Structural steel fabrication

Structural Steel Fabrication

Engineered heavy steelwork for bridges and complex steel structures. BECT coordinates fabrication through an established fabrication partner, and carries the engineering that surrounds it.

Discuss your project How the work is divided

Fabricated steel girder sections supported on a line of adjustable jacks during assembly inside a workshop. — Fabricated multi-span cable-stayed bridge.

Overview

Engineered steelwork, fabricated through a partner

Structural steel fabrication is delivered through an established fabrication partner. BECT provides the engineering, the specification and the coordination; the steelwork itself is fabricated at the partner's plant.

That division matters, and this page states it rather than blurring it. What BECT brings is the engineering judgement either side of fabrication: the design intent going in, and the checking, coordination and construction-stage engineering coming out.

Roles

What BECT does, and what the fabrication partner does

Fabrication is a partnership, and the two sides of it are different kinds of work.

BECT Ltd

Engineering and coordination

The engineering work either side of fabrication, carried out by the same team that handles the permanent-works design and the construction engineering.

Structural steelwork engineering and design input
Fabrication specification and technical requirements
Coordination of fabrication against the construction programme
Design review and structural checks
Interface with permanent-works design and temporary works
Production support through fabrication and assembly

Fabrication partner

Fabrication and assembly

Fabrication is carried out at the partner's plant, using its own facilities, machinery and quality-control arrangements.

Steel stock holding and material preparation
Indoor processing and workshop fabrication
Automated fabrication machinery
Full-scale trial assembly of steel structures
Indoor anti-corrosion painting
Storage of finished products before dispatch

Capability

Structural steelwork capabilities

Custom-engineered steelwork, fabricated to project-specific requirements rather than from a standard product range.

Custom-engineered steelwork

Steelwork engineered to the requirements of the structure it forms part of, rather than adapted from a catalogue section.
Heavy plate and section work

Plate preparation, profiling, rolling and pressing of heavy sections, carried out with the plant's automated machinery.
Assembly and fit-up

Girder and component assembly, with fit-up carried out in the workshop before the structure leaves the plant.
Full-scale trial assembly

Steel structures can be trial-assembled at full scale, so that fit is proven in the workshop rather than discovered on site.
Anti-corrosion treatment

Surface preparation and anti-corrosion painting are carried out indoors, under controlled conditions.
Engineering support through production

BECT stays engaged through fabrication, so questions arising in the workshop are answered by the engineers who set the requirements.

Process

The fabrication route

Five stages, from stocked material to a finished structure ready for dispatch.

Steel stock

Material is held in stock at the plant so fabrication can start without waiting on procurement.
Processing and fabrication

Cutting, profiling, rolling, pressing, drilling and welding are carried out indoors in the workshops.
Trial assembly

Structures are assembled at full scale to prove fit and geometry before they are broken down for transport.
Anti-corrosion painting

Surface preparation and painting are carried out in a dedicated indoor facility.
Storage and dispatch

Finished structures are stored at the plant and released to suit the site programme.

Interfaces

Engineering and fabrication interfaces

Fabrication is rarely the first decision on a project and never the last. It sits between the permanent-works design that sets the steelwork and the construction engineering that has to erect it.

Where fabrication meets the rest of the work

Why the interface matters

Steelwork that is straightforward to fabricate can still be difficult to transport, lift or erect. Because the same team handles the design, the construction engineering and the erection equipment, those constraints are resolved together rather than passed between parties.

Quality

Quality and inspection

Two separate layers, and it is worth being clear about which is which.

At the plant

A quality-assurance and quality-control programme is operated at the fabrication plant, under supervision, as part of the partner's own production arrangements.
From BECT

Design review and structural checks are carried out by BECT's engineers, and fabrication is coordinated against the requirements those checks set.

Applications