Steel detailer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A steel detailer is a person who makes shop drawings for steel fabricators. This person prepares detailed plans, drawings and other documents for the manufacture and erection of steel members (columns, beams, braces, trusses, stairs, handrails, joists, metal decking, etc.) used in the construction of buildings, bridges, and similar projects. A steel detailer's projects are usually commercial, industrial or municipal; residential projects are rarely large enough to require structural steel.
Steel detailers (usually simply called detailers within their field) work closely with architects, engineers, general contractors and steel fabricators. They usually find employment with steel fabricators, engineering firms, or independent steel detailing companies. Steel detailing companies and self-employed detailers subcontract primarily to steel fabricators and sometimes to general contractors and engineers.
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[edit] Training and certification
[edit] USA
Collegiate degree programs specific to structural steel detailing are rare to nonexistent, but more general degree and certification programs may be found with curricula pertaining to design, manual or computer-aided drafting in general, or specific computer-aided drafting software. However, a college degree is not required to become a steel detailer. Training is usually provided on the job, with a new trainee usually needing about five years of practice under an experienced detailer to become proficient with all of the requirements of the trade.
Certification of structural steel detailers is not required in the United States. The National Institute of Steel Detailing (NISD) offers a selection of certification programs for steel detailers and detailing companies, but these are strictly voluntary.
[edit] Responsibilities
A steel detailer prepares two primary types of drawings: erection drawings and shop drawings. Erection drawings are used to guide the steel erector on the construction site ("in the field") as to where and how to erect the fabricated steel members. These drawings usually show dimensioned plans to locate the steel members, and they often also show details with specific information and requirements, including special work that must be done in the field (such as welding or installing wedge anchors). Since the erection drawings are intended for use in the field, they contain only the most general information about the fabrication of any individual steel member.
Shop drawings, also called detail drawings, are used to guide the steel fabricator in making the steel members. Complete shop drawings show material sizes, dimensions, welding, bolting, painting requirements, and any other information required to describe each completed member. Since the shop drawings are intended only for use in the shop, they generally contain little or no information about the erection and installation of the steel members they depict.
A steel detailer creates his drawings based on information presented on design drawings created by an architect and/or engineer. These design drawings contain information relevant to several different trades, and the detailer must isolate the information required by the steel fabricator. Furthermore, the design drawings show information in a general way, and the detailer must determine and relate how that information applies to each specific steel member. In these ways the detailer acts as an interpreter of the design drawings for the fabricator.
The detailer must comply with industry standards and protocols for detail drawings, such as those established by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) and the American Welding Society (AWS). The detailer is not usually responsible for design, including structural strength and integrity (which are the responsibility of the engineer) and compliance with relevant building codes (which are the responsibility of the architect). A detailer is often required to submit his drawings to the architect and engineer for review prior to the use of those drawings for fabrication. This review ideally assures engineering accuracy and compliance with the design.
[edit] Techniques
Steel detailers fall into two disciplines: manual drafting and computer-aided drafting (CAD). A manual draftsman creates his drawings by hand, using pencils, paper, and drafting tools such as a parallel bar or drafting machine, triangles, templates of circles and other useful shapes, and a hand calculator for performing computations. A computer-aided draftsman creates his drawings on a computer, using software specifically designed for the purpose, and printing out his drawings on paper only when they are complete. Many detailers would add another classification for those using 3-D Modeling applications specifically designed for the task, as the process for the production of drawings using these applications is markedly different from a 2-D drafting approach.
Detailing requires skills in not only drafting but also mathematics (including geometry and trigonometry), logic, reasoning, spatial visualization, and communication. A computer-aided draftsman also requires skills in using computers and an understanding of the specific CAD software he is to use.
A detailer's drawings generally go through several phases. Following creation of the drawing, the detailer must usually (as described above) submit a copy of the drawing to the architect and engineer for review. Copies of the drawing may be sent to other recipients at this time as well, such as the general contractor, for informational purposes only. The drawing must also be checked for accuracy and completeness by another detailer (called, for this purpose, the checker). Comments arising from designer review and corrections made during checking must be resolved, and the original drawing must be updated accordingly. After this, the drawing may be released to the fabricator and/or erector for use in construction.
