Steel Procurement Checklist: What Every Buyer Should Know

The modern pillar of Infrastructure is steel. You are either erecting a residential property, a commercial mall, metro system, or a power plant, having the right quality of steel that you have obtained can either build or break your project. However, most of the buyers, particularly new developers or contractors, have not systematically gone into the procurement process.

Why Steel Procurement Tips is important

Purchase of steel is not only the matter of the lowest price per ton. It is a complex choice of:

Structural stability and strength
Compliance with local and international standards
Service/Supplier credibility
Delivery timelines
Long-term livelihood and cost of life cycle

Adhering to a comprehensive checklist will allow you not to make expensive choices, adhere to the requirements of the engineering field, and guarantee long-lasting performance of the steel you use.

Steel Procurement Tips

1. Specify Structural Requirements of Your Project

It is important to establish the kind of steel grade and specifications you are in need of before you start engaging in the process of procurement. Speak to your structural engineer to know:

Yield strength tensile strength requirements
Seismic zones classification
Space-consuming requirements (floor capacity-two-storey vs. multi-storey)
Ductility requirements and requirements of weldability
Bar sizes and dimensions needed Required lengths of bars

Grade 60 steel which has 60,000 psi yield strength is suited to high rise or infrastructure works, whereas Grade 40 is usually adequate on residential or low rise buildings.

How to Buy Steel Tip 1

It is advisable to always match the steel grade with your structural plan. Never sacrifice strength to save a few pennies since this can affect safety.

2. Select Certified and reputable suppliers

More of the useful knowledge on steel procurement tips must include pointers to obtain verified and certified manufacturers of steel such as Kamran Steel which are certified on adherence to:

PSQCA (Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority)
The ISO 9001:2015 standards
BS/ASTM Quality and safety standards

To purchase quality steel in Pakistan, it is important to buy companies which invest into lab tests, documentations and ethical working conditions. Third party resellers or scrap dealers that are unable to offer full traceability in addition to test certifications should be avoided.

Steel purchasing Tip-2

Request mill test certificates (MTC) of each lot of steel. This is a document that confirms chemical composition, strength and compliance.

3. Check the Grade, Size and type of steel

Wrong sizes or grades of steel may cause serious engineering failures. As the order comes in:

Examine bar diameter, length and weight
Check on stamping of grade on steel bars
Cross-reference your Bill of Quantities (BOQ)

There are counterfeit bars in the market too. Purchasing steel in Pakistan is not only checking paper works but also taking the opportunity to check the actual steel on ground.

4. Maintain resistant to corrosion and robustness

Different weather climates ranging to the coastal areas such as Karachi, and most of the areas in Punjab require rust-free and corrosion-free steel. Look for:

High moisture area: epoxycoated or galvanized steel bars
Producers who provide testing of corrosion resistance
Appropriate care in keeping it as it travels and in storage on site

The poor quality of steel will corrode quicker; this will affect the life of the structure.

The tip when buying steel 3

In any wet environment or any salty condition, a corrosion-resistant finish should be considered or a metallurgist consulted.

5. Sustainability and Recyclability Evaluation

The new generation of consumers is turning to sustainable purchasing.

Green is building certification that promotes recycled and eco-friendly steel LEED, GBCI.

Solar powered systems, waste heat and 100 per cent steel production are seen in action in Kamran Steel, Egypt.
In case your project has a potential to hit the sustainability factors, you should address them with your supplier first.

6. Timelines and Crosscheck Delivery Logistics

The potential over-run of projects and cost of idle labour may result due to the delay in the delivery of steels. Make sure that:

Possesses a deliverable chain and a stable delivery fleet
Sells steel tracking systems (steel mapping systems)
Be able to take urgent project timelines or staged deliveries

One should always maintain a backup plan as well as buffer stock to overcome panic purchase at the last minute.

Steel Bucement Tip 4

Develop a good rapport with the suppliers who would provide on-line delivery tracking and flexible delivery timings.

7. Verify After Sales Support and Technical Consultant

buying quality steel in Pakistan is not cumbersome when a manufacturer provides additional support, i.e.:

On-time testing and sampling
Contractor or engineer technical support
Damaged delivery action policy
Seismic zones or infrastructure works maintenance consultation of experts

After sales service is also reliable which means that your project would go on even after the purchase.

8. Learn local and global standards-compliance

Compliance is essential especially when you are dealing with export-based, donor based projects, and government based projects. Your steel must pass:

Export regulations in international exportation
Environment reports
Technical documentation (of the project)

Choose the suppliers who have experience in CPEC, WAPDA, PPRA or international tenders.