Been following these 2 TC bolts thread and was not sure I had anything significant to contribute, but...
1) It is also my opinion that the fabricatior/erector shall have their own "Skidmore". It should not be the inspector supplying the Skidmore, he should be observing it being done. 2 of my pet peeves when going on a jobsite is care and installion of bolts and all that goes along with that and care of low hydrogen rods (open containers, no rod oven, buckets, boxes, back pockets of sweaty welders, sitting around jobsite loose and uncontrolled, etc.). These 2 things will almost always tell me just about everything I need to know about that erector's quality knowledge, care, or approach to a project.
2) On one of our projects we supplied domestic, top name brand, TCs that did not pass pre-installation verification and were rejected. In a pinch the erector was able to obtain more bolts, but they were foreign, not domestic. When I was able to see a samples of both bolts, one was shiny, oiled well and domestic and was failing while the foreign ones looked dry (not rusty, just dry) and were easily passing the pre-installation inspection. There goes that theory! This may not usually be the case, but it was this time.
3) We rarely install shop tensioned bolts (twice in my 8 years here). We NEVER supply TCs (or for that matter any bolts that will not be simply snug tightened) installed in steel when we ship it. We send 307s in clips, etc. Erectors are responsible for testing and installation of "real" bolts which we supply in kegs with paperwork. Questions (one was touched on above):
A) How do you keep proper manufactured supplied lubrication on TC bolts that will be blasted, painted, stored, rained upon, sun, shipped 2 weeks later, dumped off truck in dirt and muck, stored, rained on, erected in field in various points in structure, etc. You get the idea.
Further...
B) Don't you perform pre-installation verification on LOTS of bolts? What is the "lot" on a shipment of 2, 3, 4 trucks of steel??? How does that erector have a clue which lot these bolts came from? Steel shipped this week and more 2 weeks later with bolts from different kegs and lots. Same with any tensioned bolt assembly components of A325 or A490 bolts that you ship to a jobsite pre-installed in steel and not in kegs. This is why we don't shop install bolts that will be tensioned during erection.
And...
C) Why would you not verify DTIs? See first sentence of RCSC 9.2.4. Sorry Bob, I respectfully disagree.
Just a few things that make me say HMMMM.