SynC™

SynC · Editorial revision

Structural Steel Framing

Revision8
EditedSep 26, 2026
StatusCurrent
Contents

View changes in this revision   Revision history

Current revision. This is editorial revision 8, the current text of this standard. Read it on the standard's page.

SynC Standards Team — Specifier (Platform Standards) ✓ OfficialDiscloses employment SynC (SynC Platform Team)
Remade from scratch under the authoring cheatsheet: members, fabrication, erection and coatings kept here with connections and welding delegated to their companion standards, grade by shape family, the steel-deck boundary narrowed to the deck itself, a trade-off note beside every choice

1 Scope

1.1 Work Covered by This Standard

NOTE This standard governs the members of the hot-rolled structural steel frame: what steel each shape is furnished in, who fabricates and erects it, how it is cut, holed, straightened, cambered, marked, and coated in the shop, how it is planned, braced, set, and plumbed in the field, and how the finished frame is surveyed, touched up, and warranted. (1.1.1)
NOTE Structural steel under this standard is the material the structural drawings show as the frame and its parts: rolled and built-up beams, girders, and columns; hollow structural sections and pipe used as columns, braces, and beams; channels, angles, tees, plates, and bars that form members, stiffeners, and column base plates; crane runway beams; headed shear stud connectors welded to the framing; column stabilizer plates for open-web joists; loose lintels and shelf angles shown on the structural drawings as part of the structural steel; and the clip angles, plates, and welded attachments furnished on the members for the work of other trades. (1.1.2)
NOTE A member, once erected and concealed, is the one part of the building nobody sees again, and the properties that make it adequate, its grade, its section, its camber, and its coating, are fixed in the mill and the shop long before any inspector reaches the site. The record-keeping this standard requires is what stands in for the inspection that can no longer be performed. (1.1.3)
1.1.4 Structural steel shall be designed, fabricated, and erected in accordance with ANSI/AISC 360 and with the trade practice of ANSI/AISC 303.
1.1.5 Where the seismic force-resisting system is designed under ANSI/AISC 341, the members of that system shall additionally conform to ANSI/AISC 341.
1.1.6 Member sizes, grades where they differ from the datasheet, lengths, elevations, camber, and framing geometry shall be as indicated on the structural framing plans, elevations, sections, and schedules.
NOTE This standard governs how the steel is procured, fabricated, erected, and coated, and the contract documents define what is built and where. (1.1.7)
1.1.8 Where this standard and the structural drawings differ, the more stringent requirement shall govern until the Engineer of Record resolves the difference in writing.

1.2 Work Governed by Companion Standards

NOTE Hot-rolled structural steel is specified across three companion standards that repeat nothing among them: this standard keeps the members, their fabrication, erection, coatings, certification, and warranty; Structural Steel ConnectionsStructural Steel ConnectionsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structural-steel-connections keeps who designs each connection class, the bolt assemblies and their installed condition, faying surfaces, hole types, and bolting inspection; and Welding RequirementsWelding RequirementsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/welding-requirements keeps procedure and welder qualification, consumables, preheat, weld acceptance, and nondestructive examination for every weld on the project. (1.2.1)
NOTE The following are governed elsewhere and are outside this standard: (1.2.2)
  • the design responsibility for each connection class, the design forces for delegated connections, bolt grade, diameter, finish, and joint condition, slip-critical faying surfaces, hole types, and the inspection of bolting
  • welding procedure specifications, welder qualification, filler metals and their storage, preheat and interpass control, weld acceptance criteria, and the nondestructive examination program
  • anchor rods, embedded steel, setting templates, and the position within which cast-in anchorage is set, which are governed by Structural Steel Anchor BoltsAnchor Rods and Embedded SteelResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structural-steel-anchor-bolts
  • the grout bed beneath base plates and bearing plates, which is governed by Grouted Base PlatesGrouted Column Base Plates and Bearing PlatesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/grouted-base-plates
  • the concrete the frame bears on and the reinforcement within it, which are governed by Cast In Place ConcreteCast-in-Place ConcreteResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/cast-in-place-concrete and Concrete ReinforcementConcrete ReinforcementResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/concrete-reinforcement
  • masonry bearing walls and the building-in of loose lintels, which are governed by Unit MasonryUnit MasonryResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/unit-masonry
  • shop coating materials, dry film thickness, coating application, galvanizing process requirements, and repair of damaged galvanizing, which are governed by Shop Painting And GalvanizingShop Painting and Galvanizing of SteelResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/shop-painting-and-galvanizing
  • field-applied paint systems over the primer, which are governed by Exterior PaintingExterior Painting and CoatingsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/exterior-painting and Interior PaintingInterior PaintingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/interior-painting
  • the administration of the special inspection program, which is governed by Special Inspections And TestingSpecial Inspections and Structural TestingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/special-inspections-and-testing
  • the shared submittal and coordination envelope for every hot-rolled steel package on the project, which is governed by Structural Steel Common ResultsCommon Work Results for Structural SteelResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structural-steel-common-results
NOTE Overhead crane runway beams and their columns are members of the frame governed by this standard. The wheel loads, lateral and longitudinal forces, impact factors, and deflection limits they are designed for are established under Overhead Material HandlingOverhead Cranes and HoistsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/overhead-material-handling. (1.2.3)
NOTE Where a mezzanine or other framing within a metal building is engineered by the Engineer of Record from individually selected rolled shapes rather than by the metal building manufacturer, that framing is governed by this standard. (1.2.4)

2 Referenced Standards

2.1 Materials, fabrication, and erection shall comply with the latest adopted edition of each of the following unless a specific edition is cited.
2.2 Where the contract documents, the Authority Having Jurisdiction, or two referenced standards impose conflicting requirements, the more stringent requirement shall govern unless the Engineer of Record directs otherwise in writing.
Standard Title
ANSI/AISC 360 Specification for Structural Steel Buildings
ANSI/AISC 303 Code of Standard Practice for Steel Buildings and Bridges
ANSI/AISC 341 Seismic Provisions for Structural Steel Buildings
ANSI/AISC 207 Standard for Certification Programs
AISC Design Guide 7 Industrial Building Design
ASTM A6/A6M General Requirements for Rolled Structural Steel Bars, Plates, Shapes, and Sheet Piling
ASTM A36/A36M Carbon Structural Steel
ASTM A53/A53M Pipe, Steel, Black and Hot-Dipped, Zinc-Coated, Welded and Seamless
ASTM A108 Steel Bar, Carbon and Alloy, Cold-Finished
ASTM A123/A123M Zinc (Hot-Dip Galvanized) Coatings on Iron and Steel Products
ASTM A500/A500M Cold-Formed Welded and Seamless Carbon Steel Structural Tubing in Rounds and Shapes
ASTM A529/A529M High-Strength Carbon-Manganese Steel of Structural Quality
ASTM A572/A572M High-Strength Low-Alloy Columbium-Vanadium Structural Steel
ASTM A588/A588M High-Strength Low-Alloy Structural Steel, up to 50 ksi Minimum Yield Point, with Atmospheric Corrosion Resistance
ASTM A709/A709M Structural Steel for Bridges
ASTM A847/A847M Cold-Formed Welded and Seamless High-Strength, Low-Alloy Structural Tubing with Improved Atmospheric Corrosion Resistance
ASTM A913/A913M High-Strength Low-Alloy Steel Shapes of Structural Quality, Produced by Quenching and Self-Tempering Process
ASTM A992/A992M Structural Steel Shapes
ASTM A1085/A1085M Cold-Formed Welded Carbon Steel Hollow Structural Sections (HSS)
AWS D1.1/D1.1M Structural Welding Code — Steel (Clause 9, Stud Welding)
AWS D1.8/D1.8M Structural Welding Code — Seismic Supplement
AMPP SP 2 (SSPC-SP 2) Hand Tool Cleaning
AMPP SP 3 (SSPC-SP 3) Power Tool Cleaning
AMPP SP 6 (SSPC-SP 6) Commercial Blast Cleaning
AMPP SP 10 (SSPC-SP 10) Near-White Metal Blast Cleaning
AMPP QP 3 (SSPC-QP 3) Certification Standard for Shop Application of Complex Protective Coating Systems
IAS AC172 Accreditation Criteria for Fabricator Inspection Programs for Structural Steel
ASCE/SEI 7 Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures
IBC International Building Code (Chapter 17, Special Inspections and Tests; Chapter 22, Steel)
OSHA 29 CFR 1926 Subpart R Safety Standards for Steel Erection
CMAA 70 Specifications for Top Running Bridge and Gantry Type Multiple Girder Electric Overhead Traveling Cranes

3 Submittals

3.1 Action Submittals

3.1.1 The Contractor shall submit the following for review before fabrication of the members covered by each item begins:
  • shop drawings prepared under ANSI/AISC 303 showing every member with its piece mark, section, grade, length, camber, copes and blocks, holes, stiffeners, stud layout, attachments for other trades, surface preparation, shop coating, and the extent of any galvanizing or architecturally exposed treatment
  • erection drawings showing the erection mark and position of every member, the erection sequence, column base details, and the location of temporary bracing and shoring
  • the erection plan and the sealed erection bracing design where the datasheet assigns that design to an engineer
  • product data for the shop primer or the galvanizing, with the coating manufacturer's minimum surface preparation and, where fireproofing is applied, the primer's fireproofing bond test report
  • a sample or a reviewed mockup member for each architecturally exposed structural steel category on the project
  • the crane runway beam fabrication and alignment plan, where crane runway beams are in the work
Action Submittal Packagecheckbox
☑ Shop drawings
☑ Erection drawings
☑ Erection plan and erection bracing design
☑ Shop coating product data and fireproofing bond test report
☐ Architecturally exposed structural steel sample or mockup
☐ Crane runway fabrication and alignment plan
3.1.2 Shop drawings are the fabricator's own detailing of the design and shall not be reproductions of the structural drawings.
NOTE A reproduced contract drawing carries the Engineer of Record's design decisions back to the Engineer of Record as if they were the fabricator's, so that a dimension nobody re-derived is reviewed by the party who originated it; independent detailing is what makes the review a second check rather than a mirror. (3.1.3)
NOTE Connection shop drawings and delegated connection design calculations are submitted under Structural Steel ConnectionsStructural Steel ConnectionsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structural-steel-connections, and welding procedure specifications, welder qualification records, and the nondestructive examination plan are submitted under Welding RequirementsWelding RequirementsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/welding-requirements; neither is resubmitted under this standard. (3.1.4)
3.1.5 Fabrication shall not begin on any member until the shop drawings covering it have been reviewed and returned.
3.1.6 The Contractor shall allow fifteen working days for each review cycle, measured from receipt of a complete submittal.
3.1.7 The erection plan shall be submitted before the first member is delivered to the site, and no steel shall be erected before the plan has been reviewed.

3.2 Informational Submittals

3.2.1 The Contractor shall submit the following before or with the first delivery of steel:
  • certified mill test reports for every heat of structural shapes, plates, bars, tubing, and pipe furnished, traceable by heat number to the members on the shop drawings and reporting the chemistry and mechanical properties the ASTM specification requires, together with the Charpy V-notch results where this standard requires toughness testing
  • the fabricator's certification or accreditation documentation and the fabricator's quality manual, furnished on the Engineer of Record's request
  • the erector's certification documentation or experience record, with the qualifications of the erection superintendent
  • stud welding pre-production test records for each stud diameter, base condition, and operator
  • the surveyor's or erector's benchmark and column line verification record from the pre-erection survey
Informational Submittal Packagecheckbox
☑ Certified mill test reports traceable by heat number
☑ Fabricator certification and quality manual
☑ Erector certification or experience record
☑ Stud welding pre-production test records
☑ Pre-erection survey record
NOTE Certified mill test reports are the only evidence the project will ever hold that the grade shown on the shop drawings is the grade that was rolled. (3.2.2)
3.2.3 The fabricator shall retain the certified mill test reports and make them available to the quality assurance inspector for the duration of fabrication.

3.3 Closeout Submittals

3.3.1 The Contractor shall submit the following before the structural steel is accepted:
  • as-built shop and erection drawings recording every field modification, substitution, and approved deviation
  • the post-erection survey report, where the datasheet requires a written report
  • fabrication and erection quality assurance inspection reports, organized by member and by inspection task
  • the field touch-up record, identifying the material used and the members treated
  • certificates of compliance from the fabricator and from the erector stating that the members were furnished and erected in accordance with the contract documents, ANSI/AISC 360, and ANSI/AISC 303
  • the warranty documents for the structural steel and the assignable warranty for any shop coating or galvanizing
Closeout Submittal Packagecheckbox
☑ As-built shop and erection drawings
☐ Post-erection survey report
☑ Fabrication and erection inspection reports
☑ Field touch-up record
☑ Certificates of compliance from the fabricator and the erector
☑ Warranty documents
NOTE Bolting inspection records are delivered under Structural Steel ConnectionsStructural Steel ConnectionsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structural-steel-connections, and weld inspection and nondestructive examination records under Welding RequirementsWelding RequirementsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/welding-requirements. (3.3.2)

4 Quality Assurance

4.1 Fabricator Qualification

4.1.1 The fabricator shall hold the qualification indicated in the datasheet.
Fabricator Qualificationradio
● AISC Certified Fabricator for building structures under ANSI/AISC 207
○ Fabricator accredited under IAS AC172
○ Fabricator approved by the Authority Having Jurisdiction on the basis of an audited in-house quality program
NOTE AISC certification and IAS AC172 accreditation each put a fabricator's quality management system, personnel, and shop practice under a recurring third-party audit, which is what lets a building official accept the fabricator's work without special inspection in the shop; an approved fabricator without a third-party program is accepted on the strength of the Authority Having Jurisdiction's own review, and that acceptance is granted project by project and jurisdiction by jurisdiction, so it buys access to a wider bid list in a market with few certified shops at the cost of a shop inspection program the project must then supply itself. (4.1.2)
4.1.3 The fabricator shall hold the qualification at the time of bid and shall maintain it for the duration of fabrication.
4.1.4 Where the fabricator's certification, accreditation, or approval lapses or is suspended during fabrication, the fabricator shall notify the Contractor and the Engineer of Record within two working days and shall not ship further members until the qualification is reinstated or the Engineer of Record has accepted a substitute quality assurance program in writing.
4.1.5 The fabricator shall maintain a written quality control program covering material receipt and heat identification, fit-up, dimensional control, marking, surface preparation, and shop coating, and shall make it available to the quality assurance inspector.
4.1.6 Where the seismic force-resisting system is designed under ANSI/AISC 341, the fabricator's quality control program shall address the quality control requirements ANSI/AISC 341 imposes on that system, and the qualification selected in the datasheet shall cover the seismic work.

4.2 Erector Qualification

4.2.1 The erector shall hold the qualification indicated in the datasheet.
Erector Qualificationradio
● AISC Certified Erector under ANSI/AISC 207
○ Erector whose documented experience the Engineer of Record has accepted without third-party certification
4.2.2 The erector shall have at least the experience indicated in the datasheet erecting hot-rolled structural steel frames of comparable height, span, and complexity.
Minimum Erector Experience with Comparable Structural Steel Framesrange
years
23510
4.2.3 The erection superintendent shall have at least the experience indicated in the datasheet on structural steel erection.
Minimum Erection Superintendent Experiencerange
years
351015
4.2.4 Where the parties disagree whether an erector's prior work is comparable in scope to the frame of this project, the Engineer of Record shall make the initial determination.
4.2.5 Whether the erector may be the fabricator or its affiliate shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Erector Independence from the Fabricatorradio
● The erector may be the fabricator or an affiliate of the fabricator
○ The erector shall be an entity independent of the fabricator
NOTE A fabricator that also erects carries one warranty and one point of responsibility for fit, while an independent erector puts a second party between the shop and the field who can report a fabrication error without reporting on itself; the independence requirement is reached for where the Owner wants that separation more than it wants a single responsible party. (4.2.6)

4.3 Welding Program

4.3.1 All shop and field welding on the members, including stud welding, shall be performed under the welding quality program established in Welding RequirementsWelding RequirementsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/welding-requirements.
4.3.2 Welders and welding operators shall be qualified under Welding RequirementsWelding RequirementsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/welding-requirements for the process, position, and base metal of each weld they make, and their qualification shall be current on the date the production weld is made.
4.3.3 The fabricator and the erector shall each keep a log of the welders on the work, the processes and positions each is qualified for, and the expiration of each qualification, and shall make the log available to the quality assurance inspector on request.

4.4 Quality Control and Quality Assurance Inspection

NOTE ANSI/AISC 360 Chapter N separates quality control, the fabricator's and erector's own inspection, from quality assurance, the verification performed by an inspector retained by or on behalf of the Owner with no financial relationship to the fabricator or the erector. (4.4.1)
4.4.2 Quality assurance inspection shall not relieve the fabricator or the erector of any quality control responsibility.
4.4.3 Quality assurance inspection of fabrication and erection shall be performed in accordance with ANSI/AISC 360 Chapter N, with each task identified in the inspection plan as one performed on a random, unannounced basis without delaying production or as one performed for every member.
4.4.4 Special inspection of structural steel fabrication and erection shall be performed as Adopted Building CodeAdopted Building CodeParameterEach project supplies its own value.adopted-building-code requires, under the program administered in accordance with Special Inspections And TestingSpecial Inspections and Structural TestingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/special-inspections-and-testing.
4.4.5 Whether quality assurance inspection is performed in the fabricator's shop shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Quality Assurance Inspection in the Fabricator's Shopradio
○ Performed in the shop by the Owner's quality assurance inspector
○ Waived for the approved fabricator, with the fabricator's certificate of compliance furnished for each shipment
Derived — the fabricator qualification selected and the approval of the fabricator by the Authority Having Jurisdiction under Adopted Building CodeAdopted Building CodeParameterEach project supplies its own value.adopted-building-code (by default)
NOTE The building code permits the building official to waive special inspection in the shop of a fabricator whose in-house program has been approved, and ANSI/AISC 360 Chapter N makes the same provision for a fabricator participating in an approved quality certification program, so whether the shop is inspected follows from the qualification the fabricator holds and the approval the Authority Having Jurisdiction has granted rather than from a free choice. (4.4.6)
4.4.7 Where shop inspection is waived, the fabricator shall furnish with each shipment a certificate of compliance stating that the members were fabricated in accordance with the approved shop drawings and the contract documents.
4.4.8 Special inspection of the fabrication and erection of the members shall cover at least the tasks indicated in the datasheet, in addition to the bolting and welding inspection established in Structural Steel ConnectionsStructural Steel ConnectionsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structural-steel-connections and Welding RequirementsWelding RequirementsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/welding-requirements.
Special Inspection Tasks for Members and Erectioncheckbox
☑ Material identification against the certified mill test reports
☑ Member sizes, grades, and locations against the approved drawings
☑ Fabrication tolerances, copes, blocks, and hole forming
☐ Camber and its orientation
☑ Column base setting, anchor rod verification, and bearing
☑ Temporary bracing installed as the erection plan requires
☑ Erection tolerances and plumbness
☑ Shear stud welding and bend testing
☐ Surface preparation and shop coating
4.4.9 Nonconforming fabrication or erection shall be documented and reported in writing to the Engineer of Record, the Contractor, and the Owner, and shall not be concealed by deck, fireproofing, or finishes until the Engineer of Record has issued a written disposition.
4.4.10 The party whose work produced a nonconformance shall bear the cost of its evaluation and correction, and the cost of re-inspection following a rejection shall be borne by the party whose work was rejected.

4.5 Inspector Qualification

4.5.1 Quality assurance inspection of member fabrication and erection shall be performed by an inspector holding the qualification indicated in the datasheet.
Fabrication and Erection Quality Assurance Inspector Qualificationradio
○ ICC Structural Steel and Bolting Special Inspector certification
○ AWS Certified Welding Inspector under AWS QC1 with documented structural steel fabrication inspection experience
○ Engineer licensed in the jurisdiction of the project with documented structural steel inspection experience
NOTE The ICC structural steel certification examines the inspector on material identification, fabrication and erection tolerances, and the building code's special inspection tables, which is the content of this standard's inspection tasks; a welding inspector's certification examines welds and reaches member inspection only through the holder's experience; and a licensed engineer brings design judgment that resolves a tolerance question on the spot at a cost per hour the other two do not carry, so the qualification that fits follows from whether the frame is routine, weld-intensive, or unusual enough that inspection findings will need engineering judgment as they arise. (4.5.2)
NOTE Welding inspector and nondestructive examination technician qualifications are established in Welding RequirementsWelding RequirementsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/welding-requirements, and bolting inspector qualifications in Structural Steel ConnectionsStructural Steel ConnectionsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structural-steel-connections. (4.5.3)
4.5.4 The inspection agency shall have no business, financial, or organizational relationship with the fabricator or the erector.

5 Seismic Force-Resisting System Members

5.1 Applicability of AISC 341 to Members

5.1.1 Whether the member provisions of ANSI/AISC 341 apply to the seismic force-resisting system shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
AISC 341 Member Provisions for the Seismic Force-Resisting Systemradio
○ Apply to the members of the seismic force-resisting system
○ Do not apply
Derived — Seismic Design CategorySeismic Design CategoryParameterEach project supplies its own value.seismic-design-category and whether the seismic force-resisting system is designated as detailed under AISC 341 in accordance with ASCE/SEI 7 (by default)
NOTE The applicability follows from the seismic design category together with the system the structure was designed as: a system assigned a response modification coefficient that ASCE/SEI 7 permits without seismic detailing is designed under ANSI/AISC 360 alone even in a category where a detailed system would invoke ANSI/AISC 341, so the category by itself does not settle the question. (5.1.2)
5.1.3 Where the member provisions apply, the members of the seismic force-resisting system shall be identified as such on the shop drawings and the erection drawings.
NOTE Identification on the drawings is what routes the seismic material, hole forming, and inspection requirements to the right members, and a seismic brace that reaches the shop unmarked is fabricated as ordinary gravity steel by a shop that had no way to know otherwise. (5.1.4)

5.2 Member Material Under AISC 341

5.2.1 Requirements in this article apply where the member provisions of ANSI/AISC 341 apply to the seismic force-resisting system.
5.2.2 Members of the seismic force-resisting system shall be furnished in a grade ANSI/AISC 341 permits for that use, with the specified minimum yield strength not exceeding the limit ANSI/AISC 341 sets for members expected to behave inelastically.
NOTE ANSI/AISC 341 caps the yield strength of members expected to yield because the capacity-design rules size the surrounding elements from the expected strength of the yielding member, and a grade with a high yield ceiling makes those elements underdesigned relative to what the member can actually deliver. (5.2.3)
5.2.4 Where ANSI/AISC 341 requires Charpy V-notch toughness for a member of the seismic force-resisting system, the certified mill test report shall report the toughness test result for that heat.
NOTE Protected zones, and the restrictions on holes, attachments, and welds within them, are established in Structural Steel ConnectionsStructural Steel ConnectionsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structural-steel-connections. (5.2.5)

5.3 Heavy Shapes and Plates

5.3.1 Rolled shapes and built-up members with the flange or plate thickness ANSI/AISC 360 Section A3.1 classifies as heavy, where they are subject to primary tensile force and spliced or connected with complete-joint-penetration groove welds, shall be furnished with the Charpy V-notch toughness Section A3.1 requires, tested at the location in the section that ANSI/AISC 360 specifies.
NOTE Thick rolled sections cool slowly from the mill and carry a coarse-grained core at the web-to-flange junction with less toughness than the rest of the section, and a complete-joint-penetration weld in tension across that core is the condition under which it has fractured. (5.3.2)
NOTE Weld access hole geometry, preheat, and the welding sequence at heavy shapes are governed by Structural Steel ConnectionsStructural Steel ConnectionsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structural-steel-connections and Welding RequirementsWelding RequirementsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/welding-requirements. (5.3.3)

6 Structural Steel Materials

6.1 Wide-Flange and Tee Shapes

6.1.1 Wide-flange shapes, and the tees cut from them, shall be furnished in the grade indicated in the datasheet.
Wide-Flange Shape Gradeselect
ASTM A992
ASTM A913 Grade 50
ASTM A913 Grade 65
ASTM A913 Grade 70
ASTM A572 Grade 50
ASTM A588
ASTM A36
NOTE ASTM A992 is the grade the domestic mills roll wide-flange shapes in, and it carries a yield-to-tensile ratio cap and a carbon equivalent limit that A572 Grade 50 does not, which is what makes its connection behavior predictable and its weldability reliable without supplementary requirements. (6.1.2)
NOTE The A913 grades are produced by quenching and self-tempering, which delivers 50, 65, or 70 ksi yield in heavy sections at a carbon equivalent low enough to weld without the preheat a conventionally rolled steel of the same strength needs; Grade 65 and Grade 70 buy a smaller column in a heavily loaded lower story, at the cost of a mill-order lead time and a design that must be checked for the deflection and stability limits a stronger but no stiffer section reaches sooner. (6.1.3)
6.1.5 Wide-flange shapes shall not be substituted with a grade other than the one selected without the Engineer of Record's written approval.

6.2 Rectangular and Square Hollow Structural Sections

6.2.1 Rectangular and square hollow structural sections shall be furnished in the grade indicated in the datasheet.
Rectangular and Square HSS Gradeselect
ASTM A500 Grade C
ASTM A500 Grade B
ASTM A1085
ASTM A847
NOTE Rectangular and square hollow structural sections are produced to A500 with the mill dual-certifying Grade B and Grade C from the same production, so Grade C costs nothing over Grade B and delivers 50 ksi rather than 46 ksi; A1085 adds a wall thickness tolerance tight enough that the design uses the full nominal wall, a yield strength ceiling, and a Charpy toughness requirement, at a price and availability premium that is repaid where the sections are braces in a seismic frame or the wall thickness reduction A500 design carries governs the member; A847 is the weathering grade for sections left uncoated in an exposure that wets and dries. (6.2.2)
6.2.3 Where the frame is designed using the nominal wall thickness of the section without the reduction ANSI/AISC 360 applies to A500 material, the sections shall be furnished to A1085.

6.3 Round Hollow Structural Sections and Pipe

6.3.1 Round hollow structural sections and pipe used as structural members shall be furnished in the grade indicated in the datasheet.
Round HSS and Pipe Gradeselect
ASTM A500 Grade C
ASTM A500 Grade B
ASTM A1085
ASTM A53 Grade B Type E or Type S
ASTM A847
NOTE A500 round sections and A53 pipe are separate products that overlap in size, and A53 pipe carries a 35 ksi yield that is adequate for a lightly loaded column or a handrail post but wasteful where the member is sized by strength; A53 is reached for where the round member is also a fluid conduit, where standard pipe sizes are what the detail calls for, or where a supplier stocks pipe and not A500 rounds, and A1085 and A847 serve the same roles for round sections that they serve for rectangular ones. (6.3.2)
6.3.3 Where the structural drawings designate a member as pipe, the pipe shall be furnished to A53 Grade B in the type indicated, and where they designate a round hollow structural section, the section shall be furnished in the datasheet grade.

6.4 Channels, Angles, and Bars

6.4.1 Channels, angles, and bars shall be furnished in the grade indicated in the datasheet.
Channel, Angle, and Bar Gradeselect
ASTM A36
ASTM A572 Grade 50
ASTM A529 Grade 50
ASTM A588
ASTM A992
NOTE Channels and angles are furnished from stock in A36, and a member sized by stiffness or by a minimum thickness gains nothing from a higher grade; A572 Grade 50 and A529 Grade 50 are reached for where a brace or a kicker is sized by strength and the section cannot grow, A992 is now rolled for channels and angles by some mills and is furnished where one grade across the frame simplifies material control, and A588 is the weathering grade for members left uncoated in an exposure that wets and dries. (6.4.2)

6.5 Plates

6.5.1 Plates for stiffeners, column base plates, bearing plates, and built-up members shall be furnished in the grade indicated in the datasheet.
Plate Gradeselect
ASTM A36
ASTM A572 Grade 50
ASTM A588
NOTE A36 plate is stocked in every thickness and yields at a strain the connected members reach later, so a stiffener or base plate in A36 deforms before the member it serves; A572 Grade 50 plate is reached for where a base plate or a built-up flange is sized by strength and the thickness a lower grade requires does not fit, and A588 is the weathering grade for plate left uncoated. (6.5.2)
6.5.3 Plate grades that differ from the datasheet at an individual location shall be as indicated on the structural details.
6.5.4 Where a plate of higher strength is substituted for the grade shown, the substitution shall not be made without the Engineer of Record's written approval, because a stronger plate shifts the yielding element in the assembly it belongs to.
NOTE Connection plates, gusset plates, and the angles, tees, and plates that form connections are furnished in the grade the connection design assigns under Structural Steel ConnectionsStructural Steel ConnectionsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structural-steel-connections. (6.5.5)

6.6 Weathering Steel Members

6.6.1 Requirements in this article apply where a weathering grade is selected for any shape family in the datasheet.
NOTE Weathering steel forms its protective oxide only under repeated wetting and drying, and it corrodes at the rate of ordinary carbon steel where it is sheltered from rain, kept continuously damp, buried, or exposed to chlorides, so the grade is a coating strategy that works in some exposures and fails in others rather than a stronger steel. (6.6.2)
6.6.3 Weathering steel members shall be furnished uncoated except where the contract documents require a coating at a specific location.
6.6.4 Weathering steel members shall be detailed to shed water, without pockets, horizontal ledges, or crevices that hold moisture against the steel.
6.6.5 Surfaces below weathering steel that would be stained by runoff during the first years of exposure shall be protected or detailed with drips as indicated on the structural details and elevations.
NOTE Fastener assemblies at weathering steel are furnished in the weathering type under Structural Steel ConnectionsStructural Steel ConnectionsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structural-steel-connections. (6.6.6)

6.7 Material Identification and Substitution

6.7.1 Each shape, plate, bar, and length of tubing shall carry its ASTM designation and heat number from the mill through fabrication, and the fabricator shall transfer the identification to each cut piece until the piece is marked with its piece mark.
6.7.2 Unidentified steel shall not be used in any member of the structural frame.
6.7.3 A grade or section other than the one shown on the approved shop drawings shall not be substituted without the Engineer of Record's written approval.
NOTE A heavier or stronger section is not a conservative substitution as of right, because it changes the member's stiffness, the expected strength the seismic capacity-design rules build on, the connection geometry, and the dead load delivered to the members below. (6.7.4)

7 Shear Stud Connectors

7.1 Stud Material and Size

7.1.1 Requirements in this section apply where the structural drawings show composite beams or girders with headed shear stud connectors.
7.1.2 Headed shear stud connectors shall conform to ASTM A108 and to the Type B stud requirements of AWS D1.1 Clause 9.
7.1.3 The stud diameter used where the drawings do not show a different diameter shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Headed Shear Stud Diameterrange
in.
0.50.6250.750.8751
7.1.4 Stud quantity, spacing, layout along each member, and the number of studs per rib shall be as indicated on the composite beam schedules and framing plans.
7.1.5 Stud length after welding shall be as indicated on the composite slab details.
NOTE The stud diameter is a design input tied to the deck rib width and the slab thickness, and a stud that is longer or thicker than the design assumed changes the shear transfer and the cover over its head rather than adding capacity. (7.1.6)

7.2 Stud Welding

7.2.1 Where studs are welded shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Shear Stud Welding Locationradio
● Field welded through the deck after the deck is placed
○ Shop welded to the member before shipment
7.2.2 Studs shall not be attached in the shop to the top flange of any member whose top flange will serve as a walking or working surface during erection, as OSHA 29 CFR 1926.754 requires.
NOTE Field welding through the deck is the norm because a shop-welded stud stands proud of the flange the ironworkers walk on, and because the deck must be placed around a shop stud rather than over the bare flange; a shop stud is reached for where the member carries no deck, such as a beam that receives precast plank or a slab cast on formwork, and where the schedule cannot absorb a stud welding operation at the site. (7.2.3)
7.2.4 Studs welded through the deck shall be welded through a single thickness of deck, with the deck in firm contact with the flange and free of standing water, coating, and debris at each stud location, and the deck profile and coating shall be those the stud welding pre-production test qualified.
7.2.5 Stud welding procedure and operator qualification, and the acceptance of stud welds, shall comply with AWS D1.1 Clause 9 under the welding program established in Welding RequirementsWelding RequirementsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/welding-requirements.
7.2.6 At the start of each shift, and whenever the stud diameter, base condition, or welding equipment changes, the operator shall weld and bend test the number of trial studs AWS D1.1 Clause 9 requires before production welding begins.
7.2.7 Each production stud shall be visually inspected for a full 360-degree flash, and a stud without a full flash shall be bend tested to the angle AWS D1.1 Clause 9 specifies.
7.2.8 A stud that fails the bend test shall be removed, the base metal repaired, and a replacement stud welded adjacent to the original location.
7.2.9 Stud welding shall be coordinated with the deck placement sequence under Steel DeckSteel DeckResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/steel-deck so that the deck is fastened to its supports before studs are welded through it.

8 Fabrication

8.1 Basis of Fabrication

8.1.1 Members shall be fabricated in accordance with ANSI/AISC 360 Chapter M and the trade practice of ANSI/AISC 303, to the dimensions and details on the approved shop drawings.
8.1.2 Members shall be fabricated within the mill tolerances of ASTM A6 as received and the fabrication tolerances of ANSI/AISC 303.
NOTE The mill tolerance and the fabrication tolerance are additive, and a connection detailed to the nominal section without allowance for both can fail to fit at the extreme of the permitted range. (8.1.3)
8.1.4 A departure from the approved shop drawings that the fabricator discovers before shipment shall be reported to the Engineer of Record, and the fabricator shall not ship the affected member until the Engineer of Record has issued a written disposition.

8.2 Cutting

8.2.1 Members may be cut by thermal or mechanical means, and thermally cut edges that carry calculated tensile stress or that will be welded shall be finished to the surface roughness ANSI/AISC 360 Section M2.2 and AWS D1.1 require, free of notches, gouges, and adherent slag.
8.2.2 Reentrant corners shall be cut with a gradual transition to the radius ANSI/AISC 360 Section M2.2 requires, and beam copes and weld access holes shall meet the geometry ANSI/AISC 360 Section J1.6 requires.
NOTE A sharp reentrant corner concentrates stress at the one place a cope is already thin, and a cope cut square has initiated cracks at service load in members that were otherwise adequate. (8.2.3)
8.2.4 Sheared edges shall be used only within the thickness limits ANSI/AISC 360 permits and shall not be used on an edge that carries calculated tensile stress or on any member of the seismic force-resisting system.

8.3 Hole Forming

8.3.1 Bolt holes shall be formed by the method indicated in the datasheet.
Hole Forming Policyradio
● Punched full size where ANSI/AISC 360 Section M2.5 permits, otherwise drilled or sub-punched and reamed
○ Drilled, or sub-punched and reamed to final size, throughout the work
8.3.2 Holes in members of the seismic force-resisting system and in members designated as subject to fatigue shall be drilled or sub-punched and reamed to final size regardless of the datasheet selection.
NOTE Punching leaves a cold-worked ring around the hole with reduced ductility, which is harmless in a static bearing connection and is a crack initiation site under the cyclic straining a fatigue or seismic member sees. (8.3.3)
NOTE Hole dimensions, hole types, edge and end distances, and the connections that use holes other than standard holes are governed by Structural Steel ConnectionsStructural Steel ConnectionsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structural-steel-connections. (8.3.4)
8.3.5 Holes shall be cylindrical and perpendicular to the member surface, and a hole shall not be enlarged by burning.

8.4 Straightening and Cambering

8.4.1 Camber shall be induced by the method indicated in the datasheet.
Cambering Methodradio
● Cold cambering or heat cambering at the fabricator's option
○ Cold cambering only
○ Heat cambering only
NOTE Cold cambering bends the member in a press and is fast and repeatable on beams within the press capacity; heat cambering shrinks the flange with controlled heating and reaches members too long or too heavy for the press at the cost of time and a heat-affected zone; a project restricts the method where an architecturally exposed finish would show press marks, where a galvanized member must not carry residual heat stress into the kettle, or where the Engineer of Record has excluded heat from a member of the seismic force-resisting system. (8.4.2)
8.4.3 Heat straightening and heat cambering shall not raise the steel above the temperature ANSI/AISC 360 Section M2.1 permits for its grade, measured with a contact pyrometer or temperature-indicating crayon.
8.4.4 A member that has been hot-dip galvanized shall not be heat straightened or heat cambered.
8.4.5 Distortion introduced by welding or handling shall be corrected by straightening within the limits of ANSI/AISC 360 Section M2.1 before the member is shipped.

8.5 Camber

8.5.1 Camber for each member shall be as indicated on the framing plans and beam schedules.
NOTE Camber is the fabricator's offset for the dead load deflection the Engineer of Record has calculated, so that the member reads level once the slab and the finishes it carries are in place; it is not a deflection limit and it does not add strength. (8.5.2)
8.5.3 Camber shall be measured in the shop with the member unloaded and supported at its ends, and shall be within the tolerance ANSI/AISC 303 sets for the span.
8.5.4 Where the camber indicated for a member is less than the minimum a fabricator can induce and hold in a rolled shape, the fabricator shall report the member to the Engineer of Record before fabrication, and shall furnish it uncambered only on the Engineer of Record's written direction.
8.5.5 Members not indicated for camber shall be fabricated and erected with any natural mill camber upward.
8.5.6 Camber shall not be relied on to correct a deflection that exceeds the limit the design assigns to the member.

8.6 Built-Up Members

8.6.1 Built-up members shall be assembled from plates and shapes in the grades the datasheet assigns to each, with the flange-to-web welds sized and made as indicated on the built-up member details.
8.6.2 Plates for built-up flanges shall be furnished with the rolling direction parallel to the member axis, and a flange plate shall not be spliced except where a splice is shown on the approved shop drawings.
8.6.3 Built-up members shall be straight within the tolerance ANSI/AISC 303 sets for rolled shapes of the same length after welding is complete.

8.7 Attachments for Other Trades

8.7.1 Clip angles, plates, stiffeners, embed connection plates, and welded attachments shown on the structural drawings for the work of other trades shall be furnished and shop attached to the members under this standard.
8.7.2 Column stabilizer plates for open-web steel joists shall be furnished on the columns under this standard, at the locations and to the geometry Steel JoistsSteel JoistsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/steel-joists requires, and shall be shown on the shop drawings.
8.7.3 Support reactions, embed locations, and edge conditions at stairs, coiling doors, cold-formed framing, and the other work that attaches to the frame shall be as indicated on the structural framing plans and the details of the attaching work.
8.7.4 Loose lintels and shelf angles shown on the structural drawings as part of the structural steel shall be furnished under this standard and delivered for building-in under Unit MasonryUnit MasonryResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/unit-masonry.
NOTE Loose lintels and shelf angles shown only on the architectural drawings are furnished under Miscellaneous MetalsMiscellaneous MetalsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/miscellaneous-metals. (8.7.5)
8.7.6 Reinforcement for large deck openings that attaches to the primary framing shall be furnished under this standard where it is shown on the structural drawings, and its location shall be coordinated with the deck layout under Steel DeckSteel DeckResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/steel-deck.

8.8 Member Marking

8.8.1 Each member shall be marked with its erection mark in a durable medium, legible from the ground after erection and matching the mark on the erection drawings.
8.8.2 Members whose orientation matters in the field, including cambered members, members with a top and bottom, and members with a north end, shall carry a mark indicating the required orientation.
8.8.3 Members of the seismic force-resisting system, members designated as architecturally exposed, and members to receive applied fireproofing without primer shall be identified on the erection drawings and marked so the erector and the trades that follow can distinguish them.
8.8.4 Marking on architecturally exposed members shall be placed where it will be concealed in the finished work or shall be of a kind that is removed without a trace.

8.9 Galvanizing Details

8.9.1 Requirements in this article apply where hot-dip galvanizing is selected in the shop coating datasheet or shown on the structural drawings for a member.
8.9.2 Members to be galvanized shall be detailed for galvanizing before fabrication, with vent and drain holes in every closed section and at every enclosed corner so that no pocket can trap the pickling acid or the zinc.
NOTE A closed section entering the zinc kettle with trapped moisture converts it to steam with no exit, which is an explosion hazard at the kettle rather than a coating defect. (8.9.3)
8.9.4 Vent and drain hole locations and sizes shall be shown on the shop drawings, and the fabricator and the Engineer of Record shall confirm that no hole falls where it reduces the member's capacity.
8.9.5 Galvanized members shall be verified after galvanizing to be within the fabrication tolerances of ANSI/AISC 303, and a member distorted by the thermal cycle shall be straightened cold or replaced.
NOTE Galvanizing process requirements, coating thickness, and the repair of damaged galvanizing are governed by Shop Painting And GalvanizingShop Painting and Galvanizing of SteelResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/shop-painting-and-galvanizing. (8.9.6)

8.10 Architecturally Exposed Structural Steel

NOTE Architecturally exposed structural steel is a member the Architect has designated for visual quality beyond the fabrication and erection tolerances of ordinary structural steel, and ANSI/AISC 303 Section 10 assigns it categories that progressively tighten the surface, weld, and dimensional treatment it receives. (8.10.1)
8.10.2 The architecturally exposed structural steel categories used on the project shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Architecturally Exposed Structural Steel Categories in the Workcheckbox
☑ No members designated architecturally exposed
☐ AESS 1, basic elements
☐ AESS 2, feature elements viewed at a distance greater than 20 ft
☐ AESS 3, feature elements viewed at a distance of 20 ft or less
☐ AESS 4, showcase elements
☐ AESS C, custom elements with characteristics stated in the contract documents
NOTE AESS 1 buys removal of spatter and a clean weld profile at little cost; AESS 2 adds tighter tolerances and surface treatment appropriate to steel seen from across a room; AESS 3 adds ground welds, filled surface imperfections, and a tolerance half that of ordinary steel for steel seen and touched at arm's length; AESS 4 adds a surface prepared for a finish that shows every mark; and AESS C is written for the project where the standard categories do not fit, so the category selected sets a fabrication cost that rises steeply from one to the next and applies only to the members designated for it. (8.10.3)
8.10.4 The members designated architecturally exposed and the category assigned to each shall be as indicated on the structural framing plans and the architectural elevations and sections.
8.10.5 Members designated architecturally exposed shall be fabricated and erected to the treatment and tolerances ANSI/AISC 303 Section 10 assigns to the category, in addition to the requirements of this standard.
8.10.6 Where AESS 3, AESS 4, or AESS C members are in the work, the fabricator shall furnish a mockup member or sample showing the weld treatment, surface finish, and coating, and the accepted mockup shall be the standard against which the production members are judged.
8.10.7 Where the parties disagree whether an architecturally exposed member meets the treatment its category requires, the Architect shall make the initial determination against the accepted mockup.

9 Shop Coating

9.1 Shop Coating System

9.1.1 The members shall receive the shop coating system indicated in the datasheet.
Shop Coating Systemselect
Uncoated, no shop coating
Shop primer, single coat
Shop primer and intermediate coat, with the finish coat applied in the field
Complete shop-applied coating system including the finish coat
Hot-dip galvanized
Hot-dip galvanized and shop painted as a duplex system
NOTE A single shop primer protects the steel through shipping, storage, and the months before the building is closed in, and is what most of the frame receives because most of the frame is concealed in a dry interior once the building is enclosed; uncoated steel is furnished where every member is fireproofed or enclosed within weeks of erection and a primer would only cost money and complicate fireproofing bond; the shop-applied primer and intermediate coat, or the complete shop system, is reached for where the steel is exposed in service and the shop can apply the coats under better control than the field, at the cost of protecting a finished surface through erection; galvanizing is reached for exterior and wet exposures where a coating must last the life of the structure without maintenance; and the duplex system adds color or a further barrier over galvanizing for the exposure that galvanizing alone does not serve. (9.1.2)
NOTE Coating materials, dry film thickness, application conditions, and the galvanizing process are governed by Shop Painting And GalvanizingShop Painting and Galvanizing of SteelResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/shop-painting-and-galvanizing; this standard establishes which system the members receive and the member-specific consequences of that choice. (9.1.3)
9.1.4 Members that differ from the datasheet system at a specific location, including members galvanized, left uncoated, or exposed to weather in service, shall be as indicated on the structural framing plans and general notes.
9.1.5 Members exposed to weather or to a corrosive environment in service shall receive a system selected for that exposure under Shop Painting And GalvanizingShop Painting and Galvanizing of SteelResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/shop-painting-and-galvanizing, and the shop primer alone shall not be the final protection of a member so exposed.
9.1.6 The shop primer applied to a member that will be finish coated in the field shall be compatible with the field finish system specified under Exterior PaintingExterior Painting and CoatingsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/exterior-painting or Interior PaintingInterior PaintingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/interior-painting, and the fabricator shall identify the primer product on the shop drawings so the field applicator can confirm compatibility before finishing.
9.1.7 Where the field finish system is not identified at the time of the shop drawing submittal, the fabricator shall apply a primer the coating manufacturer publishes as compatible with the generic finish system named in the contract documents.
NOTE The shop coat ends at the fabricator's door and the field finish begins at the site, and the boundary between them is the primer's identity: a field finish applied over a primer it does not adhere to fails at the interface, and neither applicator is then responsible for a film the other applied. (9.1.8)

9.2 Surface Preparation

9.2.1 Surfaces to receive a shop coating shall be prepared to the grade indicated in the datasheet before the coating is applied.
Shop Surface Preparation Gradeselect
AMPP SP 2 (SSPC-SP 2) hand tool cleaning
AMPP SP 3 (SSPC-SP 3) power tool cleaning
AMPP SP 6 (SSPC-SP 6) commercial blast cleaning
AMPP SP 10 (SSPC-SP 10) near-white metal blast cleaning
Derived — the shop coating system selected and the coating manufacturer's published minimum surface preparation for that primer (by default)
NOTE The surface preparation a primer needs is published by the primer's manufacturer and follows from the primer: an alkyd or a universal shop primer tolerates a power-tool-cleaned surface, an epoxy or an inorganic zinc-rich primer needs the profile and the cleanliness only blast cleaning provides, and galvanizing needs the pickling the galvanizer performs rather than any of these grades; a grade higher than the primer needs buys a longer coating life at a cost per square foot, and a grade lower than it needs voids the coating manufacturer's performance data for the film. (9.2.2)
9.2.3 Members to be furnished uncoated shall be cleaned to at least AMPP SP 2 before shipment so that loose mill scale, rust, and shop contaminants do not reach the site on the steel.
9.2.4 Surfaces that will be enclosed in concrete, and the faying surfaces of slip-critical connections, shall be prepared and left coated or uncoated as Structural Steel ConnectionsStructural Steel ConnectionsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structural-steel-connections requires for the slip class, and the fabricator shall mask those surfaces where the shop coating system would otherwise reach them.

9.3 Members Receiving Applied Fireproofing

9.3.1 Members to receive applied fireproofing shall be furnished with the coating indicated in the datasheet.
Shop Coating of Members to Receive Applied Fireproofingradio
● Uncoated
○ Primed with a primer tested for bond with the specified fireproofing at the thickness to be applied
NOTE Cementitious and intumescent fireproofing bond to bare steel or to a primer the fireproofing manufacturer has tested, and an untested shop primer is the most common reason a fireproofing bond test fails; leaving the steel uncoated is the norm because the fireproofing itself protects the concealed steel, and a tested primer is reached for where the fireproofed steel will stand exposed through a construction season long enough to rust before it is fireproofed. (9.3.2)
9.3.3 Where a primer is applied to members to receive fireproofing, the primer product and its dry film thickness shall be those the fireproofing manufacturer's bond test report covers, and the report shall be submitted with the coating product data.
9.3.4 Members to receive applied fireproofing shall be as indicated on the fireproofing schedule and the structural framing plans.
NOTE Fireproofing materials, application, and bond verification are governed by FireproofingApplied FireproofingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/fireproofing. (9.3.5)

9.4 Shop Coating Applicator

9.4.1 Shop coating shall be applied by an applicator holding the qualification indicated in the datasheet.
Shop Coating Applicator Qualificationradio
● Fabricator's own coating shop without third-party coating certification
○ Coating shop certified under AMPP QP 3 (SSPC-QP 3)
○ Fabricator holding the AISC sophisticated paint endorsement under ANSI/AISC 207
NOTE A single-coat shop primer is applied competently by any certified fabricator's own paint bay, and a third-party coating certification adds audited control of surface preparation, environmental conditions, and film thickness measurement that a multi-coat, zinc-rich, or complete shop-applied system depends on; the certification is reached for where the shop coating is the service life of the steel rather than a shipping coat, at the cost of narrowing the fabricator pool to shops that hold it or subcontract to one that does. (9.4.2)
9.4.3 Where the shop coating system selected is a complete shop-applied system or a duplex system, the coating shop shall hold one of the third-party qualifications regardless of the datasheet selection unless the Engineer of Record accepts the fabricator's own shop in writing on the strength of a documented coating quality program.

10 Erection

10.1 Pre-Erection Verification

10.1.1 Before any steel is erected, the erector shall verify the building lines, benchmarks, and column lines against the contract documents and shall survey every anchor rod group for position, projection, and elevation.
10.1.2 Anchor rod groups shall be within the setting tolerances established in Structural Steel Anchor BoltsAnchor Rods and Embedded SteelResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structural-steel-anchor-bolts, and a group found out of tolerance shall be reported to the Engineer of Record before the column it receives is erected.
10.1.3 The Engineer of Record shall direct the correction of an out-of-tolerance anchor rod group in writing, and the erector shall not bend, cut, or heat an anchor rod, enlarge a base plate hole, or add a plate washer except as that direction permits.
10.1.4 The party whose work produced the out-of-tolerance anchorage shall bear the cost of its correction and of the engineering review it requires.
NOTE A base plate hole has little clearance around its rod, and a group set an inch off cannot be accommodated by the plate; the survey before erection is what turns that discovery from a crane standing idle into a correction made while the concrete trade is still on site. (10.1.5)
10.1.6 The erector shall verify that the concrete or masonry the frame bears on has reached the strength the contract documents require before load is placed on it, and shall not erect steel on a support the Engineer of Record has not released.

10.2 Column Base Setting

10.2.1 Column base plates shall be set to elevation and leveled by the method indicated in the datasheet.
Column Base Leveling Methodradio
○ Leveling nuts on the anchor rods
○ Shims and leveling plates
○ Pre-set and pre-grouted leveling plates
NOTE Leveling nuts carry the column on the anchor rods until the grout is placed and let the erector plumb the column by turning the nuts, at the cost of rods that must be checked for the erection load they carry unsupported; shims carry the column on packs of steel at the plate corners and are cheap and fast on light columns but leave the packs in the grout bed; and a pre-grouted leveling plate is set and grouted by the concrete trade before the steel arrives, which takes the leveling off the erector's critical path at the cost of an earlier survey and a second mobilization; none is the norm across projects, because the choice turns on column weight, the grouting party, and the erection schedule. (10.2.2)
10.2.3 The grout bed beneath each base plate shall be placed under Grouted Base PlatesGrouted Column Base Plates and Bearing PlatesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/grouted-base-plates, and the party responsible for placing it shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Party Responsible for Grouting Column Base Platesradio
○ The steel erector
○ The concrete contractor
○ The Contractor's own forces
NOTE The base plate is set by the erector and the grout beneath it is a concrete material, so the grout bed falls between two trades unless the contract assigns it; assigning it to the erector keeps the leveling and the grouting in one hand, assigning it to the concrete contractor puts the grout with the trade that places cementitious material daily, and assigning it to the Contractor's own forces works where the Contractor self-performs concrete and neither subcontractor will carry it, so the assignment follows the project's subcontracting structure rather than a norm. (10.2.4)
10.2.5 Column bases shall not be grouted until the column has been plumbed and the frame around it braced, and the load carried by a column on leveling nuts or shims before grouting shall not exceed the load the Engineer of Record has approved for the ungrouted condition.
10.2.6 Anchor rod nuts shall be tightened after grouting to the condition Structural Steel Anchor BoltsAnchor Rods and Embedded SteelResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structural-steel-anchor-bolts requires, and the anchor rods shall not be pretensioned unless the contract documents require it.

10.3 Erection Plan and Temporary Bracing

10.3.1 The erector shall prepare an erection plan showing the sequence of erection, the location and reach of cranes, the pick points for heavy and long members, the temporary bracing, guying, and shoring at each stage, and the stage at which each part of the permanent lateral system becomes effective.
10.3.2 The erection bracing design shall be prepared by the party indicated in the datasheet.
Erection Bracing Design Responsibilityradio
○ An engineer licensed in the jurisdiction of the project and retained by the erector
○ The erector, under its own procedures without a sealed design
○ The Engineer of Record, with the temporary bracing shown in the contract documents
10.3.4 Where the erection sequence is a design condition of the permanent structure, the required sequence and the construction loads assumed shall be as indicated on the structural general notes and erection sequence drawings.
10.3.5 The erector shall be responsible for the stability of the frame from the setting of the first column until the permanent lateral force-resisting system, the diaphragms, and the connections that complete them are installed and accepted, and shall furnish and maintain the temporary bracing the erection plan requires.
10.3.6 Temporary bracing shall not be removed until the permanent bracing, moment connections, or diaphragm it substitutes for has been installed, inspected, and accepted by the Engineer of Record and the quality assurance inspector.
10.3.7 The erector shall consider, in the erection plan, the wind, seismic, and construction loads on the partially erected frame and the loads imposed by stored materials and erection equipment.

10.4 Erection Sequence and Stability

10.4.1 Erection shall comply with OSHA 29 CFR 1926 Subpart R, and the requirements of that subpart are conditions of the work that the erection plan shall not relax.
10.4.2 Each column shall be anchored by at least four anchor rods, and the anchorage shall resist the eccentric gravity load OSHA 29 CFR 1926.755 states, as the Engineer of Record shall confirm in the design of the column base.
10.4.3 A member shall not be released from the crane until it is secured with at least two bolts per connection drawn wrench tight, or the equivalent the erection plan provides, and a single bolt or a tack weld shall not be relied on for stability at any stage.
10.4.4 Where two members frame to a common connection on opposite sides of a web, the connection shall be detailed so that one member can be secured before the other is landed, as OSHA 29 CFR 1926.756 requires, and the detail shall be shown on the shop drawings.
10.4.5 Perimeter columns shall extend at least 48 in. above the finished floor and shall be furnished with holes or devices for perimeter safety cables at the height OSHA 29 CFR 1926.756 requires, unless the contract documents provide another means of perimeter protection.
10.4.6 Columns shall be plumbed and the frame aligned as erection proceeds, bay by bay, and shall not be left for correction after the frame is complete.
NOTE A frame plumbed at the end is a frame in which every connection has already been made to an out-of-plumb column, and the correction then means loosening connections, releasing members, and re-erecting work other trades have already followed. (10.4.7)
10.4.8 Members shall be handled and lifted at the pick points the erection plan identifies, and a member bent, twisted, or kinked in handling shall be reported to the Engineer of Record before it is erected.
10.4.9 Bolting and welding of field connections shall be performed under Structural Steel ConnectionsStructural Steel ConnectionsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structural-steel-connections and Welding RequirementsWelding RequirementsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/welding-requirements in the sequence the erection plan states for the stability of each stage.
10.4.10 Deck, concrete, and other permanent construction loads shall not be placed on the frame until the members that carry them are connected, braced, and plumbed within tolerance, and the Engineer of Record has released the frame for loading.

10.5 Field Modifications

10.5.1 A member shall not be cut, coped, drilled, reamed, notched, or welded in the field in a manner not shown on the approved shop and erection drawings without the Engineer of Record's written approval.
10.5.2 Where a member does not fit, the erector shall report the misfit to the Engineer of Record with the measured deviation before any correction is made, and shall make only the correction the Engineer of Record approves in writing.
10.5.3 A field modification made without approval voids the fabricator's and the erector's certificates of compliance for the affected member, and the Contractor shall bear the cost of the engineering review, the corrective work, and the re-inspection the modification requires.
10.5.4 Penetrations through members for the work of other trades shall be made only where they are shown on the structural drawings or approved in writing by the Engineer of Record, and the trade making an unapproved penetration shall bear the cost of its evaluation and repair.

10.6 Crane Runway Beams

10.6.1 Requirements in this article apply where crane runway beams are in the work.
10.6.2 Crane runway beams, their columns, brackets, and the rail-to-beam attachment shall be furnished and erected under this standard for the wheel loads, lateral and longitudinal forces, impact factors, and deflection limits established under Overhead Material HandlingOverhead Cranes and HoistsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/overhead-material-handling.
10.6.3 Runway beams shall be furnished as members subject to fatigue, with holes drilled or reamed, with intermittent welds excluded from the tension flange, and with the fabrication treatment ANSI/AISC 360 Appendix 3 requires for the fatigue category of each detail.
10.6.4 Runway beams and rails shall be aligned to the tolerances indicated in the datasheet.
Crane Runway Alignment Tolerance Basisradio
○ Tolerances of AISC Design Guide 7 for crane runways
○ Tolerances of CMAA 70
○ Tolerances stated by the crane manufacturer for the crane furnished
NOTE The ordinary erection tolerances of ANSI/AISC 303 are too loose for a runway, because a crane's wheel flanges and end trucks tolerate only a fraction of the misalignment a building column can; AISC Design Guide 7 states runway tolerances for the building designer, CMAA 70 states the tolerances the crane industry designs its end trucks around, and the crane manufacturer's own tolerances govern where a specific crane has been selected before the runway is erected, so the basis follows from which of those documents is in hand when the runway is aligned rather than from a norm. (10.6.5)
10.6.6 The runway shall be surveyed for span, elevation, straightness, and rail alignment after erection and before the crane is set, and the survey shall be furnished to the crane installer.
10.6.7 Rail splices, rail clips, and the rail attachment shall be as indicated on the crane runway details.

11 Erection Tolerances

11.1 Tolerance Compliance

11.1.1 The erected frame shall be within the erection tolerances of ANSI/AISC 303 Section 7.13 for column plumbness, elevation, and alignment, with the tighter tolerances of Section 10 applying to members designated architecturally exposed and the runway tolerances of this standard applying to crane runway beams.
NOTE Erection tolerances are measured against the working points and working lines ANSI/AISC 303 defines, and a member that is out of position relative to a wall or a finish while its working points are within tolerance is a coordination question for the trade that followed it rather than an erection defect. (11.1.2)
11.1.3 The erector shall verify tolerance compliance for each tier or bay before the deck, cladding, or other work that depends on the frame's position is placed on it.
11.1.4 A member found outside tolerance shall be reported to the Engineer of Record, and the Engineer of Record shall issue a written disposition before the member is loaded or concealed.
11.1.5 The Contractor shall bear the cost of correcting an erection tolerance deviation and of the engineering review its disposition requires.

11.2 Post-Erection Survey

11.2.1 The erected frame shall be surveyed and the survey documented as indicated in the datasheet.
Post-Erection Survey Documentationradio
○ Written survey report by a licensed surveyor submitted to the Engineer of Record
○ Written survey record by the erector submitted to the Engineer of Record
○ Visual verification by the Engineer of Record without a written report
NOTE A licensed surveyor's report is an independent record that settles a later dispute about where a column stood before the cladding was hung, and it costs a survey crew on the frame at each tier; the erector's own record costs less and comes from the party that plumbed the frame, so it is accepted where the frame is low and the dependent work is tolerant; and visual verification is the basis on a single-story frame where the Engineer of Record can see the plumbness question answered on a site visit, so the documentation follows from the height of the frame and how much the cladding and finishes that follow depend on where it stands. (11.2.2)
11.2.3 Where a written report or record is required, it shall record column plumbness at each tier, column base and beam elevations at each floor, and the alignment of each column line against the working lines, and shall identify every member outside the tolerances of ANSI/AISC 303.
11.2.4 Where a written report or record is required, it shall be submitted before the deck or the cladding is placed on the tier it covers, and the Engineer of Record shall review it before releasing that tier for permanent loads.
11.2.5 The Contractor shall bear the cost of the survey.

12 Field Touch-Up

12.1 Touch-Up of Shop-Primed Steel

12.1.1 Field welds, field-cut and field-drilled surfaces, bolted connections after the joint is complete, and areas where the shop primer has been damaged in shipping, handling, or erection shall be cleaned to at least AMPP SP 2 and touched up with the material indicated in the datasheet.
Field Touch-Up Material for Shop-Primed Steelradio
● The shop primer, brush or spray applied
○ An organic zinc-rich primer compatible with the shop primer and the field finish
○ The primer of the field finish system
NOTE Touching up with the shop primer restores the film the fabricator applied and is the norm where the steel is concealed or where a field finish will cover the whole surface; a zinc-rich touch-up primer adds galvanic protection at a field weld that a barrier primer does not, at a compatibility check against both the shop primer and the field finish; and the field finish system's own primer is reached for where the steel will be finish coated in the field and the finish applicator wants one primer under the finish rather than two, at the cost of a touch-up the erector cannot apply until that primer is on site. (12.1.2)
12.1.3 Touch-up shall be applied within seven days of the exposure that requires it and before the surface is concealed by deck, fireproofing, or finishes, and shall restore the dry film thickness of the shop coating system.
12.1.4 Touch-up shall not be applied inside the faying area of a slip-critical joint before the joint is assembled, as Structural Steel ConnectionsStructural Steel ConnectionsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structural-steel-connections requires.
12.1.5 Touch-up on members to receive applied fireproofing shall be made only with a material the fireproofing manufacturer's bond test report covers.
12.1.6 Damaged galvanizing shall be repaired under Shop Painting And GalvanizingShop Painting and Galvanizing of SteelResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/shop-painting-and-galvanizing to the coating thickness that standard requires.
12.1.7 The Contractor shall bear the cost of touch-up and repair made necessary by damage occurring after the members leave the fabricator's shop.

13 Delivery, Storage, and Handling

13.1 Delivery and Site Storage

13.1.1 Members shall be delivered in the fabricator's bundling, marked with their erection marks, and scheduled so that each delivery can be unloaded and stored without double handling.
13.1.2 Site storage shall satisfy the requirements indicated in the datasheet.
Site Storage and Handling Requirementscheckbox
☑ Store on dunnage clear of the ground
☑ Store to prevent water from ponding on flanges and inside open sections
☑ Cap or plug open ends of hollow structural sections
☐ Cover stored members to protect the shop coating
☐ Separate galvanized and uncoated members
☐ Store architecturally exposed members separately with protected bearing points
13.1.3 Members shall be loaded, transported, and unloaded so that no member is bent, twisted, or kinked and no coating is abraded beyond what field touch-up restores.
13.1.4 Long and slender members shall be supported in transit and in storage at the spacing the fabricator's shipping instructions require so that no member takes a permanent set.
NOTE An open hollow structural section stores water, and water that freezes inside a closed section splits the seam weld, which is why the ends are capped in storage and the drain holes of a galvanized member are kept clear. (13.1.5)
13.1.6 Members shall be stored so that their erection marks remain visible and their piece marks can be checked against the erection drawings without moving the pile.

13.2 Damaged Members

13.2.1 A member arriving with a bend, twist, kink, gouge, or coating damage beyond the touch-up this standard provides shall be reported to the Engineer of Record before it is erected.
13.2.2 The Engineer of Record shall direct the repair, acceptance, or replacement of a damaged member in writing.
13.2.3 A damaged member shall not be straightened in the field except by a procedure the Engineer of Record has approved in writing.
13.2.4 A member with section loss from corrosion shall not be erected without the Engineer of Record's written acceptance.

14 Warranty

14.1 Correction Period

14.1.1 The fabricator and the erector shall each warrant their work for the period indicated in the datasheet, measured from the date of substantial completion.
Correction Period for Structural Steel Fabrication and Erectionrange
years
1235
14.1.2 The fabricator shall warrant the members against defects in material and workmanship, including a grade or section that differs from the approved shop drawings, a fabrication error discovered after erection, a camber outside tolerance, and a dimensional nonconformance that appears under load.
14.1.3 The erector shall warrant the erection work, including plumbness and alignment outside tolerance, members set out of position, temporary bracing removed before the permanent system was accepted, and damage caused to members or coatings by erection operations.
NOTE The connections between members are warranted under this warranty on the terms Structural Steel ConnectionsStructural Steel ConnectionsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structural-steel-connections states, and the welds under the terms Welding RequirementsWelding RequirementsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/welding-requirements states. (14.1.4)
14.1.5 Where a warranted defect is corrected, the corrected work shall carry a fresh correction period of the same length measured from the date of the correction, or the remainder of the original period, whichever ends later.
14.1.6 The party performing a warranty correction shall bear the cost of removing and replacing other work that must be disturbed to reach the defect and of restoring the coating and fireproofing the correction disturbs.

14.2 Coating Warranty

14.2.1 Shop coating and galvanizing applied to the members shall be warranted under this standard for the period indicated in the datasheet against failure attributable to surface preparation, application, or the coating material, measured from the date of substantial completion.
Shop Coating and Galvanizing Warranty Periodrange
years
123510
NOTE The coating warranty does not cover damage caused by other trades after the members were erected, field touch-up performed by others, or corrosion in an exposure more aggressive than the one the selected system serves. (14.2.2)
NOTE Where a field finish system is applied over the shop primer, the field applicator's warranty under Exterior PaintingExterior Painting and CoatingsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/exterior-painting or Interior PaintingInterior PaintingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/interior-painting covers the finish system, and the shop coating warranty covers the primer beneath it. (14.2.3)
14.2.4 The shop coating and galvanizing warranties shall be assigned to the Owner and included in the closeout submittals.

14.3 Warranty Exclusions

NOTE The warranty does not cover loading beyond the design loads stated in the contract documents, unauthorized field modification of a member, or damage caused by the work of other trades after the erector has completed and turned over the frame. (14.3.1)
14.3.2 Bonds and the form of the warranty documents are established under Warranties And BondsWarranties and BondsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/warranties-and-bonds.