Certification
View the 2023 QualityCon Sessions for Free
QualityCon 2023 returned to NASCC: The Steel Conference! Our in-person and livestream attendees received the latest insights on quality management principles and specific ways to boost the bottom line by improving quality processes.
You can now watch all the sessions from the comfort of your office or home. Plus, they are free. Happy watching!
Links to the recorded sessions can be found below.
If you're looking for more quality-related sessions, visit our QualityCon page for even more sessions back to 2015!
Q1: Certification Forum
Join us to kick off QualityCon and learn about all the new developments in AISC Certification, including revisions to the Certification Standard, updates to our Governing Requirements, and more.
Q2: AISC Certification--What Does It Mean?
The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) Quality Management Systems (QMS) Certification sets the quality standard and is the most recognized program for structural steel fabrication and erection. Attendees will learn about the hurdles to obtain AND maintain certification, plus recent program changes which affect participants and inspectors. Also, the session will discuss IBC's 1704.2.5.1 Fabricator Approval along with AISC 360's Chapter N: Quality Control and Quality Assurance.
Q3: AISC 360 Chapter N and AISC 341 Chapter J; The Specifications and The Provisions, How They Work Together and What You Need to Know!
There's a lot of information packed into the Quality Control/Quality Assurance chapters in AISC's Specification for Structural Steel Buildings and Seismic Provisions for Structural Steel Buildings. Join us for a guided tour designed to help you better understand the requirements outlined in each document and how to apply them in your facility.
The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) Quality Management Systems (QMS) Certification sets the quality standard and is the most recognized program for structural steel fabrication and erection. Attendees will learn about the hurdles to obtain AND maintain certification, plus recent program changes which affect participants and inspectors. Also, the session will discuss IBC's 1704.2.5.1 Fabricator Approval along with AISC 360's Chapter N: Quality Control and Quality Assurance.
Q4: The Hidden Shop - Nonconformances and Corrective Actions (Part 1)
It's human nature to manage most nonconformances and corrective actions as nuisances. So, what are you actually doing with them? Are you struggling to use them effectively in your company? Are you routinely under-reporting or work within a culture of fear or protection? Sometimes, the terms can be confusing or may be used in the wrong context. This session will help clarify their differences and show you the basics of implementing them in your own quality management system.
Q5: The Learning Shop: Effective Use and Management of Nonconformances and Corrective Actions (Part 2)
Nonconformances are unwelcome but expected QMS inputs that require a dedicated team, common sense filters and a defined process to manage significant issues as corrective actions. Along the way, the entire NC/CA chain has to prove itself to top management as a valuable, necessary improvement tool. This session explains approaches, tools, and techniques for clarifying and expanding your NC/CA program to improve methods, speed, and appreciation throughout the company.
Q6: Join the Race for 2023 and Beyond: Technology Integration for Today's Erector
What is the latest on technology for erectors? What's current? What's the next big thing? Hear about it from industry leaders on the cutting edge. They'll share how their current practices and new ideas can affect your quality and bottom line.
Q8: Looking for DOT Work? Dash to This Session! (Part 1)
The Infrastructure Investment and Job Act may present new opportunities for your business, so your firm may be considering entering a new sector to diversify. Working with a DOT (state department of transportation, tollway agency), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, or other transportation sector government agencies means handling more critical requirements. These could include detailed submittals, materials control, a new relationship with the owner, ever-present quality assurance oversight, specifications, qualifications, and special provisions. To ensure success for these critical requirements and their associated expectations, join us to decode the often-overlooked details of communication and contract review. These two details will help smooth your transition into a new construction field, preserve profits, and make a good impression from day one. This will be a two-part session.
Q9: Wanting to Do More Work for a DOT? Also Dash to This Session! (Part 2)
The Infrastructure Investment and Job Act may present new opportunities for your business, so your firm may be considering entering a new sector to diversify. Working with a DOT (state department of transportation, tollway agency), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, or other transportation sector government agencies means handling more critical requirements. These could include detailed submittals, materials control, a new relationship with the owner, ever-present quality assurance oversight, specifications, qualifications, and special provisions. To ensure success for these critical requirements and their associated expectations, join us to decode the often-overlooked details of communication and contract review. These two details will help smooth your transition into a new construction field, preserve profits, and make a good impression from day one. This will be a two-part session.
Q10: Three Fabricators Walk into a Bar...
...but when you have these three knowledgeable and respected steel fabricators sharing their collective wisdom, it's no joking matter. Join us for some top-shelf lessons learned and a generous pour of expertise, with answers to your steel fabrication questions as a chaser.
Q11: What You Should Know About Complex Coatings
If you're ever going to lose money on a job, it'll probably be due to a complex coating. There are so many variables that go into application, curing, and transportation when you have a system on a job. This session will talk about a few of those pitfalls to avoid, so they don't happen to you. Plus, there will be a Q&A session with the panelist too - so bring your coating questions!
Q12: Shop Welding Fundamentals for D1.1
Are you looking to learn the basics of welding? Then, this is the session for you. Topics will include learning about WPSs, setting up your machine and steel, to measuring your welds. Then, we'll move onto a few more advanced topics toward the end, along with time for questions and answers.
Q13: Right Bolt, Right Time, Right Place. How to Order Structural Bolts Correctly the First Time
A deep dive on structural bolt related ordering information for designers, detailers, fabricators, and contractors. Get up to date information on ordering structural fasteners for your projects using the correct code references, descriptions, supplementary requirements, and order notes. This presentation will cover new specifications, bolt grades, strength groups, material types, and test reports. It will also cover coatings, supplementary requirements like lubrication, alternative dimensions, and thread lengths. Helpful advice on when to specify rotational capacity testing, and useful guidance when using short bolts in shear/bearing design.
Q14: How to Incorporate Risk-Based Thinking Into the Everyday
Risk-based thinking permeates most current management system standards. Safety-related risks should, of course, be prominent, but many other aspects of any organization should have consideration for risks too. These varied risks may relate to contract errors, diminished efficiencies, scrap, erosion of market share, decreased customer confidence, or loss of qualified staff, just to name a few. It is possible to establish a culture of risk-based thinking that creates value without a burdensome risk management scheme. We'll present the concept of risk-based thinking and provide tips for efficient and effective implementation.
Q15: Calibration: Why, What, and When
Calibration of Measuring and Testing Equipment (M&TE) is often a misunderstood process in the steel fabrication and erection industry. As such, it can result in not only unnecessary costs but also unacceptable risks. This presentation will attempt to demystify the calibration process using common examples, practical comparisons, and high-risk M&TE non conformances.
Q16: Nuts, Washers and Bolts, Oh My!
Let's journey down the yellow brick road through slots and holes into the land of connections. Along the way we will make structural fasteners brainless, find out how to keep them from rusty up solid, and courageously take on the combined method. We will even overcome the wicked calibrated wrench. The wizard will lead us beyond others' corrective actions and into the land of lessons learned.
Q17: Welding Management for Your Shop and Jobsite
W. Edwards Deming said, Inspection does not improve the quality, nor guarantee quality. Inspection is too late. The quality, good or bad, is already in the product. Citing Harold F. Dodge, he stated, Quality can not be inspected into a product or service; it must be built into it. Fabricators and Erectors must have a Quality Management System (QMS) or Quality Control (QC) system. AISC standards, AWS standards, and related documents frequently use the word inspection. Are your fabrication and/or erection operations addressing welding through inspection processes? Inspection is often considered to be only after completion of the welding, ignoring the need for inspection before and during welding. Inspection often tends to focus on finding mistakes, then getting them fixed. This session will focus on changing the approach from inspection to welding management, using shop supervision and/or welding coordination approaches. We will use guidance from other welding management systems and related standards to help develop an appropriate and effective means to build quality into your welding operations.
Q18: A QMS Isn't A Burden--It's A Benefit
Everyone's quality and certification journey are different, and Realine is interested in sharing theirs. They have been ISO certified and recently become AISC certified. What did they learn through the process, and how did the journey make them a better fabricator? Come find out!
Q19: Contractor QC Training and Task Management Tips and Traps
Is your QC documentation lackluster or cluttered or even nonexistent? Don't worry! Join us for expert insights from the people who've been there. They'll share tips to help you train your personnel on what really matters before they start filling out paperwork and help you avoid common mistakes, like assuming that more is better when it comes to documentation. We'll discuss how to motivate workers to buy into the QC process, streamline documentation, and assure that the process works as intended by following up.
Q20: Forging Employee Loyalty: Recruiting and Retention
The Steel Construction industry struggles with attracting and retaining qualified candidates especially for front line leadership for both the shop and office. Is there a strategy that we as leaders can employ to attract and retain quality employees?
Q21: Forging Employee Loyalty: Promotions and Mentorship
The Steel Construction industry struggles with attracting and retaining qualified candidates especially for front line leadership for both the shop and office. Is there a strategy that we as leaders can employ to attract and retain quality employees?
Q22: It Fits! Tolerances Aren't Important, Until It Doesn't Fit
The tolerances for the steel fabrication and erection that are provided in the AISC Code of Standard Practice are an essential elements in Steel Construction. In part, these tolerances establish the quality of the work, but related issues are also of significance. These other issues are tolerance coordination among building systems, adjustment at building system interfaces, and the accommodation of follow-on trades, such as the structural steel frame as a follow-on to the foundations and follow-on trades to the frame such as the façade/curtain wall. The presentation will cover a range of codes, standards, and design guides that attendees use on a daily basis.