On 26 April the Fletcher Steel test laboratory received its ILAC-MRA IANZ certification of accreditation for conformance to standard ISO/IEC 17025:2017 for the testing of metals and metal products.
What does IANZ accreditation mean?
IANZ accreditation provides independent, third-party recognition of the technical and scientific competence of professional organisations, such as testing and calibration laboratories, radiology services and inspection bodies and is globally recognised.
IANZ accredited organisations undergo rigorous and regular assessment of all areas of their accredited technical operations, ensuring test and examination results and inspection reports are reliable.
What testing does Fletcher Steels certification include?
Currently this accreditation only covers tensile testing, but we plan to be able to include impact testing by the end of the calendar year.
For the full scope of our accredited testing see the IANZ website https://www.ianz.govt.nz/directory/ and search “Fletcher Steel”.
Above: Patrick Scanlon | Test Technologist
What does this mean for Fletcher Steel customers?
Previously we have tested using outside labs, but we are experiencing growing volumes and need to enable quicker turnaround and employ the specialist technical knowledge that we need for our projects.
We have always complied with New Zealand’s structural design standards, which are more rigorous than anywhere else in the world, due to our earthquake building standards. Our in-house lab testing means we can maintain these high standards using one of the country’s best technicians.
Bringing our testing in-house fits into our start-to-finish procurement and processing lines to ensure that all our steel is compliant, going into our construction projects and clients’ steel products.
New Zealand is renowned throughout the world for our technical capabilities around seismic construction. We focus on structural ductility (toughness) and are very good at striking the balance between maximum ductility while maintaining strength, in order to cope with seismic challenges.
Testing in New Zealand is imperative because the industry imports large volumes of steel, and the industry has to be absolutely sure that the steel complies with its certification standard.
Introducing our Metallurgist – Bruce Roberts
Leading New Zealand reinforcing steel metallurgist Bruce Roberts joined Fletcher Steel a year ago to support our quality control focus.
Bruce Roberts returned to the Fletcher Group of companies, where he worked for 22 years before moving with Pacific Steel’s change of ownership for two years.
Mr Roberts was charged with setting up an in-house testing laboratory to enable faster, tailored testing of steel reinforcing mesh and structural steel components supplied by Fletcher Steel.
Fletcher Steel Chief Executive Hamish McBeath said: “We are delighted to welcome back to Fletcher Steel one of New Zealand’s top metallurgists, and arguably the nation’s leading steel reinforcing expert.”
Above: Bruce Roberts | Metallurgist