Project scope

This order was confirmed by one of our regular customers, who needed a balcony support made of fabricated steel.

So, the first step – we provided drawings for approval, they then went through an approval process. In this case, there was only one revision! After that, the customer approved the drawings, and we started working on this interesting fabricated steel project.

Steel was delivered to our yard the next day by our trusted steel supplier. Also, in our steel workshop in Gravesend we have a large stock of fabricated steel, hence why we usually start working immediately. Because of this, we’re also one of the leading London and South East steel fabricators. But if you’re on this page, you probably already know about it!

Back to our project – our unloading team checked the steels, which is an important part of the process. Next, they picked the steels by the fork truck and laid out in the yard. The saw team then checked the steels for cutting them from a cutting list given to us by our in-house draughtsman. Steel beams were then then taken to the saw to be cut to the exact size.

The steel with the correct job number was moved and placed in our steel fabrication shop. The fabrication team checked length and sizes to the drawings. After that, the ends were cleaned up and made ready for end plates and all welded plates. The fabricator adhered them to the specification. Then the fabricated steel went to the welding team for welding to specification as well.

All was then checked by our in-house inspector for welding and drilling. Our drilling team drilled all the holes, and our inspector checked the steel again to make sure that everything is correct.

Then we sent off the steels to be shot blasted and galvanised.

Shot blasting is a resurfacing process used to remove debris and irregularities from concrete, metal, and other industrial surfaces. It is a surface treatment technique that makes use of particulate grains propelled under high velocity. This process is a highly effective solution for removing contamination on metal substrates or changing the coarseness or smoothness of a surface before coating. Whilst similar with sand blasting, shot blasting employs centrifugal force from a mechanical device to propel treatment media upon the product. The sand blasting process uses compressed air to shoot some form of abrasive media like sand against the product being treated.

After the shot blasting, it then got sent off to our brilliant steel galvanisers on an express turnaround to ensure we kept to the client programme. Steel galvanising is basically a process of application of thin zinc coating to a thicker base metal. This helps to shield the manufactured steel from the surrounding environment. This method is quite easy, and also cost-effective for all types of fabricated steel. After that, the galvanised steel is fully protected from corrosion – one more important box to tick!

Finishing touches

When the fabricated steel is back from the galvanisers, it’s then double checked to make sure all everything is correct and up to the highest standard. It’s checked against the delivery note making sure the job number is on the steels and beams references from our delivery notes.

The steels are now ready for delivery! The steel gets loaded onto one of our big Hiab lorries. The Hiab lorries deliver it to the site, where it is then placed and erected. We tailor our steel erection services to meet our customers’ needs, whether it’s a single steel beam, or a complex high-rise building!