Australian Steel Institute - Quality and Compliance

A recent Australian Industry Group (AiG) survey alarmingly reported that 95% of respondents surveyed in the steel product sector reported non-conforming product in their supply chain.

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the impact, which is seen across all stakeholders, ranging from costly rework and schedule overruns on projects through to inherent public safety risks, often going unseen and unaccounted
the opportunities for our community to address these issues. The ASI is at the forefront of both supporting and driving change for the better. We work together with industry on our advocacy efforts with government at both state and federal level
the cost-effective solutions and tools we provide our stakeholders, necessary to minimise risk and satisfy duty of care.

The impact of non-conforming building products

The impacts of non-conforming building products to our community are manifold, including:

Public Safety:

The harmonised Work, Health and Safety Act 2011 puts significant shared responsibility on all parties in the construction value chain – specifically, manufacturers, importers, suppliers, designers and constructors. A fundamental question that impacts on all stakeholders in the industry and is implicit in conformance to the Act and Regulations is:

How can you warrant the safety of a structure if you cannot establish that the safety-critical components utilised in that structure are compliant

Cost and time:

The cost and time imposts for builders and clients resulting from non-conforming building products can be significant. The ASI has documented many case studies with substantive negative impacts, ranging from schedule overruns and reputational damage through to complete re-fabrication of projects imported from overseas.

Quality:

The quality of products impacts both short-term functionality and long-term maintenance. Quite apart from the structural risk of failure, higher maintenance regimes and reduction in the useful life of components and complete structures are commonplace where products are non-conforming or do not meet the requirements of the construction specification.

Deliberate fraud and legal recourse:

Ultimately, there are several causes for non-conformance, perhaps the most insidious being deliberate fraud at some point in the supply chain. If proven, legal recourse is possible under our current regulation and legal system, but unfortunately is very difficult and costly with product sourced internationally. In this environment, trusted suppliers are paramount so as to avoid the cost and reputational loss associated with product quality issues.

The opportunity

Change is happening for the better, but it is complex and frustratingly slow. The solution does not lie in one area alone, but rather will result from a combination of initiatives at a number of levels.

We believe the opportunities lie with:

government: to action appropriate change implemented through our Regulation, building codes, Standards and WHS. We are continually engaged in advocacy on behalf of our members and the steel community
the supply chain: quality fit-for-purpose products must be provided by the supply chain. We are working with our partner organisations to equip the supply chain with the tools and training to make that happen
the procurement chain: architects, engineers, designers, building certifiers, clients and owners are all involved in the process of procuring a building or structure and as such have a shared responsibility to support and ensure an environment for risk-mitigated, fit-for-purpose outcomes. We have developed a number of solutions to help the procurement chain with cost-effective outcomes.