BCAB #1346 - Erection of Welded Structural Steel Building, Article 4.3.4.1.

April 18, 1994

BCAB #1346

Re: Erection of Welded Structural Steel Building, Article 4.3.4.1.

Project Description

The project in question is a secondary school built with a welded steel structural frame.

Reason for Appeal

Article 4.3.4.1. requires buildings and their structural members made of structural steel to conform to CAN/CSA-S16.1-M, "Limit States Design of Steel Structures". Section 24.3, "Fabricator and Erector Qualification", of this standard requires the fabricator and erector to be certified by the Canadian Welding Bureau to the requirements of CSA Standard W47.1, "Certification of Companies for Fusion Welding of Steel Structures", or W55.3, "Resistance Welding Qualification Code for Fabricators of Structural Members used in Buildings", or both, as applicable.

Appellant's Position

The appellant is a Canadian Welding Bureau (CWB) certified manufacturer and supplied the structural steel components which were erected by another company at the building site. The erection contractor was not certified by CWB until the project was about half finished although they had applied for certification before erection commenced. Ten of the eleven prerequisites to obtaining CWB certification had been met before work commenced and only the site audit, which requires some erection work to be done, had not been carried out. Once the site audit was completed the certification was issued. The appellant retained responsibility for the sublet site erection work carried out by the erection contractor as stipulated in Section 24.3 of CAN/CSA-S16.1.

Based on the foregoing the appellant contends that the building under appeal was fabricated and erected in compliance with CAN/CSA-S16.1 and the B.C. Building Code.

Building Official's Position

The building official maintains that the subcontractor hired by the appellant to erect the structural steel was not CWB certified during construction of the entire building. Therefore, the building does not comply with Article 4.3.4.1. of the B.C. Building Code.

Appeal Board Decision #1346

It is the determination of the Board that the structural steel was at least partly erected in contravention of the requirements of the Code because the erection contractor was not certified by the Canadian Welding Bureau prior to commencement of construction. The Board cannot relax the Code requirements and the approval of an equivalency falls under the authority of the building official.

George R. Humphrey, Chair