The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is proposing several amendments to B1/VM1, and it’s important that you have your say in these changes as they’ll affect our steel industry.
They intend to:
- Update Verification Method for B1 Structure (B1/VM1) to cite the latest version of NZS 3101:2006 Concrete Structures Standard: Part 1 – The Design of Concrete Structures (i.e. Amendment 3).
- Update Verification Method for B1 Structure (B1/VM1) to replace sections of NZS 3404.1:1997 Steel Structures Standard to reflect current practice for steel fabrication and construction.
- Ban the use of the loop bar (also known as ‘pigtail’) connection detail associated with the support of precast concrete flange-hung double-tee flooring units.
The proposed amendments are part of MBIE’s response to the investigation into the performance of Statistics House in the 14 November 2016 Hurunui/Kaikōura earthquakes and recommendations from the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission.
Modifications to the referencing of NZS 3404.1:1997 are not related to the Statistics House investigation, but are a timely update that will ensure B1/VM1 remains relevant to the steel industry.
Significant changes for the steel industry
- AS/NZS 5131 will replace NZS 3404.1 as the cited standard for fabrication and erection of structural steelwork. The new Structural Steelwork Fabrication and Erection Standard, AS/NZS 5131, defines good practice for fabrication and erection of structural steelwork for projects in New Zealand, and provides the basis for the Steel Fabricators Scheme (SFC) which was jointly introduced by HERA and SCNZ in 2014.
- The inclusion of the latest AS/NZS structural steel material and welding standards.
- The inclusion of a European standard for high strength structural bolts.
Have your say!
MBIE has released a consultation document on the proposals, and the deadline to supply written comments is close of business 20 November 2017.
Update shared by our General Manager Structural Systems Stephen Hicks