Conventional

Wisdom in Reinforcing Steel

Reexamining Conventional Wisdom

ByAmadeusL.Magpile,
PresidentandCEOofBarlinesReinforcingSteelCo.,Inc.(Phils)
FounderandPresidentofBarlinesRebarEstimating&Detailing,Inc.(U.S.A.)

Changeisnoteasyinalargeorganization.Inanindustryasawholechangemaynotbepossible.There
is,predictablyastrongrelianceinanyorganizationonconventionalwisdomthathadworkednumerous
timesbefore.Butinnovationsmakeparadigmshifts.Whatwasacceptedwisdomyearsagoareoneby
onefallingapartasamisconception.Theconcretereinforcingsteelindustryisnoexception.Whatwas
oncearobustcutandbendpracticeatthejobsiteinthePhilippinesisslowlygivingwaytooffsitepre
fabricatedsupplyanddemandmarket.Itcannotbehelped.Theeconomyisgettingstronger,the
playingfieldisnowglobalandclimatechangedemandsfrugaluseofresources.WhileIamnot
advocatingacompletechange,Istronglyurgethepurveyorofrebartoreexamineatleastafew
conventionalwisdom,thatIfindprevalentonlyinthePhilippines.

Single Stock Length Vs. Multi Stock Lengths

Whileothercountriesrevelonaonestocklength;60feetintheUSand15meterinCanada,Australia
andmostofEuropethePhilippineshasseverallengthsofstock,6.00m,7.50m,9.00m,10.50m,and
12.00m.Duringtheheightofthecutandbendpracticeatthejobsite,multiplestocklengthswasa
brightandusefulinnovation.Thesteelmilldidconstructionabigfavorbyprovidingthem.Insodoing,
however,itseemedthattheyalsobenefitedveryhandsomelyonitsdrawback.

Itwasobvious,thattheideaonmultiplestocklengthsstemmedfromtheabsenceofreinforcingsteel
(commonlycalledrebar)fabricatorswithequipmenttoproperlyshearandbendrebartorequired
lengthsasdesignedbystructuralengineers.Theavailabilityofmultiplestocklengths,allowed
contractorstoorderrebarlengthsasclosedtowhattheyneed,toeliminateshearingatthejobsiteand
saveonmaterials.Forexample,when5.50mlongbarsarerequired,theywillorder6.00mlongstocks.
Trimmingittolengthbecomesawastedlabor.All6.00mlongbarswillbeplacedinconcreteandthe
contractorfeelsdelightedthathedidnotwasteanymaterial.Whateverheboughtheusedinits
entirety.Nevermindthattherequiredlengthneededisonly5.50mlong.

Incountrieswhereonestocklengthprevails,thissamecontractorcanbuyexactly5.50mlongandpay
onlyfortheexactlength.However,thedifferenceisthatheisbuyingfromafabricatorinsteadofthe

 Conventional Wisdom in Reinforcing Steel

steelmill.Obviouslythefabricatoraddedacertainpremiumforcuttingthebarstolength,whichmade
thecostabithigher.

Butwait.Whenasteelmillproducesrebar,theyproducetheminonelengthonly.Aftertheir
productionandthesubsequentshearingtodifferentstocklengths,anaddedprocess,wouldnotthey
addapremiumtoo?Infact,inthissystemitseemstomethepremiumistherewhetheryoubuythe
postcut6.00mortheproduction12.00mlength.

Thisisinessenceisthesimpleadvantageofbuyingrebarforuseinconstructionfromanoffsiterebar
fabricatorratherthanamill.Theenduserbuysandpaysonlyfortheexactquantity,lengthandshape
thatheneedsfromtherebarfabricatornomoreandnoless.Whilefromthesteelmilltheenduser
buysandpaysforwhatheneedsandthensometheremnantsandscraps.Scrapsandremnantsare
bestleftinthesteelmillafteralltheyaretheonesthatneedthembadly.Rebarsareproducedirectly
fromscrapmetal.

ThePhilippinesisnottotallyoutofthecutandbendindustry.Itmaybeyearsbeforetheytotally
embraceoffsitereinforcingsteelfabrication.Themultiplestocklengths,thereforestillhasaplaceinthe
Philippines.WhatIwanttoseeismoreandmorerebarfabricatorstoproperlybendrebaragainst
hairlinefractures,reducewasteandhelpmakeajobsiteasafeplacetowork.ExactlywhatMalaysia
andSingaporeareaimingtodo.

Shorter Class A Laps Saves Material than Longer Class B Laps

NooneIknowcanarguethisstatementatfacevalue.Butofcourseshorterlapsarelessmaterialthan
longerlaps.Thisisinediblystampedasamindsetamongprojectengineers.Becausethescienceof
rebardetailingwasslowtocometothePhilippinesthismindsetwasneverheldupclosetoscrutiny.
Sadly,thestatementdoesnotholdtrueinthedesignofseismiccolumns.

IfyoulookattheconstructionskylineofthePhilippines,youwillseecolumnverticalbarsalternating
longandshort,asifthebarsareracingtowardsthesky.Travelingabroad,youwillneverfindasimilar
constructionskyline.InSanFrancisco,thecitythatpracticallyinventedearthquakes,youseevertical
barsallcutataboutthesameheightandcolumntiesareallthewaytothetopoftheverticalbars.
SameistrueInVancouver,Sydney,Dubai,MalaysiaandSingapore.

TwofactorsmadethishappeninthePhilippines.Firsttheuseofbundledbars,dueagaintothe
absenceofarebarfabricatorwithshearingandbendingequipmenttohandlelargeverticalbars.
Secondthemindsetofshorterlapsagainstlongerlaps.TheAmericanConcreteInstitute(ACI)code
requiresthatshorterlapsandlapsofbundledbarsbestaggered.Yetthesamecodeallowslongerlaps
insinglebarsnotstaggered.

 Conventional Wisdom in Reinforcing Steel

Becauseofthestaggeredlaps,columnsinthePhilippinesarepreventedfrombeingassembledintoa
cage.Thatiswhywedonotseecolumntiesinourskyline.WhatweseeinsteadisourversionofCirque
Soleilironworkersgingerlyclimbingswayingverticalbarstodropmultipletiesfromthetop,while
otherironworkersareholdingbarsfromswayingandrelativesatthestreetlevelpraying.Itseemsto
meCorporateSocialResponsibility(CSR)goneawry.

Whilebundlingofbarsisanacceptablepractice,thediminishedusewillonlycomewhenmoreand
morerebarfabricatorsarearound.InthecaseoftheshorterclassAlapversusthelongerclassBlap
mindsetreexaminingthiswisdomisnecessary.

LookingattheskylineoftheMilleniumTowerinSanFrancisco.

 Conventional Wisdom in Reinforcing Steel

Thismaybeashocktoconstructionengineers,justlikethefirsttimeIshowedthemcoiledrebarstocks
inourfabricatingshop.

THEREISONLYONEWAYTOSAVEONREBARMATERIALSANDTHATISOPTIMUMSHEARING.

Thisisnotatradesecret.EveryoneintherebarindustryoutsidethePhilippinesknowsthis.Optimum
Shearingissortingalltherequiredlengthsandcombiningthemtofitastocklengthtoreducewaste.If
anengineerisgiventhetaskofschedulingtheshearingofrebarfromalonglistofbarsofdifferent
lengthssuchthattheoutcomewillproducetheleastamountofscrapandremnantshemaycome
closebutnotagainstacomputer.Why?Thereisnoknownformula.Hiscalculationswillrequirehimto
iterateoverandoveragain.Youneedtodoanumberofwhatifsbeforeyoucancomeclosetoan
optimumresult.Thenevenifhesucceed,hewillnotfindanyonethatcanmaintainandfollowhis
schedule.Theshearmanwillalwaysgrabthemostconvenientstocktoshearagainsthisschedule.

Meanwhile,aproperlytooledrebarfabricatingshophasasoftwarethatcanprovideanoptimized
shearingscheduleinnanosecondsandanautomaticshearlinethatcanprocesssuchaschedule.Nota
portableshearingequipmentbutalongshearlinelikeasshownbelow.

Afullyautomaticshearlinecapableofprocessingoptimumshearingschedule.Loadedandsortedatone
endandsegregatedbylengthattheotherendaftershearing.

 Conventional Wisdom in Reinforcing Steel

Now,letmeshowyouatypicalseismiccolumninthePhilippines.Botharereinforcedwith32Mvertical
bars.OnecolumnlapsplicedwithashorterclassAlapstaggeredandtheotherlapsplicedwithalonger
classBlapbutnotstaggered.Typicallyverticalbarssuchasthesecolumnsarefabricatedfroma9.00m
stock.

Thefinalresultsafterfabricatingfroma9.00mstockareasfollows:

TheclassAlapgeneratedaverticalbar8.38mlonganda0.62mscrap(remnantsshorterthan10%of
thestocklengthisconsideredscrap),whiletheclassBlapgeneratedaverticalbar8.79mlonganda
0.21mscrap.At8.79mlong,Iwillnotevenbothertocutthe9.00mstocktosavelabor.EvenIfyoudo
notaddtheadvantageofcageassemblyandliftinginplacebythetowercrane,thusavoiding

 Conventional Wisdom in Reinforcing Steel

ironworkersclimbingbarsClassBlapistheonlylogicalchoice.Anyonewouldconcludethatsince
theywillthrowawayscraps,wouldntitmakesensetousetheminstead?

ACIoverwhelminglyrecognizedthisthatintheirDetailingManualtheydidnotevenmentionclassAin
drawingaTypicalseismicresistantdetailsofcolumns.SeeFig.6,fromACIbelow.

 Conventional Wisdom in Reinforcing Steel

Closed Stirrups vs Open/Capped Stirrups

TheACIFig6bringsmetothenextsubtledifferenceinconstructioninthePhilippinesthatispuzzling
tome.OpenstirrupsareseldomfoundinanyjobsiteinthePhilippines.Eventhoughthemajorityof
floorframingdesignsarebeamsandslabsvariety.Veryfewareflatplatedesigns,whicharevery
commoninmosthighrisebuildingprojectsintheworld.

Constructiondoesnotseemtoallowopenandcappedstirrupsinassemblinggirdersandbeams.If
someonedecidedthatopenandcappedstirrupsrequiremorematerialsthanclosedstirrupsagainI
willsaythisisamisplaceddecision.Onceagain,tosavematerialsyouneedoptimumshearing,period.

Whenbeamsandgirdersarecrossingeachother,theonlywaytobuildthemwithclosedstirrupsisto
temporarilyassemblethemabovefloor,andslowlylowerthemaftertheyarealltiedtogether.Beams
framingintogirderswillrequirethatthegirderberaisedalso.Girdersframingintocolumnswillrequire
thatanumberoftiesbedisplaced.Iseeironworkershavinganeasiertimeonsinglespanbeamsand
girdersbutahorrendoustimeonmultiplespans.

ConsiderFig.6fromACIDetailingManual.Thetiesthatneedtobeoutofthewayforthegirders
assemblyarethecriticaltieswithintheJointsandabovethejoints.Thesecriticalbarsareusually
multipleandarecloselyspaced.Howaretheydisplaced?Theyaregatheredwithinthegirderassembly
andslowlyputinplaceasthegirderislowered.Thisis,ofcourse,easiersaidthandonewhenyouare
dealingwithnotonebutmultipletieswithinthecolumns,spacedtooclosetoeachother.Whatreally
happenswhenties,stirrupsandgirderbarsareineachotherwayandtheinspectorsarenotaround?

Theironworkersbringouttheironlytoolingettingoutoftightspotanacetylenetorch.Eithertheties
orstirrupsgettorchedorworsethegirderorcolumnbarsgettorched.Thereisabrandnewbuildingin
LasVegastheHarmonHotel,scheduledfordemolitionbytheowners,whosestructuralengineersare
claimingalotofrebararemissinginthecolumnandbeamjoints.

WesuspectedthatthedetailingwasoutsourcedoutoftheUnitedStatestoagroupwhoisunfamiliar
withstandardpracticeintheUnitedStates.IntheinstalledrebarmarketintheUnitedStatesallstirrups
aredetailedopenandcappedperACIcode,notwithstandinghowtheyareshowninthecontract
drawings.Onceagain,theAmericanConcreteInstituteoverwhelminglyacknowledgedthispractice,by
showingalternateopencappedstirrupsintheirdetailingmanual.SeeFig.5onthenextpage.

Whenstirrupsareopenandcapped,barscanbedroppedandtiedinplaceinsidetheforms.Mainbars
arethreadedintogirdersandcolumnsandnotiesaredisplacedwhatsoever.Itmakesforacleaner
assembly.Inspectorsareabletoseeinsidethebeamcagebeforecaptiesaretiedinplace.Leavinga
fewcaptiesopenallowforconcretehoseandvibratorstoreachcriticaljoints.Andlastlyitspeedsup
theworktenfold.EverwonderhowconstructionintheU.S.canriseeverythreeorfourdaycycle?

 Conventional Wisdom in Reinforcing Steel

 Conventional Wisdom in Reinforcing Steel

Openandcappedstirrupssimplifyplacementofgirdersandbeams,withoutdisplacingotherbars.

Finally,ifchangeisnecessary,wheredoesthefirstlineofchangeneedtooccur?Isuspect,maybe,at
thedraftingdepartmentofastructuralengineersoffice.Coulditbethatitishightimetosortthrough
oldboilerplatetypicaldetailsandgetridofsomethathasseenitsusefulness?Rebardetailers,suchasI
aresometimes,withoutthinking,detailexactlyaccordingtowhatisshownoncontractdrawingstrue
towhatwelearnedfromrebardetailing101.