Click on the AGM notice on the right for more information and a registration form.

SCNZ engineers will be accompanied in this series by Arun Syam, Tubular Development Manager for OneSteel Market Mills and Raed El Sarraf, HERA Structural Engineer.

The full day seminar for structural engineers will feature:

• Design of Braced Frame Connections
  - light cleat connections for low rise projects
  - heavy connections for multistory braced frames
• STEELMEP Software for Designing Columns for Moment Resisting Connections
  - A complimentary copy of this time saving design tool will be given to all seminar attendees
• Standards Update—AS/NZS 1163: 2009
  - An overview of the major changes to this recently revised joint Australian/New Zealand material supply standard for cold formed steel  hollow sections used for structural purposes.
• Durability of Galvanized Coil Products in External Applications
  - Assessment of the durability performance of metal decking and purlins in external applications such as car parking and canopy structures
• The Benefits of Using the Local Supply Chain

The seminar will follow a lecture/workshop format to allow attendees to apply the material to practical problems.

Seminar dates and venues are as follows:

Christchurch – 12 October, Crowne Plaza
Wellington – 13 October, Copthorne Oriental Bay
Auckland – 14 October, Novotel Hotel, Ellerslie
Nelson – 28 October, Fairfield House
Taupo – 2 November, Millennium Hotel
Northshore – 3 November, Aristotles North Shore

Please click here for a copy of the seminar brochure and registration form.

Listen! Learn! Laugh!

• Do you really know how amusing Eric Rush is?
  He’s our after-dinner speaker.
• Blair Cranston (RMBA President) has some hot tips on how you can grow your business & stay profitable.
• Gareth Kiernan (MD of Infometrics) has an economic forecast focusing on our sector.
• YOU can make your voice heard in the SCNZ Members’ Forum & make your vote count when the Chair & Vice Chair are elected at the AGM.

Programme
2pm    Gareth Kiernan
General Economic Overview & Forecast outlook
3.15    SCNZ Annual General Meeting
Election of Chairman and Vice Chairman
3.45   Afternoon tea
4.00   Members Forum
5.00   Blair Cranston
Growing your business and staying profitable
6.00   Drinks
6.30   Dinner
8.30 Guest Speaker – Eric Rush

You know it will be time well spent, so book YOUR place!

For full details and a registration form, please click here.

- Market Development Focus for SCNZ in 2010-11

- Steel Construction in Building Today

- Steel Estimating Rates Update – be in to win $500 cash!

- Steel Construction Industry Events 2011

- SCNZ AGM and Members Event 16th September

- Upcoming SCNZ Steel Structures Seminar: Connections, Codes & Coatings

- Congratulations D&H Steel Construction: Opening of new steel fabrication plant

- Manager – SCNZ

- Steel Advisor Latest Issue

- The 9th Pacific Structural Steel Conference

Please click Steel Futures July 2010 to view this issue.

Manukau-based

Steel Construction New Zealand Inc (SCNZ) is an active industry association promoting the use of structural steel in construction. 

SCNZ represents the interests of its members to key stakeholders and provides its members with design support services, marketing support, education and development and regular information through its member publications.

We are seeking applications for the position of Manager which reports to the SCNZ Executive Council and has overall responsibility for the association,  including a small team. Market development will be your primary focus to increase awareness and grow market share of structural steel in construction.  This is an opportunity to make your mark as the face of the organisation promoting structural steel into traditional and new market applications. The role also includes responsibility for developing and implementing business plans, budget management and reporting.

You will have a building industry background and a good understanding of the building specification and regulatory process, combined with strong marketing, relationship management and communication skills as you will be liaising with industry, government, territorial authorities, specifiers and related associations to further promote and increase the profile of structural steel in New Zealand.

Applications close on 23 July 2010.

Confidential applications can be e-mailed to Chris Kay — Chairman, SCNZ

Email: christopher.kay@bluescopesteel.com Mob: 021 594 298

www.scnz.org

To achieve the tall slender structural design of the 12 storey building required the ingenious use of over 700 tonnes of steel. As planned, once it made it to the crucial bracing third level the building process literally took off. Temporary steel bracing structures and ultra smart sequencing of floor construction turned design and time challenges into an exacting art.

Scott Delacy of George Grant Engineering and John Abercrombie of Hawkins Construction discussed the special features of this project, and the inventive solutions.  The biggest challenge was getting it to level three from where clever bracing and erection methodology enabled the rest of the construction to take off at speed.

“ The pressure was on to level three. From there there’s been a floor going up each week. Together, as a team, we nailed every challenge,” said Delacy.

The whole hotel structure, steel frame and comflor metal decking, is 80% steel – and a central core of concrete walls provides the main lateral load resistance. Due to issues with getting the concrete walls out of the ground, and the need to keep the structure progressing, additional temporary steel bracing was put in to stabilise the floor structure until the concrete walls could catch up.  So the steel rocketed up leaving a whole in the middle of the building till the concrete wall could be poured. This had to be very tightly managed.

The in-situ concrete core was done with a large Peri formwork system. (A versatile system with few components that met the demands of the job in a very simple way.) Normally the central walls would have been poured with the rest of the floor structure built off that to provide stability – but to meet all the requirements of the design this proved to be a fast and ingenious solution. This could not have been achieved, as Abercombie described, without “smart programming and great teamwork.”

A second issue for smart programming was the special welding required for the stunning building façade. The large diagonal “V” columns that zig zag from the ground floor to level 3 are impressive, making it a very striking building.

The big “V” CHS columns required tricky configuration to achieve their dramatic sculpted form.  Here composite beams, 100% x ray tested for compliance were used.  Decorative glass fibre reinforced concrete panels adorn the diagonal high strength CHS columns from ground to Level 3 and the north and south elevations.

“ This Novotel Hotel is a one off design – and part of building every building is to look at the plans, understand the engineer’s idea, and push your expertise to find the best way to make it work,” said Delacy.

Finding appropriate weld procedures specific to each application is part of that. For example, the two end concrete walls were joined by steel coupling beams that had to be welded together on site – working on very tight tolerances.

Currently the project is right on target for completion in April 2011. Structural steelwork and internal in-situ concrete core is up to Level 9, and poured to level 6.  Pre cast panels and curtain walling to the façade have commenced.  Floor pours are on a ten-day cycle, and internal cores every 6 days.

The outcome will be a brilliant 4 Star Plus hotel right in the airport terminal precinct – just what the tourism industry has needed for a long time. A building whose design (natural materials, façade transparency, and inspiring form) reflects the essential qualities of New Zealand’s heritage.

The elegant and contemporary Novotel will have 263 rooms, a gymnasium, a 150-seat restaurant and bar, 11 meeting rooms, a conference/function room for 300 people and an airline crew lounge.

The doors will be open right in time for the Rugby World Cup next year.

New Caledonia is a small country with a population of about 250,000. With the construction of 2 other major industrial projects underway at the time, fabrication capacity in the country was limited. Thus fabricating in New Zealand was economical and did not tread on the toes of New Caledonian industries.

The project’s success shows the calibre of New Zealand steel design and construction professionals who were able to design, procure, fabricate, paint and ship all the steelwork for a project overseas with exacting results – despite a very condensed time frame.  Ultimately it shows what can be achieved with real collaboration, strenuous effort and a positive attitude.

Steel was used for two clean up projects at the smelter as part of meeting new environmental emissions standards. The Shaker and Bessemer processes in the SLN Smelter produce harmful fumes and particulates. These had to be captured and “clean” air vented to the atmosphere.

Approximately 300 tonnes of ducting manufactured from Cor-ten plate steel, and 250 tonnes of structural steel for the towers and trestles to support them were shipped to Nouméa. The circular ducts, ranging from 800m to 1200m in diameter were designed to capture and transport dirty gases to a gas cleaning facility. The towers and trestles that support them are between 10m and 20m high.

Beca carried out the process, mechanical and civil/structural design, procured the equipment and steel, and was the direct New Zealand interface for the projects dealings with SLN.

“ Everything was precision designed. Even down to all material being able to fit inside standard shipping containers.” said Gareth Hancock, consultant at Beca, Auckland.

For Beca, the biggest challenge in the design of the ducts was the varying temperatures during the process cycles with gas temperatures up to 600 degrees celsius. This was overcome by incorporating expansion joints at various points and carrying out detailed stress analysis of the ducts. All structures and ducts had to withstand cyclone wind forces and were designed to New Caledonian regulations and French codes.

Economics both in time and cost made steel the structural support choice. Grade 300 steel was used for the critical strength and deformation required. “Cor-ten” steel was used for the elevated ducts due to the potential high temperatures of the gases.  The chemical composition of Cor-Ten steel provides high resistance to atmospheric corrosion.

Grayson Engineering was chosen for the projects as a fabricator highly experienced in both ducting work and structural steel. There was close collaboration between the two parties with regular, generally weekly, meetings. 

“ The quality of the drawings provided by Beca were great,” said David Moore of Grayson Engineering. This made quality control easier when the project unexpectedly came under extreme time pressure.

A worldwide shortage of Cor-ten steel at the time moved the goal posts dramatically. Despite this, Grayson Engineering was able to source material and draw on and co-ordinate other fabricators to meet the target dates of both projects in mid-2009.

The main trio dealing with the bulk of the plate cutting, fabrication and welding were Grayson Engineering (Auckland), Energyworks (New Plymouth) and TP Engineering (Auckland).  Other companies involved around the country were Jensen Steel Fabricators (Tauranga), PFS Engineers (Hamilton) and Kawerau Engineering (Kawerau.)

“ The most heartening thing about this project is the coming together of professionals with a can do attitude who want to make it happen” said David Moore of Grayson Engineering. “That we completed the fabrication to time, and that it all fitted exactly on site is a reflection of the diligence and attention to detail of everyone involved.”

And the willingness to work shifts around the clock!

“The work time was condensed dramatically – with the equivalent of 6 months work having to be completed in just three, ” said Tony Herewini of TP Engineering.

Quality management throughout was an absolute necessity. There was no room for error. If it did not fit on site in New Caledonia – it would have been a nightmare for sub subcontractors, with major cost implications given the high price of labour over there.

The result was a flawless perfect fit – on deadline!  It shows the level of expertise engrained in our local industry…..100% world standard operators.

- SCNZ Members Event – Rotorua

- Steel Construction in Building Today

- Engineering Technical Seminar

- Good documentation saves Time and Money

- Engineering Students welcomed to Steel Construction

- Keeping Steel at the Cutting Edge

- Steel Advisor Latest Issue

- Local Steel Industry benefits from CER

- The 9th Pacific Structural Steel Conference

Please click Steel Futures May 2010 to view this issue.

• Consultant Visits
• New Preliminary Design Support Service brochure
• SCNZ Members Event – Motivate or MotorV8?
• Steel Construciton in  Building Today magazine
• SCNZ Steel Structures Seminar
• Prediction of slow recover remains unchanged
• Revied Fire, Earthquiake and Composite Steel Standards to bring value to the Steel Industry
• Need help with Structural Steel Design?
• Steel Advisor Latest Issue
• The 9th Pacific Structural Steel Conference

Please click Steel Futures February 2010 to view this issue.

There are two achievements of scale that make this an impressive project. Not only is the Contact Energy Bridge the longest steel ladder deck bridge in New Zealand – it also involved the largest application of aluminium coating in a single steel structure in Australasia. 10,000m2 of applied 220m aluminium metal spray protects the bridge from corrosion from the sulphur laden geothermal gas emissions below.

A massive earth fill over the steam pipes was considered at first. But when durable, lightweight flexible steel can be protected against even ferocious corrosive activity – no other option stacked up better than a steel ladder bridge. It was the smart, safe, and efficient choice all round.

Alastair Blackler from Fulton Hogan elaborated. “Steel was used for the bridge superstructure as it offered superior span lengths and lighter loads on the bridges spread footing foundations. This was important in maximising the clearance between the bridge and Contact Energy’s steam pipes and other infrastructure. Because the ladder girder style bridge is a simple pre-assembled form it is easy to construct. It significantly reduced the number of heavy lifts (up to 70t) to 14, or one per span. Constructing an alternative pre-stressed concrete Super Tee or Double Hollow Core Bridge would have required multiple heavy lifts for each span.”  Blackler also remarked on the importance of the high quality of the fabrication from Eastbridge. “ It helped us to exceed our programme targets during the on-site assembly and erection.”

According to Bruce Mellsop of Eastbridge, there were scale challenges in terms of tight production schedules. Only steel could deliver in the timeframe – but it required meticulous planning to keep on target. “ With 650 tonnes of pre-assembled steel, and with girders 28 metres long, delivery had to be made in a particular order so the builders can put it up with ease progressively.”

In the end this vast bridge was put up so quickly it was literally amazing. The pier structure of ladder bridges is designed to be simple and efficient, and the high strength to weight ratio of steel was an important factor in easy handling and speed.

As Mellsop pointed out, “Each span from pier to pier was bolted together on the ground, then craned into place in a matter of hours. This meant that the construction team could assemble and place a span each week.”
From an aesthetic point of view – few will see how remarkable the structure is from ground up. When all is complete, when you drive straight over State Highway One and come down to the Taupo-Rotorua intersection – now you will be instantly on a bridge to Waikato River for half a kilometer. “The public will barely perceive they are on a bridge.” said Mellsop.

This steel bridge construction project is a significant one for the industry – as it shows what can be achieved with steel with today’s modern fabrication technology combined with technically advanced protective coatings.

To meet the specifications of the New Zealand Transport Agency, the lifespan of the coating had to be 35 years to first maintenance. Aluminium matched that lifespan, with an expectation of lasting over 40 years before touch ups will be required.
Craig Ross of Napier Sandblasting explained some of the challenges of the biggest spray job in Australasia. “ The coating system in itself is not complicated to apply – but the scale of the job and the fact that aluminium can sometimes make equipment temperamental, meant a lot of late nights.”

New Zealand historical thinking about road bridge construction was totally avoided in the choice of steel for the superstructure of this project. We have been slow to follow the rising international trend. Instead, kiwi ingenuity was applied at all levels. As a result, steel ladder deck bridges may become as popular as they are globally as modern, urban, simple and architecturally striking solutions.