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Emerging International Opportunities

For many steel fabricators, the international market offers increasingly attractive opportunities for growth. In preparation for this move, many domestic and foreign companies look to international recognition of quality and competence—namely through international accreditation.

Take for instance, Jiangsu Changsheng Steel Structure Company, Ltd., a structural steel fabricator based in Shanghai, China. The ISO9001-2000 certified firm owns a 485,000-square-foot workshop dedicated to manufactured steel production and 592,000 square feet of office space for nearly 400 employees. Its products are sold around the world—in Japan, India, Chile and Congo, to name a few—for structures such as power plants, steel structures, standard factory buildings, storage buildings, bridges and high-rise building structures. This firm's fabricated members and components have been used in the construction of impressive structures like the Shenzhen Conference Center, the Mitsubishi Shankou Manufacture Institution and the India Qiasugula power plant.

The firm recently requested International Accreditation Service (IAS) accreditation under the IAS Accreditation Criteria for Fabricator Inspection Programs for Structure Steel, AC172 requirements. In preparing for IAS accreditation, the management of the Jiangsu facility retained Smith-Emery Laboratories, an IAS-accredited inspection agency, to conduct a pre-assessment prior to the IAS assessment. In March 2007, IAS Accreditation Officer Sandi McCracken, with a Smith-Emery inspector, conducted an onsite joint review of the Jiangsu Changsheng Steel Structure Company's facilities per the AC172 requirements.

"This firm demonstrated quality workmanship of the highest caliber, commendable staff communication programs and first-class documentation," McCracken recalled. "The fabrication personnel clearly understood the quality requirements to achieve this level of accreditation. The fabricator documents non-conformances and investigates the nature of problem areas to identify training needs to preclude repetition. In fact, there were no corrective action requests issued during this onsite assessment—a rare occurrence."

Jiangsu Changsheng Steel Structure Company is also the first structural steel fabricator in China to meet the requirements of DIN 18800 that certifies a company to manufacture welded weight-bearing steel structures. In addition, the firm has been honored with the Shanghai Metal Structure Quality Engineering's Gold Seal for six consecutive years.

IAS is proud to include Jiangsu Changsheng Steel Structure Company among the distinguished group of accredited fabrication facilities in the IAS Fabricator Inspection Program.

 
IAS-accredited inspection agency inspector Leonard Cross (right) conducting an inspection at Jiangsu facility with steel fabrication staff.
     
IAS Accreditation Officer Sandi McCracken (center, front) with Jiangsu management staff and IAS-accredited inspection agency inspector Leonard Cross (left).