by: Elizabeth A. Bechner
On Thursday, May 14th, the Engineering Department of AG&P of Manila, Inc., Heavy Fabrication Yard in Bauan, Batangas will be receiving Certificates of Completion in the Detailer Training Series compiled by NISD (National Institute of Steel Detailing in the US) and AISC (American Institute of Steel Construction). This will be a historic event because it will mark the first time that this certification will be awarded in mass in the Philippines. This Certification is equivalent to two years of US Steel Detailing Experience. To qualify to take the NISD Detailer Certification Test one must have a minimum of 5 years US Detailing Experience to test for Junior Detailer Certification. Senior Detailer Certification has a minimum 10 year requirement.
This benefits the Philippines in many ways because there is a critical shortage of US Steel Detailers and much of the current detailing work in the US is outsourced overseas as a result. Steel detailing firms have been cropping up all over the Philippines for the past 5 or 6 years but few have really had the benefit of formal training in US Detailing methodology and US Imperial measurement standards.
So, what exactly is a steel detailer? They are the ones who take the contract drawings and create the fabrication and erection drawings for the steel fabricator to fabricate every individual piece of steel in a project as well as the erection plans for the erector to set the steel at the jobsite.
Who qualifies to become a steel detailer? Any engineer with a background and good knowledge of AutoCAD, good problem solving skills and who is highly organized can be trained to do this work.
Even though there is a worldwide economic crisis at hand, many companies around the world are still pursuing their projects such as with the oil and mining industries. Thus there will be a growing demand in steel detailing for the Philippines which translates in more jobs available for our engineering graduates. As the US steel construction industry grows out of the recession, the move will be towards a requirement for detailers doing US work to be US certified. The award of these certificates is the first step among many towards that goal. AG&P has invested in their future as well as the future of the Philippines by embracing this training program and making it standard training for all incoming employees.
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