10 Jun Don’t break the REO Quality Chain
By Scott Munter, Executive Director / CEO
I was presenting to a group of engineers about the importance of 3rd party PROCESSOR certification to guarantee the quality of steel reinforcement. After my presentation, an engineer came up to me and said:
I had no idea you needed a Processor Certificate. I’ve been relying on Mill Certification to prove reo product conformance.
Unfortunately, the engineer was not alone. Builders, engineers, architects and surveyors are incorrectly relying on mill certificates to prove the REO conforms to Australian Standards.
What they did not understand is the mechanical properties of steel reinforcement changes when it is bent or straightened from a feed coil (most small-diameter bar sizes up to 20 mm are supplied by coil). Similarly, when bars are welded together to make a sheet of mesh the mechanical properties of the final product have changed.
Once the bar is processed or welded, a mill certificate can no longer be used to verify product conformance.
That’s why we have a nationally recognised 3rd party certification scheme for Processors of steel reinforcement. An independent JAS-ANZ accredited organisation, such as the Australian Certification Authority for Reinforcing Steel (ACRS) or equivalent, has assessed the conformance of processed bar and/or welded mesh and certified that it meets Australian Standards.
To help engineers, architects, builders and surveyors specify steel reinforcement that conforms to AS/NZS 4671 – Steel reinforcing materials, AS 3600 – Concrete structures, AS 5100.5 – Bridge design – Concrete, and AS 2870 – Residential slabs and footings…
… we recommend inserting the following specification in your drawings:
A 3rd party processor certification (ACRS or equivalent) must be supplied with all steel reinforcement at procurement, before any concrete is placed, to guarantee conformance of the reinforcement to Australian Standards.
Non – conforming building products endanger Australia’s building industry. Don’t take the risk.
Insert the above steel reinforcement specification in your drawings.