For starters, manufacturers of steel buildings boast of being AISC certified. What does this mean? And why is AISC certification important? What is AISC?

The American Institute of Steel Construction is the chief organization for everyone involved in the design, manufacture, and construction of fabricated steel buildings and bridges. It is responsible for the development of the Specification for Steel Buildings and the Manual of Steel Construction, publications that were developed to ensure the quality and safety of steel buildings.

Headquartered in Chicago, AISC’s mission is to spread the advantages of structural steel to owners, architects, and university students, and the general public, and make it the material of choice for building construction. AISC is the leader in structural steel-related technical and market-building endeavors such as the development of specifications and code, research, education, technical assistance, quality certifications, standardization, and market development.

AISC’s certifications are given to fabricators and erectors of steel buildings and bridges. The Certification Standard for Steel Building Structures is given to fabricators, whose quality of finished products conforms to AISC’s standards. These standards also place equal emphasis on the quality of business processes observed by the fabricators.

For erectors, there are two types of certifications, the Certified Steel Erector and the Advanced Certified Steel Erector. The first one is given to erection contractors who have the capabilities to erect structures such as schools, shopping centers, light manufacturing plants, warehouses, low-rise beam and column structures, simple non-continuous bridges, and steel-framed buildings.

An erector is given the Advanced Certified Steel Erector if it has the capabilities necessary for erection of structures including large public and institutional buildings, heavy manufacturing plants, bunkers, bins, powerhouses, major industrial facilities, locks and dams, high-rise structures, arenas, and major bridges.

Source: AISC website