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"The ability to trace the history, application or location of an object" (ISO 9001:2015)
The above definition appears quite simple and functionary. In terms of construction products in general, and our steel supply chain in particular, we need to be able to track down where products have come from.
Yet, from that simple definition stems a number of important questions, which rapidly start to illustrate the breadth and depth of the traceability challenge:
The ASI is on a journey with industry to provide answers to these questions, and more. We do not have the final solution (yet). The final solution must necessarily involve the complete supply chain and we therefore encourage you to engage with us and be part of shaping the solution.
Traceability of products is not a new concept and has been actioned for many years in some industries, in particular where the risk of non-compliant or unknown products is substantial, for either life-safety or economic reasons. Medical products, some foodstuffs, aeronautical and automobile products all, to varying degrees, implement robust traceability to ensure the end product is compliant and known.
In reality, construction products are no different. The supply of an unacceptable degree of non-compliant, unsuitable and often faulty building products is increasingly being seen in building, infrastructure and resources projects in Australia, ranging from small local developments to major projects involving international teams. The outcomes of non-compliant product can be life threatening and/or commercially crippling. ASI has documented this, and solutions are available here: https://www.steel.org.au/what-we-do/compliance/
Similarly, knowing product performance attributes is crucial to proper assessment of the sustainability credentials of construction products and the overall assessment of the completed building or structure. If the product is not what is claimed, sustainability assessment becomes flawed and potentially meaningless. It is also crucial when considering the circular economy for reuse of steel components.
The checking and auditing of deliverables is vitally important to achieve the quality, sustainability and risk minimised outcomes our community expects and our regulatory system requires. Unfortunately, it is not straightforward to properly check the deliverables from the construction product supply chain. Documentation requirements are substantial (as would be expected) and many processes such as welding are considered ‘special processes’, meaning the outputs cannot be readily checked without destroying the component. Hence the inputs must be known, controlled and managed to ensure fit-for-purpose outcomes. Product inputs must be traceable back to source if we are to verify outcomes.
Schemes such as the ASI developed National Structural Steelwork Compliance Scheme (NSSCS) and Steel Sustainability Australia (SSA) Certification Program assist in management of the fabrication and erection and sustainability assessment processes respectively, hence helping ensure fit-for-purpose deliverables. These schemes rely on the veracity of steel products, enabled by robust traceability.
Traceability is therefore a fundamental component of ensuring compliance and sustainability.
The supply chain for a steel building or structure is long, with the added complexity that a number of paths are possible, depending on the particular contractual model for procurement of the final building or structure.
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The credentials (mill certificates, EPDs etc) of the steel product, whether for compliance or sustainability, and a positive link between the credentials and the physical product, must be maintained along this supply chain, through processes involving unbundling, warehousing, cutting, shaping, rolling, welding, surface protection and combining into components and subassemblies. Any break in this chain potentially results in loss of traceability, which puts significant responsibility on all members of the supply chain to understand and apply appropriate measures to maintain traceability.
It is the common shared understanding of traceability and the tools that can be implemented to action robust traceability that must be our mission and the journey documented on these pages.
At a high level, the traceability related actions required by each of the structural steel supply chain members includes:
Industry initiatives underway are designed to develop the tools and processes necessary to support these traceability actions in a format that is open and able to be implemented by all supply chain members.
Current industry initiatives are underway on a number of fronts by different organisations and stakeholder groups. ASI are involved in a number of these, in an effort to coordinate and ensure a measure of alignment in goals and outcomes to benefit all construction products.
ASI has hosted and/or secured permission to share a number of presentations resulting from the industry initiatives, including: