British Constructional Steelwork Association
Encyclopedia
The British Constructional Steelwork Association is a trade association
Trade association
A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association or sector association, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry...

 for the constructional steelwork industry in the UK.

History

Britain built the world's first iron bridge
The Iron Bridge
The Iron Bridge crosses the River Severn at the Ironbridge Gorge, by the village of Ironbridge, in Shropshire, England. It was the first arch bridge in the world to be made out of cast iron, a material which was previously far too expensive to use for large structures...

 in around 1780. Wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...

 construction of bridges in the UK was later pioneered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...

 (Clifton Suspension Bridge
Clifton Suspension Bridge
Brunel died in 1859, without seeing the completion of the bridge. Brunel's colleagues in the Institution of Civil Engineers felt that completion of the Bridge would be a fitting memorial, and started to raise new funds...

 and Royal Albert Bridge
Royal Albert Bridge
The Royal Albert Bridge is a railway bridge that spans the River Tamar in the United Kingdom between Plymouth, on the Devon bank, and Saltash on the Cornish bank. Its unique design consists of two lenticular iron trusses above the water, with conventional plate-girder approach spans. This gives...

) and Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson FRS was an English civil engineer. He was the only son of George Stephenson, the famed locomotive builder and railway engineer; many of the achievements popularly credited to his father were actually the joint efforts of father and son.-Early life :He was born on the 16th of...

, son of George
George Stephenson
George Stephenson was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who built the first public railway line in the world to use steam locomotives...

 (Newcastle's High Level Bridge
High Level Bridge
The High Level Bridge is a road and railway bridge spanning the River Tyne between Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead in North East England.-Design:...

). The first use of rolled steel
Rolling (metalworking)
In metalworking, rolling is a metal forming process in which metal stock is passed through a pair of rolls. Rolling is classified according to the temperature of the metal rolled. If the temperature of the metal is above its recrystallization temperature, then the process is termed as hot rolling...

 in a steel-framed
Steel frame
Steel frame usually refers to a building technique with a "skeleton frame" of vertical steel columns and horizontal -beams, constructed in a rectangular grid to support the floors, roof and walls of a building which are all attached to the frame...

 building in the UK was in a furniture emporium in County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

 in 1900. Steel from the Bessemer process
Bessemer process
The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass-production of steel from molten pig iron. The process is named after its inventor, Henry Bessemer, who took out a patent on the process in 1855. The process was independently discovered in 1851 by William Kelly...

 was made in open hearth furnace
Open hearth furnace
Open hearth furnaces are one of a number of kinds of furnace where excess carbon and other impurities are burnt out of the pig iron to produce steel. Since steel is difficult to manufacture due to its high melting point, normal fuels and furnaces were insufficient and the open hearth furnace was...

s.

In 1908, five of the larger steelwork contractors in Manchester formed the Steelwork Society. Other similar groups formed around the country, such as the London-based British Steelwork Association in 1928, and the Tank and Industrial Plant Association. In 1936 these combined to form the British Constructional Steelwork Association. Steel framed buildings were allowed to be built from 1909, by the London Building Act 1909. One of the first buildings of this type was Kodak House on Kingsway
Kingsway (London)
Kingsway is a major road in central London in the United Kingdom, designated as part of the A4200. It runs from High Holborn, at its north end in the London Borough of Camden, and meets Aldwych in the south in the City of Westminster at Bush House. It was built in the 1900s...

. In the 1930s an important use of steel construction was the National Grid.

In 1931 the Steel Structures Research Committee recommended that there should be codes of practice in the steel construction industry, which led to BS 449. From the 1980s steel construction was built to BS 5950
BS 5950
BS 5950 is the British Standard for the design, fabrication and erection of structural steelwork. It does not apply to bridges, which are covered by BS 5400. BS 5950 replaced BS 449, which used a permissible stress approach, and uses limit state design methods. It is written for use in the UK but...

.

During the Second World War the BCSA was consulted for the many military building projects, notably the Mulberry harbour
Mulberry harbour
A Mulberry harbour was a British type of temporary harbour developed in World War II to offload cargo on the beaches during the Allied invasion of Normandy....

s in 1944. In 1962 it set up the Confederation of Associations of Specialist Engineering Contractors (CASEC) with the HVCA
Heating and Ventilating Contractors' Association
The Heating and Ventilating Contractors' Association , founded in 1904, is the main UK trade association for companies that design, install, commission and maintain heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration and related engineering projects.-Activities:The HVCA provides quality...

 and ECA
Electrical Contractors' Association
The Electrical Contractors' Association is the main trade association for contractors involved in electrical engineering projects in England, Northern Ireland and Wales.-History:...

. In 1967 it set up a legal advisory service. In the early 1970s it consulted with the Merrison Committee to set up BS 5400
BS 5400
BS 5400 is a British Standard for design and construction of steel, concrete and composite bridges use in highway and railway.The standard specifies the requirements and the code of practice on design of steel, concrete and composite bridges that use steel sections as well as the materials and...

, after some box girder bridge
Box girder bridge
A box girder bridge is a bridge in which the main beams comprise girders in the shape of a hollow box. The box girder normally comprises either prestressed concrete, structural steel, or a composite of steel and reinforced concrete. The box is typically rectangular or trapezoidal in cross-section...

s had collapsed (Cleddau Bridge
Cleddau Bridge
The Cleddau Bridge is a toll bridge on the A477 road that spans the River Cleddau between Neyland and Pembroke Dock, Wales. It was originally called the Milford Haven Bridge, Due to errors in the box girder design it collapsed during construction in 1970 and did not become operational until...

 in June 1970).
In the mid-1980s there was a resurgence in the UK steel construction industry with fabricated steel
Fabrication (metal)
Fabrication as an industrial term refers to building metal structures by cutting, bending, and assembling. The cutting part of fabrication is via sawing, shearing, or chiseling ; torching with handheld torches ; and via CNC cutters...

 increasing from 700,000 tonnes in 1983, 1 million tonnes in 1986, to 1.4 million tonnes in 1989. Output would drop to around 800,000 tonnes in the early 1990s, to reach 1.2 million tonnes by 1999, and the 1.4 million tonnes in 2008. Output then fell by 30% to 2010, when it began to pick up again.

Most steelwork in buildings is provided by I-beam
I-beam
-beams, also known as H-beams, W-beams , rolled steel joist , or double-T are beams with an - or H-shaped cross-section. The horizontal elements of the "" are flanges, while the vertical element is the web...

s, otherwise known as a rolled steel joist (RSJ). Bridges are built with these to form girder bridge
Girder bridge
A girder bridge, in general, is a bridge built of girders placed on bridge abutments and foundation piers. In turn, a bridge deck is built on top of the girders in order to carry traffic. There are several different subtypes of girder bridges:...

s.

Dr Derek Tordoff has been the Director General for the last 27 years. The UK constructional steel market is worth around £3 billion. Around 70% of non-domestic multi-storey buildings are built with structural steelwork in the UK.

Structure

The main office is situated between Whitehall and the Victoria Embankment on Whitehall Court
Whitehall Court
Whitehall Court in London, England is one contiguous building but consists of two separate constructions; the end occupied by the National Liberal Club was designed by Alfred Waterhouse, the major part was designed by Archer & Green.The Royal Horseguards Hotel, owned by Thistle Hotels, covers 1 &...

.
It is accessed via Embankment tube station
Embankment tube station
Embankment is a London Underground station in the City of Westminster, known by various names during its history. It is served by the Circle, District, Northern and Bakerloo lines. On the Northern and Bakerloo lines, the station is between Waterloo and Charing Cross stations; on the Circle and...

.

There is also an office in Doncaster
Doncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...

, near to White Rose Way (A6182
A6182 road
The A6182, or White Rose Way, is a dual carriageway that runs north from junction 3 of the M18 to approximately two miles away from Doncaster town centre....

), off junction 3 of the M18.

Function

It represents the British structural steel
Steel mill
A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel.Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. It is produced in a two-stage process. First, iron ore is reduced or smelted with coke and limestone in a blast furnace, producing molten iron which is either cast into pig iron or...

 industry - building steelwork contractors and bridge steelwork contractors - to government and other industry bodies; it is, for example, a member of the Specialist Engineering Contractors Group
Specialist Engineering Contractors Group
The Specialist Engineering Contractors Group is a United Kingdom construction industry organisation, currently representing six specialist engineering membership associations...

.

It runs the Steel Construction Certificate Scheme, to which its members can apply to join. Construction of steelwork is a dangerous occupation, often at height and in inclement weather.

It holds its National Dinner each year in late February.

Publications

It has produced many technical brochures and books on constructional use of steel.

In 1984 it produced BCSA News, which became Steel Construction in 1986. In 1991 it became New Steel Construction, and is published monthly. It started a website in 1996.

Awards

In 1969 it set up the Structural Steel Design Awards scheme, awarded in July. Winners of this award have included:
  • 1972 - Almond Bridge, designed by Frank Rowley
  • 1980 - M180
    M180 motorway
    The M180 motorway is a short but major motorway in England from junction 5 on the M18 motorway in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster to a point close to Humberside Airport some from the ports of Immingham and Grimsby and the east coast and provides access for major routes to Cleethorpes,...

     bridge over the River Trent
    River Trent
    The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...

    , also designed by Frank Rowley. It used the erection gantry to stabilise the bridge during construction.
  • 2005 - City Bridge
    City Bridge
    City Bridge is a crossing of the River Usk in the city of Newport, South Wales. It was opened in 2004 as part of the construction/re-generation of the Southern Distributor Road/A48 in Newport....

  • 2006 - Air Traffic Control Tower, Heathrow Airport
    London Heathrow Airport
    London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...

    , designed by Richard Rogers
    Richard Rogers
    Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside CH Kt FRIBA FCSD is a British architect noted for his modernist and functionalist designs....

  • 2007 - Clyde Arc
    Clyde Arc
    The Clyde Arc , is a road bridge spanning the River Clyde in Glasgow, in west central Scotland, connecting Finnieston, near the Clyde Auditorium and SECC with Pacific Quay and Glasgow Science Centre in Govan. A prominent feature of the bridge is its innovative curved design and the way that it...

    , designed by Gillespies Architects
  • 2008 - National Tennis Centre
    National Tennis Centre (United Kingdom)
    The United Kingdom's National Tennis Centre at Roehampton in south west London is the Lawn Tennis Association 's high performance training facility. It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 29 March 2007....

     in Roehampton
    Roehampton
    Roehampton is a district in south-west London, forming the western end of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It lies between the town of Barnes to the north, Putney to the east and Wimbledon Common to the south. The Richmond Park golf courses are west of the neighbourhood, and just south of these is...

    , designed by Hopkins Architects; The O2 (London)
    The O2 (London)
    The O2, visually typeset in branding as The O2, is a large entertainment district on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, England, including an indoor arena, a music club, a Cineworld cinema, an exhibition space, piazzas, bars and restaurants...

    , designed by HOK Sport Architecture; and London Heathrow Terminal 5, designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners
    Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners
    Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners is a British architectural firm. Established in 2007, it was previously known as the Richard Rogers Partnership....

  • 2009 - Oxford University Biochemistry Building
    Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford
    The Department of Biochemistry in the Science Area at Oxford University, England, is one of the largest such departments in Europe. It is currently made up of three main buildings* The New Biochemistry building...

    , designed by Hawkins Brown
  • 2010 - Infinity Bridge
    Infinity Bridge
    The Infinity Bridge is a public pedestrian and cycle footbridge across the River Tees in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees in the north east of England...

    , Stockton-on-Tees, built by Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company
    Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company
    The Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company is a renowned bridge building and structural engineering company based in Darlington, England. It has been involved in many major projects including the Victoria Falls Bridge and the Humber Bridge.-History:...


See also

  • Structural shape rolling
    Structural shape rolling
    Structural shape rolling, also known as shape rolling and profile rolling, is a metal forming process where structural shapes are passed through rollers to bend or deform the workpiece to a desired shape while maintaining a constant cross-section...

  • Eurocode
    Eurocode
    Eurocodes are a set of harmonized technical rules developed by the European Committee for Standardisation for the structural design of construction works in the European Union.The purposes of the Eurocodes are:...

     - EN 1993
    EN 1993
    EN 1993 - Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures, is the part of the European building code that deals with the design of steel structures, using the limit state design philosophy...

     and EN 1994
    EN 1994
    EN 1994, also known as Eurocode 4: Design of composite steel and concrete structures, is the European Standard for the design of composite structures, using the limit state design philosophy...

  • Constructional Steel Research and Development Organisation
  • Institution of Structural Engineers
    Institution of Structural Engineers
    The Institution of Structural Engineers is a professional body for structural engineering based in the United Kingdom. It has 27,000 members in 105 countries. The Institution provides professional accreditation for structural engineers...

     (IStructE)
  • Galvanizers Association
  • American Institute of Steel Construction
    American Institute of Steel Construction
    The American Institute of Steel Construction, often abbreviated AISC, is a not-for-profit technical institute and trade association for the use of structural steel in the construction industry of the United States. It is headquartered in Chicago, IL. Their mission is to make structural steel the...


External links

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