The American Institute of Steel Construction's Fabricator Education Training Program has developed and released new resources to help fabrication shops boost employee familiarity with the layout and fitup of columns.
AISC's award-winning online Fabricator Education Training Program is a supplement to in-person instruction. It helps new hires acquire necessary skills as quickly as possible, which will, in turn, help them progress into more specialized career paths that become available with experience. They're also an excellent way for a steel fabricator to demonstrate investment in the potential of individual employees, which is key for retention.
The new columns course includes modules on wide-flange, square HSS, HSS with through plates, columns with moment connection or opposite offsets, and two modules on round HSS columns. Each of those situations has its own considerations for successful fabrication, and the column course equips steel fabricators with the basic concepts they need for each one.
"Precision is even more critical when working with columns," said AISC Fabricator Education Program Manager Joel Landsverk. "We tailored this curriculum to help workers who have both the desire and the aptitude for more advanced work develop the skills they'll need for the next step in their careers, and that includes fabricating columns."
AISC will release additional new Fabricator Education Training Program courses on layout and fitup of pitched beams later this year.
The program is an exclusive benefit for AISC full-member fabricators and is included in their membership fees. Learn more at aisc.org/fabricator-training.