for steel fabricators and covers structural welding;
Part (B) is coldform steel fabrication; and Part (C) is
engineering. These elements of the process bring great value to the
marketplace for manufacturers, as well as building contractors,
owners and specifiers.
One value for manufacturers is that AC472 uniformly and
comprehensively addresses quality management system fundamentals,
such as engineering, fabrication and shop practices, personnel
requirements, materials certification, process control, and
administrative and technical requirements that are essential for
code officials to designate IAS-accredited entities as approved
fabricators.
Another attribute is the program will allow comprehensive and
elaborate material traceability. Documentation will allow an owner
to trace materials all the way from the maker of the steel to the
erection of the finished product.
IAS began training of Inspection Agencies in May and June and
expected to begin accepting applications for AC472 this month. IAS
accreditation will help MBMA members and code offi cials expedite
the approval process for metal building systems bringing greater
credibility to our industry, expediting code compliance matters and
offering enormous advantage to us all.
To learn more or begin the accreditation process, log on to
www.iasonline.org. To learn more from the MBMA point of view, click
on www.mbma.com.
Keith E. Fischer is chairman of the Metal Building Manufacturers
Association, Clevland
www.mbma.com; www.iasonline.org