Steel construction fabrication & Erection

The steel-framed building derives most of its competitive advantage from the virtues of
prefabricated components, which can be assembled speedily at site. Unlike concreting,
which is usually a wet process conducted at site, steel is produced and subsequently
fabricated within a controlled environment. This ensures high quality, manufacture offsite
with improved precision and enhanced speed of construction at site.
The efficiency of fabrication and erection in structural steelwork dictates the success of
any project involving steel-intensive construction. Current practices of fabrication and
erection of steel structures in India are generally antiquated and inefficient. Perhaps, this
inadequate infrastructure for fabrication is unable to support a large growth of steel
construction. In India, the fabrication and erection of structural steelwork has been out of
the purview of the structural designer. Nevertheless, in the future emerging situation, the
entire steel chain, i.e. the producer, client, designer, fabricator and contractor should be
able to interact with each other and improve their efficiency and productivity for the
success of the project involving structural steelwork. Hence it becomes imperative that
structural designers also must acquaint themselves with all the aspects of the structural
steel work including the “fabrication and erection,” and that is the subject matter of the
present chapter to briefly introduce good fabrication and erection practices.