Manufacturing
Our manufacturing partners are owned and operated by experienced pole people, also with a minimum of 20 years in steel poles and an extensive export record to Western markets.
Manufacturing Standards
The steel poles IUP supply are largely manufactured to comply with US standards. In so doing, the comparative AS/NZS standard manufacturing requirements are also met, because the international standards we have applied to steel pole manufacturing compare favourably with the comparative AS/NZS standards.
In some circumstances, the AS/NZS standards exceed the requirements of the comparative US standards. We ensure the most stringent of both are applied in order to be able to offer full compliance to all AS/NZS and US standards. This puts IUP in a position to offer utility pole structures to Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Island Nation clients with great confidence that we can meet, and usually exceed, the standards of all the countries in our region.
Material Traceability
The main steel materials used in production of our utility poles can be traced back to the mill certificate provided by the steel mill. In addition to a product identification label being welded to our pole shafts, a unique identifying label (unique to each order) is also welded on. This number is the manufacturer’s project number, which leads to the mill certificates that are relevant to the production of the poles for each order.
Welding
The US standard, AWS D1.1 Structural Welding Code – Steel, used in pole manufacturing, is highly comparable to the Australasian standard, AS/NZS1554.1 Structural steel welding – Welding of steel structures. It is also the basis of the welding requirements set out in ASCE/SEI 48 Design of Steel Transmission Pole Structures. The US welding code is effectively an international standard and is used by major exporters of steel products across many industries.
Hot Dip Galvanising
The average minimum coating thicknesses required by ASTM A123 for poles and ASTM A153 for foundation bolts, generally exceed the average minimum coating thickness requirements of AS/NZS 4680 and AS/NZS 1214 respectively.
For pole shafts, cross arms and bolted on accessories, ASTM A123 and AS/NZS 4680 are used. In some cases, ASTM A123 specifies less coating than that required by AS/NZS 4680. In these cases, the minimum coating thickness requirement specified by AS/NZS 4680 is used.
For foundation bolts, ASTM A153 is used. For regular Grade 8.8/S bolts and nuts used to fix various steel items to poles; these are galvanised to Chinese standard GB/T 5267.3, which is a copy of ISO 10684.
Inspection & Test Report (ITR)
At IUP, for all utility pole orders, the manufacturing records are summarised and compiled into a report and sent to our clients prior to invoicing. Typically, this includes a copy of the ITP, general arrangement drawings, in-process inspection records, and ultrasonic test report, magnetic particle inspection report, visual weld inspection report, hot dip galvanising inspection report and copies of the steel mill certificates.
Quality Standard
| Item | Standard | Standard Title |
|---|---|---|
| Quality system | ISO 9001 | Quality Management Systems – Requirements |
Our manufacturing partners are certified to ISO 9001.
Manufacturing Standards
Steel
| Steel | Yield Strength (MPa) | Standard | Standard Title | Comparative Australian Standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GR65 – Pole shafts, tubular cross arms, base plate gussets, structural plates | 450 | ASTM A572 | Standard Specification for High-Strength Low-Alloy Columbium-Vanadium Structural Steel | AS/NZS 3678 Grade 450L15 |
| GR50 – Pole base plates & flanges with low temperature requirement | 345 | ASTM A572 | Standard Specification for High-Strength Low-Alloy Columbium-Vanadium Structural Steel | AS/NZS 3678 Grade 350L15 |
| Q345B – Pole base plates, flanges, structural plates, foundation bolt bottom anchorage templates | 345 for Thickness<=16 335 for 16< Thickness<=40 325 for 40< Thickness<=63 | GB/T 1591 | High strength low alloy structural steels | AS/NZS 3678 Grade 350 |
| Q235B – Foundation bolt top template, non-structural plates | 235 | GB/T 700 | Carbon structural steels | AS/NZS 3678 Grade 250 |
| Q235 & Q345 – Square & rectangular hollow sections | 235 & 345 | GB/T 6728 | Cold formed steel hollow sections for general structure – Dimensions, shapes, weight & permissible deviations | AS/NZS 1163 Grade 250 & 350 |
| Q235 – Circular hollow section – through tubes | 235 | GB/T 13793 | Steel Pipes with a longitudinal electric (resistance) weld | AS/NZS 1163 Grade 250 |
| Q235 – Structural sections – channels | 235 | GB/T 706 | Hot rolled section steel | AS/NZS 3679 Grade 250 |
| Q235 – Structural sections – equal angles | 235 | GB/T 706 | Hot rolled section steel | AS/NZS 3679 Grade 250 |
| Q235 – Structural sections – round bar | 235 | GB/T 699 | Quality carbon structural steels | AS/NZS 3679 Grade 250 |
| Grade 8.8S – Foundation bolts | 660 | GB/T 3077 GB/T 3098.1 | Alloy structure steels Mechanical properties of fasteners – bolts, screws & studs | AS 1110.1, AS 1112.1 & AS/NZS 1252 Mechanical properties |
| Grade 8.8S – Bolts, screws, studs | 660 | GB/T 3098.1 | Mechanical properties of fasteners – bolts, screws & studs | AS 1110.1, AS 1112.1 & AS/NZS 1252 Mechanical properties |
| Spring washers | – | GB/T 93 | Single coil lock washers – Normal type | AS 1968 |
Welding
| Welding | Standard | Standard Title | Comparative Australian Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pole shafts & multi-sided tubular cross arms & all accessories | AWS D1.1 | Structural Welding Code – Steel | AS/NZS 1554.1 |
| Welding wire | AWS D1.1 | Structural Welding Code – Steel | AS/NZS ISO 18273 |
Galvanising
| Galvanising | Standard | Standard Title | Comparative Australian Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pole shafts, cross arms & bolted on accessories | ASTM A123 AS/NZS 4680 | Standard Specification for Zinc (Hot-Dip Galvanized) Coatings on Iron & Steel Products Hot-dip galvanized (zinc) coatings on fabricated ferrous articles (For 7.0mm to 16.0mm thick steel) | AS/NZS 4680 |
| Bolts, nuts & washers | GB/T 5267.3 | Fasteners – Hot-dip galvanized coatings | AS/NZS 1214 |
| Foundation bolts (Class C for galvanising) | ASTM A153 | Standard Specification for Zinc Coating (Hot-Dip) on Iron and Steel Hardware | AS/NZS 1214 |
Painting
| Painting | Standard | Standard Title | Comparative Australian Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adhesion force | GB/T 9286 | Paints & varnishes – Cross-cut test for films | AS 1580 |
| Hardness | GB/T 6739 | Paints & varnishes – Determination of film hardness by pencil test | AS 1580 |
| Impact resistance | GB/T 1732 | Determination of impact resistance of films | AS 1580 |
General
| General | Standard | Standard Title | Comparative Australian Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steel utility poles | AS/NZS 4677 | Steel utility services poles | NA |
| Pole shafts & multi-sided tubular cross arms & all accessories | AS/NZS 5131 | Structural steelwork – Fabrication and erection | NA |