{"id":70222,"date":"2020-01-16T12:23:50","date_gmt":"2020-01-16T12:23:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/?p=70222"},"modified":"2023-05-16T16:16:06","modified_gmt":"2023-05-16T15:16:06","slug":"light-steel-framing-sci","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/light-steel-framing-sci\/70222\/","title":{"rendered":"Light steel framing: Third-party assessment schemes from SCI"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Steel Construction Institute<\/a> has played a key role in the development and certification of light steel framing in the UK for over 20 years<\/h2>\n

The role that offsite construction<\/a> solutions can play in solving our national need for more housing is clear to all. While there have been previous false dawns, this time looks different because while aspirations will always be susceptible to falling by the wayside under pressure from other drivers, we cannot change the reality of an ageing workforce. Different, less labour-intensive ways of building are needed, that also deliver the productivity, speed and quality goals set by government.<\/p>\n

Light Steel Framing Group<\/h3>\n

SCI\u2019s journey with light steel framing began in the early 1990s. The Light Steel Framing Group (LSFG) was formed with the aim of bringing together parties from across the supply chain so that British Steel could understand needs and fund SCI and others to develop solutions that would help assure the quality of light steel framing. A range of design guides was produced, aimed at both architects and engineers, and covering key technical aspects including structure, acoustics, durability and fire.<\/p>\n

More recently, the LSFG morphed into the Light Steel Forum<\/a> Membership of the forum is limited to manufacturers, who fund the group and its activities, which they direct through quarterly steering group meetings. The emphasis remains on producing generic technical information<\/a> to help inform and convince specifiers, and ensure things are done properly<\/p>\n

As well as developing generic guidance, SCI has a long history of providing third-party assurance for proprietary light gauge steel products. While some may feel aggrieved that Modern Methods of Construction sometimes have to satisfy more onerous demands than traditional forms, we recognise this as perfectly reasonable given the shorter track record to rely on. The SCI light gauge accreditation scheme was developed to complement guidance and go hand-in-hand with a desire to ensure light gauge steel solutions were high quality. In a sector where the cost of entry is relatively low, British Steel was well aware of the reputational damage that could be done to the sector by some poor practice.<\/p>\n

This scheme evolved into the SCI Assessed scheme<\/a>, which is much broader and has the flexibility to cover things as diverse as a manufacturer\u2019s engineering methodology to load-span tables. While SCI Assessed continues, we are now offering a third-party Product Certification scheme to meet market needs.<\/p>\n

SCI Product Certification<\/h3>\n

Our Product Certificates cover not only technical content, be that concerning structure, acoustics or fire, but also factory production control to provide assurance that a certified product is, and does, what is claimed. The current scope of certification includes:<\/p>\n