Steel fabrication is a specific industry and the services a steel fabrication service offers are often critical for a construction company that is working with structural steel on their job. The fabrication work required for the job is usually done before the material reaches the site, so it must be complete so the steel can be erected when it arrives.
Structural Steel Fabrication
Steel fabrication is often used for structural steel, and the work is meticulous. The fabricator will often have to build and attach things like mounting tabs to a beam or a vertical piece of steel that will be used to join several pieces of steel. The components may need to be custom made to fit the design, so it is essential that the fabricator working on the job can cut, grind, drill, and weld the steel as required to make the parts.
Once a part is made for a structural project, the steel fabrication service can deliver the product to the job site to be assembled. If the parts do not fit together correctly, it can cause delays and problems with the job, so it is critical that the work is precise and correct when it leaves the fabrication shop.
The work done before the steel arriving on-site is often completed off a drawing or blueprint, so the steel fabrication service needs to have duplicate drawings from the builder. They need to work together to ensure everything fits properly.
The contractor or builder may visit the fabrication shop several times throughout the process to check on the parts being assembled and ensure there is no confusion about the design.
On-site Work
There are times when things need to be adjusted even created on the job site, so some steel fabricators will work with the contractor directly. Often projects like steel staircases or a mezzanine being constructed inside a warehouse require several steel fabricators to do the work.
Sometimes a steel fabrication service will send a crew to the site, and other times the contractor may choose to hire fabricators directly, primarily if they work with a lot of structural steel.
Educations and Training
A steel fabricator goes through a lot of training before they can work alone. Often, a steel fabrication service allows the new fabricator to work with an experienced mentor to learn the job. Even after completing their education, the fabricator will spend several years apprenticing to become the best fabricator they can.
The process is long, but it ensures that the men and women making the parts for buildings, bridges, or any large steel structure can do the job and produce a product that will stand the test of time.