I wonder why they insist on the most recent edition of AWS. It isn't referenced in the latest AISC Steel Construction Manual and it isn't required by any building code that I am aware of.
I would chalk it up to an other auditor that doesn't know what is required by the building code or the AISC SCM. We see the same thing occur with some inexperienced inspectors.
I haven't sat in on an AISC audit in a couple years, but the last few I did sit in on didn't impress me. The auditors seemed to add a few of their own personal preferences that were not based on code requirements or on the fabricator's QC manual.
One case in point that has always been a sore point with me is the issue of "calibration". The auditors wanted everything to be calibrated, but they couldn't point to anything in the applicable codes or standards that required "everything" to be calibrated. For instance, what purpose does it serve to "calibrate" a set of fillet gages to the nearest 0.001 inch when they come in 1/16th and 1/8th inch increments? Likewise, it makes no sense to "calibrate" a 10, 16, 20, or 25 foot tape used to layout fittings when there is no adjustment involved. The tape is either in good working order or it isn't. In my humble opinion if the markings are worn to the point where they can't be read, the tape should be replaced. I have never seen a case where the tape measure has been permanently stretched to the point where it was not "accurate" enough for the purpose for which it is intended.
Every time I hear, "ISO requires it", I want to puke. Big deal, I'm not working to ISO and all that does is ensure you will build some widget the same way every time, even if it is wrong, it will be wrong every time. ISO registration is just one more example of another "business buzz word de jour" like TQM, S6, etc. Next year someone will pontificate some other BS business plan and everyone with jump on as if it will save the world. What is needed is a common sense approach to business. Unfortunately, common sense isn't all that common.
Too many auditors that I've encountered don't have the common sense to use a handkerchief to blow their nose on. I heard one auditor make the statement that he told a lab they had to requalify every welder they tested in the last year because a secretary typed "ER705-6" instead of "ER70S-6" on the welder's test reports. I would have run him out of my facility so fast his pants would be smoldering if he told me something like that. They would've had to use a bearing puller to extract my boot from his butt. Oh well, as long as we buckle under and don't tell the auditors to take a flying leap, we'll be burdened with BS that doesn't improve productivity, but adds to the cost burden of fabrication.
Best regards - Al
Al, the holders of an AISC certification will come under fire if they don't have the current edition in their library during audits...that stinks, because like you and others have stated, many times the latest edition isn't necessary because the contract docs often are written and agreed upon during the bidding of the project when an earlier edition was still in effect.
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