How to Secure Quality Design and Construction of Steel

Structures

1 2
Masahiro NAGATA , Keiji ANDO
1 2
Japanese Society of Steel Construction, PT. Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Indonesia

1. Introduction
In Indonesia, natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis occur frequently as in
Japan, while construction demand is brisk mainly in urban areas with a rapid economic
growth. Currently, reinforced concrete (RC) structures are mainly used in building
construction. In general, while high-rise buildings use a RC center-core structure,
factories and warehouses have RC columns, steel structures are applied only for beams
and roof framing used H-shapes or small shapes. In the future, when the country
accelerates economic growth and urbanization progresses in various places, a shift to
steel structures, which are excellent seismic resistant and labor-productive and allow
short construction periods, is expected to occur due to the social needs listed below as
well as their high structural performance.

(1) Development of safe and secure infrastructures that protect human lives and
economic activities
Recently, in Indonesia, as people had an awareness of the need to reduce disaster
risks, the seismic codes were revised, and tsunami evacuation facilities began to be
built in certain areas. From the viewpoint of BCP, business continuity planning, the risk
reduction against earthquakes, tsunamis and other natural disasters is basic strategies
to national economic activities. Therefore, when developing infrastructures, they are
required not only to protect human lives, but also to be safe and secure against natural
disasters.

(2) Buildings increase in which the superiority of steel structures can be used effectively
as the economy grows
In the process of economic growth, following the development of housings and public
facilities, the construction of commercial buildings to enrich living standard of citizens
and production facilities such as factories and warehouses to support economic
activities becomes active. In these facilities, the merit of steel structures can be
maximized because they require large spaces from functional reasons including
replacement of equipment, versatility for alternative applications, and short construction
periods to enable early investments recovery. In Japan, there has recently been an
increasing number of cases in which schools, hospitals, and other public facilities are
constructed by using steel structures, which allow them to secure large spaces, from
functional reasons such as easiness with which rooms can be renovated and repaired
 for alternative usages and replaced medical equipment in addition to improvements for
seismic resistance as evacuation centers in case of disasters.
The columns of high-rise buildings and large facilities have a huge section to support
the heavy load resulting from upper floors. Steels, which are higher strength than other
materials, allow them to design a smaller section, and this enables to have a larger
effective area of rooms, high rentable ratio with high asset value. Facilities such as
airports, stadiums, and stations are required to have long spans from the viewpoint of
facility functionality. Use of high strength steels enables them to reduce the weight of
structures and realize large spaces without columns and walls.

(3) Changes in the labor environment in response to brisk construction demand

With rapid urbanization, the construction demand becomes strong in various areas and
the labor costs tend to rise with the shortage of skilled workers engaged in construction
industry. Meanwhile, it is expected that construction industry will shift from a
labor-intensive to a capital-intensive business with high labor productivity due to high
production efficiency because of factory production. For this reason as well as efficient
land utilization by construction of multi-storied buildings, it is predicted that demand for
steel structures will be expanded in the years to come.

2. Historical development of steel structures in Japan

Data Source: Handbook for Iron and Steel Statistics by JISF

Fig. 1 Increase of Steel Production with Economic Growth and Building Construction Needs

Looking back on the historical development of steel structures in Japan, as shown in

Figure 1, demand for steel structures that enables large amount of construction in a short
period during high economic growth that began in the 1960s has expanded dramatically.
In addition, the steel production was increasing in proportion to the growth of steel
demand. As shown in Figure 2,
currently 30% of the steel demand
in the building construction and
15% in the civil engineering are
occupied in Japan. Especially
during high economic growth, steel
demand for construction including
Data Source: Handbook for Iron and Steel Statistics by JISF
building construction and civil
Fig. 2 Domestic Demand for Steel Products in Japan
engineering was over 50%.

(1) Period of rapid economic growth in the 1960s and 1970s

In response to the postwar baby boom, the government first worked on housing
development to resolve housing shortages with single-family houses made of wood and
public complex housings supplied by the Japan Housing Corporation in suburban areas
in large quantities built using RC. Then began the development of public facilities such
as schools and government offices, but in those days, they were constructed using RC,
which is the only construction method local contractors could handle, because there
were a small number of fabricators and such fabricators had not spread nationwide.
Later, the period arrived in which commercial buildings, factories and warehouses were
built in large quantities. By then, fabricators had been established nationwide and had
increased production capacity, allowing construction of steel-frame buildings, which are
extremely capable in large supply and short construction period.

(2) Period of the bubble economy around 1990

The Japanese economy peaked during its bubble period, prompting the progress of
urbanization in various areas of the country, the construction of many high-rise
buildings and large facilities, and the extension of roads and railways to build an
intercity transport network. At that time, the annual amount of building frame fabrication
and bridge fabrication reached 12 million tons and 900,000 tons, respectively, and both
numbers updated their hysterical highs. In order to construct high-rise buildings and
long-span bridges, steel manufacturers have developed high-strength steels and
extremely thick, large cross section and put them into practical use. Furthermore,
airports, stadiums, stations, and other facilities that occupied a large space have been
constructed one after another using such steel materials.

(3) Present
According to the annual statistical surveys of building construction starts 1 by the
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), as indicated in Figure 3,
steel-frame and wooden structures each represent about 40% of the total floor area of
newly constructed buildings, while RC structures occupy around 20%. As far as the
non-residential uses, Figure 4 shows that the percentage of steel-frame structures
exceeds 70% as it proves the benefits of steel-frame structures as mentioned in
Chapter 1. Since steel-frame structures are fabricated in plants and assembled at
construction sites, they increase labor productivity and enable both short construction
periods and high product quality. In particular, steel-frame structures boast of their
overwhelming share of the market for high-rise buildings, long-span large facilities,
commercial buildings, and production facilities such as factories and warehouses
making the most of their superiority, including high strength, long span, and short
construction period. In terms of residential uses, wooden structures account for about

Data Source: Building Construction Starts by MLIT

Fig. 3 Total Floor Area of Building Construction by Structural Type in Japan

Fig. 4 Share of Steel Structures in the Total Construction Area by Building Use
 60%, and steel-frame and RC structures each occupy about 20%. Wooden structures
are used for single-family houses and RC structures for complex housings. Steel
structures are used mainly by pre-fabricated housing manufacturers for single-family
houses and low- to medium-rise complex housings.
Meanwhile, the stock of buildings constructed during the period of rapid economic
growth in urban areas is increasing, prompting the construction market to shift from the
construction of new buildings to their maintenance and management as well as renewal
demand. In addition, the ageing of construction workers and the shortage of skilled
workers engaged in reinforcing bar assembly, concrete form arrangement and so on
have become obvious. In recent years, it is predicted that the share of RC structures for
construction projects tend to decrease, due to the above mentioned environmental
changes surrounding construction market.

3. System to ensure steel frame quality

Demand for the steel structure increases year by
year, and steel frame construction reaches about 250,000 tons Higher-rise
（5%） 16 stories~
40% of the total floor area of building construction
starts, it is an urgent task to maintain and improve 350,000 tons 10~15 stories
（7%）
the design and construction quality as the steel
400,000 tons 6~9 stories
structure spreads. It is necessary to develop a （8%）
consistent quality control system in each
1,400,000 tons 3~5 stories
production process of steel structures and their （28%）
integrated system. Predicting from the statistics of 2,600,000 tons 1~2 stories
construction starts, high-rise buildings account for （52%）
Annual usage of steel products used for
less than 10% of the total floor area of newly Steel-framed Buildings: 5 million tons
constructed steel-frame buildings, while medium-
Fig. 5 Annual Usage of Steel Products
to low-rise buildings with 9 floors or less for around Used for Steel-framed Buildings
90%, as shown in Figure 5. In Japan, approximately 150,000 steel-frame buildings are
constructed annually with their total floor area reaching 50 million square meters based on
statistical surveys of building construction starts in recent years. The average total floor
area per building is 350 square meters (35 tons of steel are used), and it can be said that
the steel-frame market consists of mainly small buildings. The base of this market for
small and medium-sized buildings is considered to be supported by small and
medium-sized companies, including 100,000 design firms, 30,000 fabricators (3,000
certified plants), and 500,000 contractors. As described above, the construction market is
composed of many companies and engineers engaged in materials, design, fabrication
and erection, a wide range of comprehensive strategies such as standardization, quality
securing system, and development of human resources are necessary to maintain the
quality of steel structures. The followings are introduced as the examples of system in
Japan to ensure steel frame quality.
3.1 Legislation and standardization
3.1.1 Standards for steel structures
Building construction market consists mainly of small and medium-sized properties
ordered by individuals and private companies. In order to disseminate widely to many
companies and engineers engaged in these projects and ensure their design and
construction quality, it is important to prepare standards, manuals and guidebooks in
addition to legislation including Building Standard Low and related regulations. Meanwhile,
the civil engineering project is composed of mainly public works ordered from the national
and local governments as well as major public sectors for roads, railways, and other
facilities, and as clients and constructors are highly specialized, it is important to develop
standards for specialists such as Specifications for Highway Bridges.
In other words, in the construction market, the key strategy to develop steel structures
is the establishment of laws, regulations, standards, manuals and guidelines. These
documents are drafted by various academic societies and associations from the viewpoint
of fairness, public interest, and impartiality, and basic data used for such drafting are
examined and studied by universities and research institutes. Another benefit is to reduce
research and development costs at individual companies by conducting standardization
and R&D jointly by multi-companies.

Categories Organizations in charge

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure,
• Building Standards Law Transport and Tourism (MLIT)
• Housing Bureau: Building Guidance Division
• National Institute for Land and Infrastructure
• Notification of M LIT Management (NILIM)
• Building Research Institute (BRI)

Ministry of Economy, Trade

• Japan Industrial Standard and Industry (METI)
Industrial Science and Technology Policy and
(JIS) Environmental Bureau - Office of Standard and
Certification

• Standards & Recommendations

Architectural Institute of Japan
• JASS6 (Structural Steelwork Specification (AIJ)
for Building Construction)

• Design M anuals Japanese Society of Steel

• Design Guidebooks (For steel structures) Construction (JSSC)

Fig. 6 Standards, Manuals and Guidebooks for Steel Construction

Figure 6 summarizes major standards and technical documents for steel-frame buildings
and their organizations in charge. The Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) for materials
are supervised by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Building
Standard Low by MLIT. Design Standard for Steel Structures, Structural Steelwork
Specification for Building Construction JASS6, and Technical Recommendations for Steel
Construction for Buildings are established and published by the Architectural Institute of
Japan (AIJ). Technical guidelines to complement the above documents are developed by
the Japanese Society of Steel Construction (JSSC) and other associations.
 In Indonesia, various standards for materials, design and construction are included in
Standar Nasional Indonesia (SNI). The seismic codes and the design standard for steel
structures have been developed based on U.S. ones, but composite structure standards
have not been fully developed, and structural engineers are now at the stage of referring
to the standards of various countries. Furthermore, standards, manuals and guidelines for
construction, quality control, inspection, maintenance and management, etc. have not
been fully developed either, and engineers are making decisions on a project-by-project
basis based on their experience. JSSC is not only engaged in conducting research and
studies on steel structures but also establishing various criteria and standards. It believes
that these technical documents will be useful in developing criteria and standards in
Indonesia.

3.1.2 Criteria and standards for seismic design

Table 1 indicates the transition in Japan’s seismic design codes. It shows that every time
a great earthquake occurred, the seismic codes have been revised based on the suffered
damage. In 1981, the Building Standard Low was revised, and a new seismic design
method was introduced. In addition to the conventional elastic design to confirm seismic
resistance, ultimate strength design was added to cope with great earthquakes based on
the seismic records accumulated in those days and studies of dynamic analysis results.
In 1995, lots of buildings have heavily damaged by the Great Hanshin Earthquake. This
catastrophe has taught us Table 1 Past Earthquake Disasters and
many findings and lessons. Transition in Seismic Design Codes
Damages concentrated on 1968
Tokachi-oki Earthquake
(M7.9, serious damages to RC structures)
buildings constructed before
Enforcement of the revised Building Standard Law
1981, when the new seismic 1971
(severer restriction on column hoop reinforcement spacing)
design code came into force. In 1978 Miyagiken-oki Earthquake (M7.4)
addition, there were many
Enforcement of the revised Building Standard Law
1981
buildings which avoided (the new seismic design code)

collapse, protecting the lives of Great Hanshin Earthquake (M7.3, serious damages to the
buildings constructed before 1981, the enforcement of new
their occupants, but became
1995 seismic design code)
unusable after the earthquake
Enforcement of the law to promote seismic retrofitting
because they lost value as
Enforcement of the revised Building Standard Law
assets due to damage left on 2000
(Implementation of performance-based design methods)
framework and finishing. Based Tokati-oki Earthquake (M8.0)
2003
on these lessons, a drastic (Oil tank damage by Long-period Earthquake Motions))

change took place in seismic 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake & Tsunami (M9.0)

design concepts, considering Great East Japan Earthquake & Tsunami

(M9.0, serious damages to the buildings by Tsunami, Building
buildings as social assets. By response by Long-period Earthquake Motions)
2011
growing the social consensus Amendment of the law to promote seismic retrofitting,
Implementation of Tsunami design
of advanced seismic design Study on Long-period Earthquake Motions
concept that enabled disaster
risk reduction and business continuity planning (BCP) and allowed buildings to resist
huge earthquakes with a Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in addition to protecting
human lives, vibration control and base isolation buildings started to spread in Japan.
Moreover, learning lessons from damages caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake
occurred in 2011, structural engineers started to consider measures to cope with
long-period ground motions in addition to the construction of tsunami evacuation facilities.
In the same year, the Act on Promotion of Seismic Retrofitting of Buildings was revised,
requiring buildings such as hospitals and stores which were used by an unspecified large
number of people and those of schools and other buildings used as evacuation centers
which were obligated for seismic diagnosis. So far, the seismic strengthening and
retrofitting of school facilities has almost been completed, and there is an accelerating
trend toward private companies as well as public facilities in recent years.
On the other hand, the development of steel materials with excellent seismic
performance and their standardization were also carried out. The conventional JIS steel
materials such as SS and SM, which correspond to elastic design, were general-purpose
ones that were applied not only to construction but also to machinery and other industrial
sectors, but in 1994, SN steels (JIS G 3136, Rolled steels for building structure)
exclusively used for building construction which correspond to the new seismic design
method, had excellent seismic performance, in other words, plastic deformation capacity,
and exceeded in welding performance as often required in construction were designated
as JIS materials. Table 2 summarizes the standard for SN and other steel grades,
indicating that JIS specifications are stricter than those in foreign countries in terms of
seismic performance and weldability.

Table 2 Comparison between SN and Other Steel Grades

3.2 System to ensure structural quality

3.2.1 Building confirmation and certification by the Minister
Building confirmation is an administrative system under which, prior to the start of
construction, building officials or administrative agency or person delegated thereby
examine buildings currently planned to determine whether they conform to the Building
Standard Low and related regulations. The Building Standard Low, which was enforced in
1950 to secure necessary building stock as there were serious postwar housing
shortages, has contributed greatly to guaranteeing the minimum performance and quality
required for buildings. However, as social needs are diversifying and become more
sophisticated and the level of requirements for buildings increases, a different framework
becomes necessary. Buildings with a height of over 60-meter and those which use new
construction methods or materials need
to pass technical examinations by
performance evaluation agencies
designated by MLIT and obtain special
approval by the Minister of MLIT.
Examples of performance evaluation for
new steel materials are shown in Figure
7, many structural steels have been
developed, and have passed technical
examinations and acquired special
authorization. Today, they are mainly
used for high-rise buildings and
large-scale facilities. Fig. 7 Structural Performance Evaluation for New
Steel Materials

3.2.2 System for qualified engineers involved in steel-frame construction

During the period of bubble economy, when infrastructure investments peaked in Japan,
defective steel materials and steel frames were used in some of buildings. This led the
Ministry of Construction (current MLIT) to set up a building technology review committee
as its advisory body, and this committee summarized various measures to ensure the
quality of steel-frame products and submitted a report to the Minister of Construction in
1992. The major proposals included in the report were to introduce responsibility for each
process, a qualification system for engineers, ensure the quality of steel materials, secure
the quality optimization of steel frame fabrication, establish a qualified system for
inspectors, and set up an integrated organization to take extensive, and necessary
measures across the steel-frame production. In response to these proposals, the Ministry
took administrative actions in various fields, including the establishment of JIS for SN
steels exclusively used for building structures, the proper operation of steel inspection
certificates, i.e. mill sheets, and the marking rule for steel properties. Among this series of
moves, in 1996, Organization for Building Steel Structure Qualification (OBSSQ), a
third-party organization was established in JSSC, with the participation of various related
organizations, academics and experts, administrative authorities. In 1998, this
qualification system was launched as a consensus of the whole industries related to
steel-frame construction.
 In Japan, there are over 30 licenses involved in steel-frame construction processes from
structural design to construction. As shown in the flow of Figure 8, licenses related to
steel fabrication process include steel fabrication management engineers, welding
engineers, and inspection-related licenses such as product inspection engineers and
ultrasonic inspection engineers. The welding related license is based on welding tests as
stipulated in JIS, but building steel frames are fabricated under the different conditions
from those for shipbuilding and machinery. Therefore, licenses exclusively for building
steel frames are awarded after lectures and practical skill tests unique to building steel
frames are conducted. Although the JIS non-destructive inspection license deals with
general ultrasonic flaw detection tests, since the building steel-frame inspection needs to
be based on AIJ Standard for the
Major Process Qualification
ultrasonic inspection of welded
defects, a license for building Receiving steel H shapes, HSS,
products Plate
steel-frame ultrasonic inspection ■ Steel fabrication
engineer is necessary in case of management engineer
Preliminary Cutting, Drilling,
building steel frames. In addition, fabrication Beveling

as welding robots are widely Robot welding, ■ Welding coordination

Assembly & personnel
used in fabricators nowadays, a welding
Welding, Column
assembly ■ JIS welding technician
system to certify such robots and
■ Product inspection
to qualify their operators has also Inspection Visual & Ultrasonic engineer
inspection ■ Ultrasonic inspection
been established. engineer
At construction sites, steel ■ JIS non-destructive
inspection engineer
frames are erected as shown in
Fig. 8 Steel Fabrication Process & Required Qualification
the flow of Figure 9. Mainly being
managed by a general contractor, Major Process Qualification
the construction process requires
Planning and management
that its manager should have a
license of building construction Anchor bolt & base mortar
■ Supervisor for steel
management engineer covered
construction works
for all structures or supervisor for Erection
steel construction works. In
High-strength Bolted Joint ■ Administrative engineers for
addition, in Japan, since high-strength bolted joint
high-strength bolted connection is ■ Welding coordination personnel
Site Welding
indispensable to steel-frame ■ JIS welding technician

construction, the administrative Inspection ■ Building steel frame ultrasonic

inspection engineer
engineer for high-strength bolted
joint is stipulated in the regulation. Fig. 9 Steel Construction Process & Required Qualification

3.2.3 Certification of steel fabrication plants

The industry that produces building steel frames, bridges, and other steel structures is
divided into four organizations 2 listed in Table 3. JSCA and JSFA are industry
organizations for building steel frames, Table 3 Number of Companies by Industry Group
JSCA consists of relatively large Japan Steel Construction Association 18
fabricators and JSFA comprises small Japan Steel Fabrication Association Approx. 2,200

and medium-sized ones. The steel Japan Bridge Association 31

Japan Steel Tower Association 17
fabrication industry is overwhelmingly
Several hundreds
Companies not belonging to a group
composed of small and medium-sized to several thousands

fabricators, and JSFA has about 2,200

member companies. JBA is an organization comprised of bridge fabricators, and JSTA is
comprised of companies related to steel towers. Many of the fabricators of building steel
frames are certified by MLIT, and currently, there are 2,150 certified plants nationwide.
Table 4 Certification of Steel Fabrication Plants
Steel material used Ratio of plant
Grade Building sizes Welding position
Strength Thickness number
S Super high-rise all No limit Flat, horizontal, vertical 1%
H High-rise 520N 60mm or less Flat, horizontal, vertical 14%
M Middle to high-rise 490N 40mm or less Flat, horizontal 45%
Middle to high-rise
R 5-story, 20m or less 490N 25mm or less Flat position 35%
3,000m2 or less
Low-rise
J 3-story, 13m or less 400N 16mm or less Flat position 5%
500m2 or less

As indicated in Table 4, fabricators are classified into five grades according to the size of
buildings handled, and steel materials used3. For example, fabricators of Grade J, the
lowest, can fabricate steel frames for up to 3-story buildings with the tensile strength of
their steel materials at 400 N/mm2 and their thickness of 16 mm or less. There is no limit
to size and the strength of steel materials for the highest Grade S. A look at the
percentage of certified fabricators today shows that Grade S fabricators account for only
1% of the total with Grade M ones occupying 45%. As illustrated in Figure 10, the first
step to acquire fabricator certification is to apply for performance evaluation to a
designated performance evaluation organization, and this organization conducts written
examinations and examines the fabricator’s plants. If the fabricator passes these
examinations, this organization issues a written evaluation, and the fabricator submits an
application to MLIT for
certification together with the Steel Fabrication Plant

written evaluation, and the

(3) Application
Minister issues a written (1) Application (2) Appraisal
Appraisal (4) Certificate
Report
certification to the fabricator. Report

Judging by reference to this Performance Evaluation Ministry of Land, Infrastructure,

system of certification by the Organization Transportation and Tourism
Screening Appraisal Screening Certification
Minister, clients can place an
■Japan Steel-fabrication Appraisal Organization
order with a certified plant ■Japan Steel Structure Appraisal Center

depending on the grade that

Fig. 10 Certification Process of Steel Fabrication Plant
matches the difficulty of
fabrication, thus ensuring construction of a steel-frame building with an appropriate level
of quality and structural performance. The certified fabricator system is effectively used as
a means of quality control for public works as well as private construction projects.
Specifically, the advantages of the system are as follows:
(1) Fabrication of steel frames at certified plants ensures an appropriate level of quality
for steel frames, particularly the performance and reliability of welded parts.
(2) Use of certified plants with the grade that suits the scale of buildings and steel
materials used guarantees steel frame structures that superior in structural safety,
such as seismic resistance
(3) Fabricators recognized as Minister-certified plants give a great sense of security to
clients because their performance is evaluated by a third party based on publicly
authorized standards.
In the Indonesian construction industry, technical guidelines for fabrication, construction
management, and quality control have not fully established. There are cases in which
steel-frame fabrication and construction standards based on AISC and AWS standards
are applied, but practically no detailed technical guidelines, commentaries, and manuals
are available. In the future, in addition to qualified systems for engineers to ensure the
quality of steel-frame fabrication, it is necessary to establish a certification system to
examine fabricator’s manufacturing and quality control capabilities, thereby creating an
environment that enables clients to select fabricators who can conduct quality control
appropriately with a sense of security.

3.3 Development of human resources

In view of the rapid progress of technology related to steel structures and expansion of
application fields covered by such technology, it is essential to develop engineers and
researchers in order to ensure the quality of steel structures and their sound development.
In addition to encouraging individual companies to develop their human resources on
their own initiative, it is important to ensure that related organizations with which these
companies are affiliated continuously give lectures and training and officially commend
superior accomplishments and works. As an example, JSSC provides support for young
engineers and researchers. Specifically, as part of continuing education for social workers,
it offers lectures to develop steel structure engineers. It organizes some 50 lectures and
technical tours for young engineers who have worked with a company for up to several
years by inviting distinguished academics and senior engineers with years of experience
as lecturers. Lectures trace all processes of steel production from the materials through
design and fabrication to construction, which is difficult for a single business firm to
organize, and they are well received by JSSC member companies as a good opportunity
to acquire knowledge in order to make remarkable progress as an engineer.
Meanwhile, JSSC is continuing its project to subsidize research by young researchers
during over ten years, it has granted a sum of tens of millions of yen in research funds to a
total of over 70 researchers. In addition to research on steel construction, this grant
system covers a wide range of international surveys and educational programs related to
steel structures.

4. Activities and roles of the association

A look back upon the history of spread and development of steel structures in Japan
shows that as indicated in Figure 11, in addition to the development of technology for
steel materials, design, fabrication, and construction, the establishment of laws,
regulations, criteria, and standards, and qualified systems for engineers and certified
systems for fabrication plants, organizations involved in steel structures were set up
during the period of rapid economic growth from the 1960s to the 1970s. These
organizations have led the industry in working with governments and distinguished
academics to drive activities to spread steel structures. As the title of this paper suggests,

Fig. 11 Efforts toward Development of Steel Construction

the role of organizations that establish the basement for spreading steel structures is
indispensable to secure quality design and construction of steel structures.
JSSC was established in 1965 by bringing together companies and academics related to
steel structures in order to improve steel construction technology and develop and spread
steel structures. At that time, as Japan was entering the period of rapid economic growth,
there was a remarkable tendency for structures to become increasingly huge as
exemplified by many projects to construct high-rise buildings and long-span bridges. Steel
structures were used in various places to meet these social needs. In order to solve
various problems involved in steel structures, by bringing together steel manufacturers,
designers, fabricators, and contractors, including industries of electric powers and
railways, and distinguished academics, it became an urgent issue to be addressed to
promote research and studies on common grounds and take measures such as
developing related standards and establishing laws and systems as technology
progressed. JSSC was founded to meet these demands at the time. During the half
century since it was established, JSSC has struggled in Japan and abroad as an
industry-government-academia partnership that covers materials for steel structures as
well as their design, fabrication, and construction.

(Assumed Roles) (Activities of Association)

Developing and promoting steel structures
1. Research and Standardizing
(Quality Design and construction of steel structures)
2. Academic Activities
3-1. “Standards and Recommendations” as
technical guidelines for steel construction 3. International Activities

3-2-1. Structural Performance Evaluation for

4. Symposia, Seminars and Forums
new materials and technologies 5. Human resource development,
Educational program and Training
3-2-2. Management of “Qualification System
for engineers and skilled workers”, 6. Publications
 Evaluation, examination method
 Continuing professional development 7. Structural Performance Evaluation
 Funding and others for new materials and technologies
3-2-3. Steel fabrication plant certification 8. Organization for Qualified
Engineers and Plant Certification
3-3. Educational program and Training for
engineers and skilled workers 9. Others
Fig. 12 Roles and Activities of Association

Indonesia is also entering a period in which organizations like these needs to play a
major part in spreading and developing steel structures and ensuring their quality in a
stable manner. Figure 12 compares the roles required for spreading and developing steel
structures and the activities of association. Currently, JSSC’s activities do not include the
performance evaluation of new technologies and materials and certification of fabricators.
This is the result of specialization of each organization’s roles in the past 50 years since
JSSC’s establishment, but if the industry is to establish a new association under an
industry-government-academia partnership, such an association should aim at an
organization with functions and roles all related to steel structures. In addition to research
and studies which contribute to spread and development of steel structures, it is important
for the new organization to take an initiative in working on the measures specified in
Chapter 3.
 Based on the survey of construction market in Indonesia by METI budget, which was
conducted by JSSC in fiscal 2013, METI’s Training Program “Support for Human
Resources Development to Introduce and Spread Japan’s Disaster Risk Reduction Steel
Technology into Indonesia” was implemented for three years from fiscal 2014 through the
Overseas Human Resources and Industry Development Association (HIDA, current
AOTS). As a technical specialist organization, JSSC has cooperated in this project.
In this project, seminars were held for engineers, government officials, academics, etc.
in Indonesia to give lectures on the superiority of Japan’s seismic technology and steel
structures, which are excellent in the performance of reducing risks involved in natural
disasters such as earthquakes and tsunami, and training programs were provided in
which they were invited to Japan for lectures and technical tours of construction sites and
related facilities. As a result, a project to set up a new organization was announced based
on a public-private partnership. The organization will consist of government officials,
members of related organizations, and distinguished academics by the support of
Japanese side and will aim at spreading high-quality steel structures to contribute to
disaster risk reduction in Indonesia. In the future, it is expected that an Indonesia Society
of Steel Construction or similar association will be established. Success in spreading and
developing steel structures in Indonesia depends on a “strong intention of establishing
and developing an organization representing government, academic communities, and
involving various industries such as steel manufactures, fabricators, contractors, and
design firms, which leads the industry to spread steel structures.”

Bibliography

1
Official Statistics of Japan, Building Starts, portal site, https://www.e-stat.go.jp
2
Website of each association, JSCA, JSFA, JBA, and JSTA
3
Japan Steel-fabrication Appraisal Organization, website, http://www.zentetsuhyo.co.jp/