ACRS | Home - Australian Certification Authority for Reinforcing Steel

What ACRS Does

ACRS operates a 2-stage, independent, expert steel certification scheme that is unique in Australia and New Zealand. ACRS was created and is supported by peak local technical bodies (such as Austroads, Engineers Australia, and SRIA – see ACRS members) to provide steel specifiers, designers, and customers with confidence in the sourcing of materials and the supply of finished steel delivered to the construction site, independent of the steel supplier, and certified steel suppliers with an internationally recognised peak standard in steel certification.

During each stage, ACRS conducts 8 areas of review and decision-making of the conformity of steel construction products, assessing them for conformity to one, or more of 19 applicable Standards ( “Product Requirements”) plus, additionally, the requirements of the ACRS Product Scheme:

Quality Management System validation

Independent product sampling and testing

Statistical analysis of production output

Product identification

"All products, all locations"

Product traceability

Certificates issued only for 12-months, and regularly updated

Suspension, or termination of certificate holders for noncompliance

All ACRS assessment and review is undertaken by ACRS own qualified and experienced metallurgists and engineers, and all certification decisions are made by an expert ACRS committee drawn from specifiers, designers, and consumer bodies to deliver the most rigorous scheme available for certification of steel construction materials to Australian and New Zealand requirements.

By using the ACRS 2-Stage certification (Stage 1 for steel manufacture and Stage 2 for steel processing and mesh manufacture, or structural welded section fabrication) specifiers, materials purchasers, and end-users have confidence to that the steels delivered to their construction projects have been suitably assessed for conformity at both the steel mill and through any subsequent transformation into a finished product.

For more information see What ACRS Does

Why is ACRS necessary?

Reinforcing, prestressing and structural steels steels have arrived on construction sites that fail to meet the minimum requirements of applicable Standards. Non-complying materials have been shown to result in project delays (for instance, requiring additional testing), cause consequential costs to involved parties (for instance, requiring substantial redesign) and even ended in court cases. Some of the problems identified are:

Inadequate product traceability

All construction steels supplied to an AS/NZS, or other applicable Standard is required to be accompanied by documentation that attests to the compliance of those materials to the stated Standard. However, in some cases the documentation, including test certificates, delivery certificates and bundle tags, have:

not displayed all the information required by the Standard of supply
not been in English
indicated supply to a Standard other than the applicable AS/NZS, or other specified Standard
been supplied late, even after installation of materials

Misleading and false supporting documentation

Test certificates have been used to represent materials other than those from which the original test samples were taken. In some cases test certificates have:

been used fraudulently to represent materials from batches of material other than those from which the original test samples were taken, or;
been altered fraudulently to represent materials that did not in fact comply with the stated Standard, or;
been used fraudulently to represent materials from suppliers other than those stated on the certificate

Excessive variation in materials properties

AS/NZ Standards limit variation in materials properties from the expected figures. In some cases materials have been supplied that exceed the stated limits and may not meet the applicable Standard;

Inappropriate product markings

In AS/NZS Standards, some materials are required to display unique markings which identify the mill of manufacture. In some cases, manufacturer identification markings on materials have:

been used by one mill that are similar, or even identical to those in use by another mill for similar products;
been used for materials of similar appearance, but of different grades to the AS/NZS Standard, or with different metallurgical properties and intended for supply to a Standard other than an AS/NZS Standard;
not been in accordance with the minimum requirements of the applicable AS/NZS Standard to enable proper identification to be made.

BENEFITS

How does ACRS Certification benefit the construction industry?

Quite simply, ACRS certification reduces the risk of buying and using steel which does not meet minimum requirements, and enables feedback and corrective action in case problems arise. Major construction clients, designers and contractors, worldwide, recognise and even specify ACRS and it's Product Certification Scheme to confirm the the technical competence of suppliers and gain assurance of consistent product quality.

CUSTOMERS

The benefits for specifiers, designers, certifiers and product purchasers from checking that all their steel suppliers have delivered ACRS Approved products include:

Independently and expertly assessed compliance and fitness for purpose of construction steels to the relevant Standards, irrespective of the origin of material, enables procurement choices to be made on technical equivalence, not simply on cost of purchase;
Overseas experience shows independent certification does not affect the availability or the competitive price levels of delivered material, giving confidence that the products delivered conform to standards at no additional cost to the purchaser;
Preservation of Australia's and New Zealand's world-class construction technologies enables industry to utilise the most effective construction methods;
Prevention of reintroduction of site inspection and testing reduces time and cost to builders and inspectors;
Removal of the requirement for customers and building certifiers to check every supplier test certificate before materials acceptance (or trust to luck that the product complies).

SUPPLIERS

The benefits for suppliers holding ACRS certification, include:

Process and materials benchmarked to appropriate Standards confirms the certificate holder’s quality systems are both functioning and appropriate for the both the materials and the Standard of supply;
Reduced compliance costs for projects requiring certified materials, as there is no need to provide additional, specific product information for every project delivery;
External recognition of the supplier's ability to consistently produce products conforming to applicable Standards and requirements;
Ability for the supplier to compete on a level playing field with other certified suppliers and to differentiate the certified firm in the minds of specifiers and customers from supplier’s without ACRS certification;
Sharing the benefits of ACRS promotion of the ACRS 'Mark' as ACRS is internationally recognised as the means of demonstrating conformity with the certified Standards and specifications.

Why Choose ACRS
as your Product Certification Body?

Having invested so much in good Product Certification, it's essential that the market entrusts assessment to a Product Certification Body that understands the product and its supply chain.

Achieving ACRS Product Certification requires considerable commitment, consistency and professionalism. By achieving ACRS Product Certification, certificate holders, their customers, and structure owners have the confidence that comes from knowing ACRS Certified Firms are strictly monitored throughout each year, and periodically assessed by ACRS expert assessors. ACRS approval is a pathway to improved process and business performance, as well as a credible, transparent supply chain.

ACRS Certified Firms have the opportunity to benefit from ACRS' own, continuing publicity programme and perhaps to take part in joint promotional campaigns. ACRS provides free marketing support to promote successful approval and allows certificate holders to display the ACRS Mark on their publicity and stationery. In order to assist steel specifiers and certifiers and asset owners, as well as certificate holders, ACRS is pleased to provide speakers for seminars, conferences and internal meetings

All ACRS Certified Firms, and their scopes of approval are automatically included in the "Certificate Holders" section of this web site.