AISC Certification


Certified Fabricators

Benefits

Meeting your Customer Requirements

AISC Certification is essential to give your business the opportunity to BID on MORE projects. Owners and design professionals use AISC Certification to set the level of quality on a project, whereas general contractors have to execute that specified level of quality. Surveys of owners, designers and general contractors conducted by AISC identified three critical drivers in the selection of structural steel: cost (materials and labor), speed (meet the stated schedule and deadlines), and quality (confidence that the project’s specifications will be met). AISC certification helps you enhance all three critical drivers: cost, speed and quality.

Reduce the owner’s COST and increase your profitability by improving the consistency of your operations: AISC Certification helps you reduce the risk of rework by requiring you to have measurable goals. Goals lead to modifying your documented production as well as your quality procedures which in turn reduces waste.

SPEED up delivery by taking the inspection schedule into your hands: IBC Chapter 1704.2.5.2 does not require special inspections where the work is done in the facilities or shop of a fabricator registered and approved. Inspections are performed by the fabricator instead of a third-party inspector resulting in a faster schedule. AISC Certification is frequently used by fabricators to obtain such approval from the building official.

Meet the specified level of QUALITY by effective communication with your customer: AISC Certification requires you to have effective inspection record keeping. When these processes are part of your Quality Management System (QMS), you will have the information your customer needs.

  • What if a piece of steel delivered to the jobsite last week suddenly turns up damaged? Do you have the documentation to show that it was delivered to the site unharmed?
  • What if a coating system starts to peel? Do you have documentation regarding the surface preparation?

Differentiate your business

Demonstrate to customers your commitment to quality: AISC Certification shows a client your DEDICATION to quality—by confirming that your company does what it says it does. Our programs help highlight that your company has the personnel, knowledge, organization, equipment, experience, capability, procedures and commitment to produce quality work.

Differentiate your company from the competition: Everywhere you turn, there's more COMPETITION – others are clamoring for your customers and your piece of the market. AISC Certification separates your company from that competition, and it puts you on a different playing level. It allows you the opportunity to bid on more projects and be known as an AISC Certified Fabricator.  

Improve your shop everyday

It builds-in quality from the start: AISC Certification goes far beyond product inspection requirements—it examines a company’s quality management systems as a whole. The program results in a quality management system embedded within your organization to INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY, which helps to reduce unnecessary costs and ensure quality processes. AISC-Certified companies are required to have a complete QMS that covers the entire fabrication process, from quality goals to employee training to product delivery.

It makes your shop better, every day: Every fabricator should have some type of QMS, but AISC Certification ensures that yours is successful and adhered to. A good QMS will identify errors early and address them in a way that benefits your BOTTOM LINE by eliminating their recurrence. Another key feature of our program is the requirement to set goals for improvement, since even the best and brightest company—regardless of size—benefits by reviewing its quality procedures on a regular basis.

What is the end message of AISC Certification? Bid on more jobs because you meet the specifications. Win more jobs because you meet the owner’s goals to buy a quality project finished on time and within budget. Finally, standout from your competition by demonstrating commitment to quality while still improving your bottom line and increasing productivity.

Resources

Fee Schedule

Domestic 
International

Submit Program Prerequisites: 
application@aisc.org (preferred)

American Institute of Steel Construction
Attn: Certification Programs
130 E. Randolph Street, Suite 2000
Chicago, IL 60601-6219

Submit Payments: 
American Institute of Steel Construction
PO Box 8761
Carol Stream, IL 60197-8761

Overnight Payments:
Attn: Lockbox Operations
PO Box 978761
2012 Corporate Lane, Suite 108
Naperville, IL 60563

Wire Transfers:
Please contact AISC for instructions.

Bulletins

Certification Bulletins help to communicate program changes that may affect you. Their purpose is to explain the change and why it is occurring, plus they provide clarity and program transparency. If you have any questions about these, please contact us at certification@aisc.org or 312.670.7520.

2018

2017

2016 & Earlier

Audit Resources

NASCC Fabricator Sessions

NASCC: The Steel Conference is the premier educational and networking event for the structural steel industry, bringing together steel fabricators, erectors, structural engineers, and detailers from across the country. The Steel Conference offers more than 130 sessions, plus it offers a Quality Track aimed at fabricators and erectors. Topics range from management-buy to solutions for corrective-actions to AISC Certification updates. Below is a list of highlights, and there is a current list of past Quality Track sessions, too.

Waivers

The "No More Waivers!" program is an AISC Certification initiative implemented to help specifiers and AISC Certified companies respond to pressure from contractors and owners to waive quality requirements. Since its inception in 2004, the "No More Waivers!" program goal has been to promptly respond to all attempts to waive quality requirements that are reported to the program. The program currently relies largely on specifiers and AISC Certified firms to identify potential waiver cases and to engage AISC as a partner to counter efforts to waive requirements. Together, through timely action focused on key project decision makers and appropriate information about the value of Certification, we can reduce the number of waivers.

Looking ahead, the long-term goal of the program is to eliminate quality requirement waivers by making AISC Certification a pre-qualification to any bid list. As progress toward achieving this goal, Certified fabricators, Certified erectors, and specifiers are increasingly assuming lead roles in protecting Certification requirements. They are building cases for individual projects and working to educate members of the building industry in their local markets about the value of Certification.

Please use the tools provided above to help make your case to any and all key project decision makers. If your letter and follow up phone calls fail to gain consideration in your waiver situation, call or email AISC Certification for additional support. AISC can most effectively support your efforts when actions are based on the information you have collected.

Use the "No More Waivers!" form noted above as a tool to communicate your waiver response history and identified decision makers. Once completed, email the form to Todd Alwood, manager of certification business development and you will be contacted within a 24-hour period. Todd can be reached at either alwood@aisc.org or 312.670.7527.

Quality Management Systems (QMS) Programs and Endorsements

Building QMS Certification (BU)

This program's governing document is the Certification Standard for Steel Building Structures and describes certification requirements for building fabricators regardless of project size and complexity. Certification includes all functions of providing Structural Steel fabrication from receipt of contract through final delivery. AISC believes there is a basic level of quality all fabricators must maintain regardless of the facility’s size or capacity.The previous acronym (STD) has been superseded by BU.  Please note, AISC Certification is address-specific, so each fabrication facility must apply separately.

Bridge QMS Certification

In 2014, this program completed the conversion to a standard-based bridge certification, which replaces the previous checklist criteria. This transition completes a two-year process of converting bridge participants and applicants to the AISC Certification Program Requirements for Steel Bridge Fabricators. In addition, the program requirements introduce the certification categories of Certified Bridge Fabricator: Simple (SBR), Intermediate (IBR), and Advanced (ABR). Certificates will temporarily continue to include either the “Intermediate/Major” or “Advanced/Major” designations to allow transportation departments additional time to update their standard specifications. Please note, AISC Certification is address-specific, so each fabrication facility must apply separately.

Bridge Component QMS Certification (CPT)

This program's governing document is the Standard for Bridge and Highway Metal Component Manufacturers and describes certification requirements for facilities that manufacture and supply specific components, composed primarily of metal to bridge and highway construction projects. Certification is appropriate for manufacturers of components that include bracing not designed for primary loads (diaphragms, cross frames and lateral bracing); camera, light, sign and signal support structures; bridge rail; stairs; walkways; grid decks; drains; scuppers; expansion joints; bearings; ballast plates; and mechanical movable bridge equipment. Please note, AISC Certification is address-specific, so each fabrication facility must apply separately.

Hydraulic QMS Certification (HYD)

This program's governing document is the AISC Certification Program Requirements for Fabricators of Hydraulic Steel Structures. It is applicable to the following types of hydraulic steel structures: Lock gates (miter gates, vertical-lift gates, sector gates, roller gates and submergible tainter gates), spillway gates, bulkheads, needle beams, lock culvert valves, and stop logs used in navigation, flood control or hydropower projects and similar structures. Please note, AISC Certification is address-specific, so each fabrication facility must apply separately. 

Fracture Critical Endorsement (FC)

This OPTIONAL endorsement is focused on the requirements of AWS D1.5, Clause 12, AASHTO/AWS Fracture Control Plan for Nonredundant Members. The provisions of Clause 12 apply to steel bridge members or components that are designated as “fracture critical.” Fracture critical members are basically tension members, or portions of members, of a bridge whose failure could cause a partial or complete collapse of the bridge. The program will evaluate the capability of the bridge fabricator to meet the more stringent fabrication demands of the D1.5 Fracture Control Plan. This endorsement is optional for only Certified Bridge Fabricators or Component Manufacturers.

Sophisticated Paint Endorsement (SPE)

This OPTIONAL endorsement’s governing document is the Standard for Shop Application of Complex Protective Coating Systems, which was developed as a joint effort with Society for Protective Coatings: SSPC to streamline the criteria for both the marketplace and industry. The program evaluates the qualifications of structural steel fabricators and manufacturers of bridge and highway metal components who apply sophisticated or industrial protective coatings, such as zincs, expoxies, urethanes, or multi-coat systems in their paint shops following fabrication. There are three categories: P1-Sophisticated Paint Endorsement-Enclosed, P2-Sophisticated Paint Endorsement-Covered, and P3-Sophisticated Paint Endorsement-Outside. The program is optional for all AISC Certified fabricator participants.