Increasingly, procurement organisations including government and public sector bodies are specifying requirements for accredited, robust third-party certification. With this in mind, given over 30 years of expertise in the sector and with our SCI Assessed scheme already recognised, SCI Product Certification has been developed to serve the steel industry better than anything currently on offer. The scheme will;

• help manufacturers differentiate their products and gain acceptance in the market
• help meet the requirements of warranty providers such as NHBC, Premier Guarantee, LABC etc.
• provide confidence to specifiers, end-users and other interested parties that the products fulfil specified requirement

We believe that the offsite construction market will grow significantly in the coming years, not only because of its ability to solve the critical need for more housing, but more generally because of its fit with the Government's Transforming Construction agenda. We have therefore been developing SCI Product Certification for the following products:

• Individual structural elements
• Cladding and roofing
• External wall systems
• Light Steel Frame
• Modular building units

Following positive comments received from UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service) during the accreditation pre-assessment carried out in the latter half of last year SCI is currently working with a number of manufacturers to test the robustness of our complete certification process. This is in readiness for the formal Assessment by UKAS in March. SCI hope to be in a position to issue the first certificates towards the middle of the year.

SCI is proud to announce that their new website for SCI Product Certification is now live, and more information on the scheme can be found at www.scicerts.com

Should you be interested in this service either as a manufacturer or specifier then please contact Mark Wilkinson with your requirements and/or questions.

STROBE (Stronger Steels in the Built Environment) is a 3.5 year collaborative EU research project which seeks to overcome specific obstacles to the wider use of high strength steel (HSS), focussing on steels of strength from 460 to 700 MPa. In the light of increased interest in the use of HSS, coupled with conservative European design rules, the work within STROBE will investigate ways in which the benefits of using HSS in structures can be maximised by investigating to what extent the current limits in the design of HSS in terms of ductility, plasticity and stability can be extended. Accompanying issues in terms of dynamics will be tackled and the sustainability of the developed solutions shown. The project also seeks to challenge some widely held preconceived ideas, such as 'HSS are not suitable for long span beams because deflection or vibration will almost always govern design' or 'HSS plate girders are only cost effective for bridge structures'.

SCI has responsibility for co-ordinating this project and carrying out the work on the dynamics of HSS floor systems, as well as undertaking the dissemination activities. The three universities in the consortium, Imperial College London, University of Coimbra (Portugal) and RWTH Aachen (Germany) will carry out experimental and numerical investigations, Hochtief (Germany) is contributing design expertise and the steel producer Dillinger provides steel for the tests and materials expertise.

HSS beams ready for testing at University of Coimbra

SCI contributes technical content monthly to New Steel Construction's (NSC). The third Technical Digest, which brings together a year's worth of technical guidance, is now available for download at New Steel Construction

Catch up with copies of NSC you have missed here

Subscribe If you would like to receive NSC.

On 26 February, Nancy Baddoo is speaking to structural engineers at a 3 hour seminar on the design of duplex stainless steel in bridges at the Virginia Department of Transportation, who are considering using stainless steel for bridges in corrosive environments. Then two days later she is at the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) in Chicago to attend the first meeting of the committee responsible for the new AISC Structural Stainless Steel Specification. AISC commissioned SCI to prepare a first draft of this specification which is the first US-based structural stainless design specification for mainstream structural sections, such as welded, hot rolled and hollow sections.

Nancy Baddoo and Francisco Meza were in Belgium for meetings of the stainless steel Eurocode Working Group and Project Team on 5 and 6 February 2019. The Working Group has prepared a series of improvements to the stainless steel Eurocode which make it easier to use and enable more efficient design. These amendments are now being reviewed by National Standards Bodies across Europe and will hopefully be introduced in the first draft of the new revision of the stainless steel Eurocode, due April 2019.

OFFSITE Construction Awards - 5th March, ExCel, London

Mark Wilkinson will be presenting the Best Use of Steel Technology at the OFFSITE Awards on 5th March, at ExCel, London. Finalists include SCI members;

• EOS Facades: The Ram quarter
• Hadley Group: Project Sofia
• ILKE Homes: Gateshead Innovation Village
• Kingspan Steel Building Solutions: Fallowfield Campus Student Accommodation
• SIGMAT: Godiva Place Student Accommodation project in Coventry.

Graham Couchman was part of the Judging panel in January. The judges look for projects that are outstanding examples of prefabrication and factory-based methods, products, systems and disciplines that increasingly strive to develop a sustainable, streamlined and cost-effective way to deliver a better built environment. Good luck to the finalists on the night!

Visit OFFSITE Awards

Explore OFFSITE Masterclasses

Andrew Way will Chair the Light Gauge Steel Frame Session Two: Housing. This is part of the Offsite Masterclasses to be held in the OFFSITE HUB on 5 March between 12.00 - 13.15. Technology leaders will discuss the growing opportunity that the housing shortage presents for offsite construction.

Visit the OFFSITE HUB

FutureBuild 05-07 March 2019

Michael Sansom will be attending FutureBuild on Thurs 7th March 2019. He will be chairing and presenting a session in the materials hub on Sustainable steel and the circular economy. The session is at 12.00 - 13.10.

MCRMA - presentation

Mark Wilkinson will be delivering a presenting on SCI Product Certification to the MCRMA (Metal Cladding and Roofing Manufacturers Association) members' meeting on Wednesday 13th March 2019. Walsall Football Club.

Visit the MCRMA website for more information on this Association

OFFSITE EXPO - SCI - Silver Sponsor, 24-25 September 2019, Ricoh Arena, Coventry

SCI are confirmed Silver Sponsors of OFFSITE EXPO, the event is new for 2019 and will showcase leading UK and international offsite manufacturers and component suppliers.

Find out more about OFFSITE EXPO

Building for tomorrow 2019 - NHBC annual seminars

Andrew Way will deliver a presentation on 'Preparing for Steel' at the NHBC annual series of seminars. The series is presented around the UK, starting on Tuesday 26 February 2019. Check for availability to attend any of the seminars.

Please see our new listing of courses and webinars available until March 2019 on our website now.

Steel Building Design to EC3
04 Apr 2019, Bristol

As the experts in steel design, the SCI have prepared this course to introduce experienced steel designers to the Eurocode provisions for steel design. The course focuses on orthodox construction, covering the primary design issues for practicing engineers. The course will deliver a sense of reassurance that design to EC3 is straightforward and indeed has advantages in some areas.

SCI Member Rate: £200.00 + VAT
Non Member Rate £280.00 + VAT

Register for the course

Next SCI Member Webinar

High Strength Steel Structures
12 Apr 2019, Webinar
Timing: 12:30 - 13:30

This 1-hour webinar will cover various aspects of High Strength Steel Structures. The presentation will explain how and where High Strength Steel can be typically used, it will cover the production and fabrication processes and demonstrate how to design high strength steels using EC3.

Book your place

Structural robustness of steel framed buildings (P391) This publication provides design guidance for hot-rolled steel-framed buildings on the Eurocode strategies for structural robustness and designing for the avoidance of disproportionate collapse as required by the UK Building Regulations.

Avoidance of thermal bridging in steel construction (P380) This publication provides an introduction to thermal bridging, an explanation of the consequences of thermal bridging (local heat loss and the possibility of condensation), and describes how these effects are considered in building regulations.

Design of floors for vibration. A new approach - Revised edition, February 2009 (P354) This publication presents guidance for assessing the vibration behaviour of floors in steel framed buildings caused by pedestrian traffic. It has particular relevance to composite floors. It describes the phenomenon in both general and technical terms, contains a background commentary and specific design recommendations.

Contract Update - Glasgow Queen Street Redevelopment

J&D Pierce (Contracts) Ltd have been continuing their association with rail related contracts with the steelwork frame for Glasgow Queen Street Station, for Network Rail.

Once again off line assembly during daytime working and large component lift at night time reduces risks and enhances programme.

The main South asymmetrical box truss required two 500t cranes working in tandem to lift and place. The eight multiple bolt connections were all completed on the night showing once again that good detail followed by accurate fabrication with well designed and planned temporary works results in client satisfaction.

Work continues to complete the circa 1300 tonne project, not least the connection of the existing listed glass gable.

Photo Credit: UK Construction Photography

A second major super-hub parcel sorting office contract for Caunton

Caunton Engineering are delighted to have been awarded by main contractor Winvic Construction the steelwork contract for a new major Parcel Sorting office - Hub 5 in Hinckley. Caunton supplied the steel framework for Hub 4, for the same main contractor Winvic and client DPD (Dynamic Parcel Delivery), which is located only two miles away and opened in 2015.

Client DPD will develop the 39 acre site within a new 82 acre employment park, close to junction 1 of the M69 , and will include the 503m long, 276,454 sq ft main hub building. Hub 5 will be capable of handling 71,000 parcels an hour, increasing DPD's total overnight parcel sorting capacity by 60%. It is reported that the facility should be operational by October 2020.

Design of the steelwork is by Cameron Darroch Associates and the architect is UMC. Caunton technical team is designing the connections. The company is very pleased to be contributing to such a successful operation.

SCI would like to welcome a new member;

Smartbuild Engineering Ltd

© 2018. This newsletter has been published by The Steel Construction Institute | Terms Privacy Policy

The Steel Construction Institute, Silwood Park, Ascot. SL5 7QN.
Registered in England and Wales. Registered No: 1916698.
Click here to unsubscribe