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STEEL CONSTRUCTION:
FABRICATION AND ERECTION

Lecture 3.1.1: General Fabrication of

Steel Structures I
OBJECTIVE/SCOPE
To give a brief outline of the fabrication process for steel structures; to identify the factors
affecting manufacturing costs and to stress the importance of the designer considering the
fabrication process when preparing the design.
PREREQUISITES
None are essential.
The following lectures might be helpful:
Lecture 2.1: Characteristics of Iron-Carbon Alloys
Lecture 2.2: Manufacturing and Forming Processes
Lectures 2.3: Engineering Properties of Metals
Lecture 2.4: Steel Grades and Qualities
Lecture 2.5: Selection of Steel Quality
RELATED LECTURES
Lecture 3.3: Principles of Welding
Lecture 3.4: Welding Processes
Lecture 3.5: Fabrication/Erection of Buildings
Lecture 4A.1: General Corrosion
Lecture 15A.8: Offshore: Fabrication
Lecture 15B.12: Introduction to Bridge Construction
SUMMARY
The lecture gives a brief summary of the forms of contract and organisation used for the
fabrication of steel structures. It reviews fabrication processes with brief descriptions of the
main operations.

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1. INTRODUCTION
The objective of this lecture is to give an insight into the fabrication aspects of steel
structures. Optimum design of steel structures can only be achieved if fabrication and
erection are considered together with the functional, architectural and structural
requirements.
To minimize total costs and optimise the design of the steel structure, it is important that
the various disciplines involved work in a coordinated way as a project team during the
various stages.
Fabrication costs do not depend only on the fabrication itself but are also influenced by the
contract scope, contracting procedures and organisation. Costs are very sensitive to the
labour involved in the fabrication. Good design concentrates on minimising material
handling and preparation; in this regard it should be noted that fabrication procedures and
sequencing may be influenced by the protection required to the steelwork. Careful
attention should also be given to other aspects such as material characteristics, distortions
and tolerances.

2. FORMS OF CONTRACT AND ORGANISATION

2.1 General
Both the form of contract and of the organisation depend heavily on the project, the client
and the contractor involved. It is common practice for the fabrication company to enter
into a contract which involves fabrication, erection and the preparation of the detail
drawings; this can prove most competitive since the fabrication costs of a steel structure
are substantially influenced by the cost-consciousness of the detail-engineering.
Major constructions, such as high-rise buildings, bridges, and offshore structures, are
usually designed by a specialist consulting engineering practice under a separate contract;
however, for commonplace structures (portal frames, etc.) it is not unusual that the total
design is undertaken by the contractor in a package deal with the client.

2.2 Contract Procedures

After receipt of the order and agreement of terms, copies of the principal documents are
passed on to the Drawing Office. These documents usually include:

Engineer's Drawings.
Conditions of Contract.
Technical Specification.
Contract Programme.

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2.3 Planning
The success of any contract generally depends on compliance with the requirements of the
project programme; deviations from the programme can have very serious effects on costs;
delays can be traumatic for the other participating trades and subsequently for the client.
The programme is usually made out in bar-line format and based on network techniques,
including critical path analysis.
Essential elements are:

Erection sequence;
Purchasing the material from the steelmill;
Preparation of fabrication drawings;
Material preparation;
Fabrication;
Assembly;
Protective treatment;
Delivery to site.

Each element is planned to a set timescale, and co-ordinated with parallel actions from
other contracts occurring during the same period. If the erection programme imposes
demands for shop fabrication in excess of the fabricator's capacity, then sub-letting of work
will be necessary, coupled with the requisite QA- and QC-assessment.

2.4 Drawing Office

The drawings can be produced expeditiously and economically only if the consulting
engineer provides all necessary information concerning the geometry of the structure,
member sizes, forces and moments in connections. Without the relevant information there
will be very costly delays not only in the Drawing Office, but in the whole production
chain. Extra costs will be incurred by variations to the design after the drawings have been
completed. Even more significantly, extra costs will arise if modifications have to be made
to work in the fabrication shop; alterations to work on site are generally very costly,
particularly if programme delays result.
The production of the drawings will include three phases:

Preparation and setting out work.

Drawing the details.
Checking the drawings.

The time and cost involved in preparing drawings will largely depend upon the degree of
repetition and the complexity of the design; careful consideration of these matters prior to
starting setting out and detail work should result in drawings that, efficiently and
unambiguously, communicate the structural requirements to the workshop operatives and
the site erection team.

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Work stations equipped with modern computer graphics, when used by trained
draughtsmen, can result in higher rates of drawing production. They can also result in a
higher quality of drawing with modifications being more easily incorporated. Longdistance transfer by telephone is possible. Automatic listings of materials and tapes for
numerically controlled (NC) fabrication may also be produced advantageously by these
facilities.

3. FABRICATION PROCEDURES
3.1 Workshop Layout
Fabricators range from small general firms to large specialised producers with different
facilities at their disposal. In either case the fabrication must always be organised in such a
way that the material will pass through a one-way system from receipt to final despatch
(Slide 1). A flow chart, as indicated in Slide 2, shows the main areas of activity in a
modern fabrication shop; the specific activities for a simple steel beam can also be
organised as a production line (Slide 3).

Slide 1

Slide 2

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Slide 3
Most fabrication shops are equipped with overhead travelling cranes, sometimes remotely
controlled from the shop floor. Mechanised conveyor systems are common in the larger
shops. They can greatly reduce handling costs.
Special facilities must be provided for the storage of flammable materials; pipelines for gas
and oxygen must be installed. Welding areas require a heavy power supply and screening
to protect eyes from ultraviolet glare. Some operations are very dusty and noisy, such as
mechanical chipping and arc gouging. Where possible, they should be separated, therefore,
from the other production areas.

3.2 Material Handling and Preparation

Material is taken into temporary stock in such a way that it can be easily identified and
moved. Some companies stack the material for easy access and move it by using cranes
equipped with chains and hooks. Other companies use a high degree of automation in their
material handling, using cranes on conveyors with magnetic lifting devices; Slide 4, for
example, shows a travelling Goliath Magnet Crane with the capacity to lift both plates and
sections (Slide 5 also shows a similar operation). Computerised records hold details of
member sizes, lengths, weights and steel quality, all related to an identification mark.

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Slide 4

Slide 5
When required, the steel is shot blasted in a separate location, either by hand or
automatically. Sometimes the automatic installations can sense the size of the members.
Paint-spraying (done either by hand or automatically) may follow directly after blast
cleaning, depending on the production programme; if, for example, welding is required
then painting will take place after fabrication.

3.3 Templates and Marking

Steel may be marked directly by hand with scribe lines and hole centres; nowadays,
however, in most shops pre-programmed automatic plant is in use. Traditionally, full-sized
templates, made of timber or heavy cardboard, were used to mark the steel for cutting and
for centre popping where holes were to be drilled.
Occasionally a drilled and bushed template, made of steel, would be used for massproduced items in order to avoid the template wearing out. Templates are still being used,
particularly for small plate fittings and gussets, but the templates themselves are made by

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automatic fabrication methods after plotting in the Drawing Office using computer work
stations. These techniques greatly reducing the work of the traditional skilled template
maker.

3.4 Sawing Line and Rolled Sections

The rolled sections are in most cases sawn to length, the other options being mechanical
cutting or flame burning. Three types of saws are available to the fabricator:

Circular saw;
Band saw;
Motor operated hacksaw.

By far the most popular choice is the circular cold saw, as its productivity is better than
that of the band saw or the hack saw. These saws are, in many cases, integrated in
automatic sawing lines, equipped with mechanised longitudinal and transverse conveyors
and measuring devices, as shown in Slides 6 and 7.

Slide 6

Slide 7

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A saw can perform within an accuracy of a fraction of a millimetre on length and within a
squareness of 0,2% of the depth of the cut. The most accurate type is equipped with a
swivelling arm enabling the blade to descend onto the bar. The blade speed adjusts itself
automatically on its way through the work piece. A fully automated saw system will be
operated through a computer program.

3.5 Drilling and the Beam Line System

The traditional method of drilling involves three operations:

Marking the position of the holes to be drilled;

Moving the member to the drill by crane, by conveyor, or by other means;
The actual drilling of the hole, using for instance, a radial drilling machine (radius
about 1,5 metre).

The better equipped fabrication shops nowadays have automatic beam-line systems (Slide
8) which are generally linked to the conveyors of the sawing line. The beam (Slide 9)
moves by longitudinal conveyors along the Y-axis, denoted V and X for each flange, while
the web drilling heads move along the Z-axis.

Slide 8

Slide 9

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Like the sawing line, this system is controlled by computer programs; some machines are
equipped with multiple drilling heads enabling them to drill several holes simultaneously
in each axis (Slides 10 - 12).

Slide 10

Slide 11

Slide 12

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New twist drills are currently available which are capable of higher speeds and greater
efficiency as follows:

Coolant fed drills, giving a threefold increase in drilling speed.

Titanium nitride coated drills, enabling a six-fold speed increase.
Carbide tipped drills with exceptionally high cutting speeds.

3.6 Cropping, Guillotines and Punching

Cropping shears can be used for cutting small sections of limited thickness.
Guillotines can be used for shearing plates up to 25 mm thick but the plate will usually
distort by the high pressure contact with the bottom blade; these, therefore, may only be
used where the specification allows. New punching machines, however, operating at high
speeds, will induce less distortion of the material.
Punching holes in steelwork is much faster, and therefore less costly, than drilling; its use,
however, is generally limited to predominantly statically loaded structures with limited
thickness, or to secondary members, unless HSFG bolted connections are used or the holes
are reamed out to a larger size. The maximum thickness where punching is applicable
depends on the material grade and quality.

3.7 Flame Burning of Plates

Bevelling and shaping of plates by flame cutting is general practice in most fabrication
shops. Oxygen and propane are usually stored in bulk in areas outside and supplied to the
shopfloor in pipelines. The equipment for flame cutting ranges from the simple hand-held
torch to multi-torch, numerically controlled, profiling machines (Slide 13). For wider
plates several heads can be arranged in order to ensure that equal heat is applied to both
edges, thereby avoiding distortion. The cutting carriage can even be provided with three
cutting heads in order to produce double-bevel edges.

Slide 13

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Single head machines can be operated by an optical controlling head, following a one-inten or full size outline, drawn on paper. Profile cutting is often performed by numerically
controlled machines which also have the capacity to mark hole positions and hardstamp
identification marks.
For accelerated cutting speeds, where edge hardness is not considered detrimental, other
methods, like plasma cutting under water or under an inert powder, are available. Laser
cutting is just starting to come into use, but is, for the time being, restricted to thin plates;
the resulting edge hardness, however, makes it unsuitable for some applications.
The fabricator must be aware that flame cutting will always result in shrinkage, for similar
reasons as for welding.
Symmetrical burning of plates limits distortion. Machining of one side will result in
deformation due to the resulting residual stress.

3.8 Pressing and Forming

For the modern fabricator the most important application of plate forming and pressing is
to add to the available range of rolled sections. The trapezoidal shaped trough (Slide 14),
used to stiffen bridge decks, is a very good example. Other examples are the circular
sections of larger than standard dimensions (Slide 15).

Slide 14

Slide 15

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3.9 Methods of Welding

Three welding processes are most commonly used in modern fabrication shops:

Manual Metal-Arc Welding for fittings and for some profile and positional welding
(Slide 16);
Metal Active Gas Welding (MAG) and Cored Wire Welding with and without gas
(Slide 17);
Submerged Arc Welding (Slide 18) for fully automatic processes; particularly
useful for heavy welding in the flat or horizontal-vertical position and for the longrun welds in plate and box girders.
Electric Arc Stud Welding, principally used in composite construction of steel and
concrete.

Slide 16

Slide 17

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Slide 18

3.10 Welding Design and Control of Distortion

Because a full penetration weld is more difficult to make than a full strength weld, full
penetration welds should only be used where necessary, such as in connections where high
fatigue stresses can occur. Good welding design reflects the economies and advantages of
different types of weld by choosing types appropriate to the needs of the design.
The full strength weld is easy to achieve using fillet welds; full penetration welds,
however, without inclusions at the centre, can only be achieved by extensive back gouging
prior to welding the reverse side. The risk of faults in full penetration welds is much
greater and control of distortion more difficult.
Control of distortion is achieved by prestressing the member before welding, or by a
balanced application of heat on each side of the neutral axis of the section. Allowance must
also be made for overall contraction due to welding. The quality of the fitting-up is very
important as any excess gap will affect the distortion and increase the shrinkage.
Maintaining the quality of the weld at the end of the run is difficult. The problem in butt
welds can be tackled by tacking short run-on and run-off plates on each side which are
removed after completion of the weld.

3.11 The Role of the Welding Engineer

Welding procedures are the responsibility of the Welding Engineer, who will produce a
procedure sheet for each weld. He will also make sure that the welder is qualified to the
required standard.
He may also supervise any non-destructive testing (NDT) which may be undertaken by
radiographic, ultrasonic, magnetic particle or dye penetrant means.

3.12 Automatic Production of Plate Girders

The welded plate girder forms a natural addition to the range of rolled sections available.
The typical production sequence is as follows:

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The plates for the girders receive an NDT check for laminations or other defects;
they are then flame cut to the required dimensions and shot blasted.
The girders are firmly clamped into position and tack welded; submerged welding
then follows, the welding heads moving along the weld lines (Slides 19 and 20).
Any stiffeners required are then tacked and welded, usually by MAG welding.

Slide 19

Slide 20
Simultaneous welding of the flanges will reduce distortion.

3.13 Machine Operations

Most fabrication shops are equipped with facilities for edge planing, for end milling and
for surface machining of plate (Slide 21).

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Slide 21
Unacceptable levels of hardness at the edge of the plate, often caused by burning, can be
removed by planing.
End planing of members is used to get a higher standard of squareness than can be
achieved by sawing. Optical laserbeam methods are used to align the axis of the member to
the cutting head.
Surface machining is only necessary for special bearing surfaces and sometimes for the
slab base plates of columns.

3.14 Fabrication Tolerances

Modern fabrication shops have accurate dimensional control over fabricated sections and
have no problems in cutting the rolled material to length. The main problem is coping with
the deviations in the sections and plates received from the steelmills. Euronorm (CEN) and
ISO standards give dimensional tolerances for rolled sections, plates and flats, hollow
sections and angles respectively. The fabricator will use bending rolls to straighten the
material and to "square" flanges of beam sections at critical connection points. As already
mentioned, the control of distortion due to welding during assembly is the important factor
in producing dimensional accuracy in welded sections.
The details and the connections must be designed in such a way that the tolerances will be
met within the limits of good workmanship. An example is given in Slide 22.

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Slide 22

3.15 Trial Erection in the Fabrication Shop

It is sometimes necessary to "prove" the dimensional qualities of the product by a trial
erection of one section of the structure in the fabricator's works.
Parts of bridge structures, particularly those bound for overseas locations, and structures
for the support of intricate industrial plant are likely candidates.
Trial erection is expensive and should be avoided where possible by incorporating methods
of site adjustment into the design and by optimum control of measurements.

3.16 Inspection and Quality Control

Quality Control should commence with the designer and continue through the preparation
of drawings and material procurement; maintaining the quality during the entire production
process will depend heavily on the fabrication details and on the material obtained.

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The larger fabricators have their own Quality Control Department, which will create and
maintain a QC-manual, describing the method of operation throughout the fabrication
process. The Quality Control Department will liaise with the shop management to make
sure that all workers have the skill required for the job on hand and that welders are
qualified to undertake the prescribed welding procedures.
Regular checks are necessary to ensure that:

All materials can be checked against specifications.

Material is checked for laminations.
Welding electrodes are identifiable.
Welding electrodes are stored in the required conditions.
Welding procedures are being followed.
Welding is being inspected during the process.
Correct procedures are in operation for tightening HSFG bolts.
Identification marks are clear and visible.
All equipment is maintained correctly.

Close liaison should always be maintained between the QC staff and the Drawing Office.

4. CONCLUDING SUMMARY

Good design makes efficient use of material and makes proper provisions for
tolerances in fabrication and erection.
Good interaction between shop floor and drawing office is indispensable for
economical and efficient fabrication and erection.
Labour should be used as effectively as possible so that labour costs are minimised.
Automatic processes should be used where feasible and appropriate.
Quality control is essential.

5. ADDITIONAL READING
1. Davies, B. J. and Crawley, E. J., Structural Steelwork Fabrication, British
Constructional Steelwork Association (BCSA), London, 1980.
2. Arch, W. H., Structural Steelwork - Erection, British Constructional Steelwork
Association (BCSA), London, 1989.
3. Firkins, A., Fabrication Cost of Structural Steelwork, Steel Construction, Vol. 24,
No. 2, Australian Institute of Steel Construction, 1990.
4. Wardenier, J., Design and Fabrication of Steel Structures, Engineering Design of
Welded Construction, IIW 1992, Houdremont lecture, Pergamon Press, 1992.
5. Various authors, Steel Construction Today, Vol. 5, No 3, Steel Construction
Institute, May 1991.
6. Eurocode 3: "Design of Steel Structures": ENV 1993-1-1: Part 1.1: General Rules
and Rules for Buildings, CEN, 1992.