Structural Steel Inspection From Shop
Floor to Topping Out
Dimensional, welds, bolting and QC audits — independent inspection that keeps your steel schedule honest.
Structural Steel Inspection Services
Structural steel forgives nothing at assembly: a member fabricated out of tolerance or a connection bolted wrong surfaces at erection, when fixes cost cranes and schedule. CIC provides independent structural steel inspection across Alberta — dimensional verification, weld inspection, bolt torque testing and QC program audits — in the fabrication shop and on the erection site.
Dimensional Inspection
Dimensional inspection verifies fabricated members against shop drawings before they ship — lengths, camber, hole patterns, copes and fit-up surfaces. Catching a misplaced connection pattern in the shop costs a re-drill; catching it under the hook costs the erection sequence. We inspect at the stages where errors are still cheap.
Weld Inspection on Structural Work
Structural welds run to CSA W59 acceptance under fabricators qualified to W47.1 — and CIC's CWB certified inspectors cover both in-process surveillance and final acceptance, with MPI or UT added where drawings demand it. Full detail lives on our welding inspection page; on structural packages it integrates into the same visits as dimensional and bolting checks.
Bolt Torque Testing and Bolting Inspection
High-strength bolted connections depend on installed tension, not the iron worker's confidence. CIC verifies bolting programs — snug-tight confirmation, turn-of-nut verification, and torque testing against the values your connection design specifies — with documentation per connection group, so the engineer of record signs off on data rather than assurance.
QC Program Audits
Owners and GCs increasingly ask fabricators to prove their quality system, not just their welds. CIC audits fabrication QC programs — document control, welder and procedure records, material traceability, inspection practice — and reports gaps with fixes, in plain language. For shops, a third-party audit before the client's audit is cheap insurance.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should structural steel be inspected?
At three points: in fabrication (dimensional and weld surveillance while correction is cheap), at delivery (verification against approved drawings), and during erection (bolting and field welds). The costliest failures come from skipping the first stage and discovering everything at the third.
Do you work for fabricators or owners?
Both — which is exactly why independence matters. Fabricators use us as their outside QC check; owners and GCs use us to verify what they're paying for. Either way the findings are the findings; that's the value of a company with no stake in the steel.