Source: Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute, Schaumburg, Ill.
At a meeting on November 9, the CRSI Board of Directors urged all producer members to revert to an inch-pound bar marking system for all sizes and grades of deformed reinforcing steel products. CRSI members produce more than 90 percent of domestic reinforcing steel.
The resolution’s intent is for all new rollings of reinforcing steel products to be marked with inch-pound bar markings no later than Jan. 1, 2014. This will reduce confusion and the chance of errors or delays from the construction supply chain. Providing a 25-month, phase-in period should permit producer members sufficient time to re-tool finish roll inventory to the inch-pound marking system as rolls need to be replaced, significantly reducing or eliminating the need to unnecessarily cut new rolls to meet the resolution.
As the ASTM specifications for reinforcing steel products permit reinforcing bars to be marked in either soft metric, or inch-pound markings, existing inventory of soft metric bars can continue to be sold alongside inch-pound marked bars during and after the phase-in target date.
This change is the result of several actions. The Federal Highway Administration no longer mandates metrification of federally funded road and bridge construction projects. In addition, state departments of transportation no longer require materials to be specified and sourced in metric sizes/quantities. Also, a large majority of the non-governmental construction community never adopted metric measurements in their plans and specifications.
The American Concrete Institute (ACI), through their Technical Activities Committee, has strongly encouraged CRSI members to mark reinforcing bars with traditional inch-pound size designations. ACI is the standards body within the United States responsible for developing the concrete building code. The concrete building code and other ACI documents reference the inch-pound size as the primary designation.
“It made logical sense for the industry to begin the process to move away from soft metric markings,” said Robert Risser, CRSI president. “None of our private or government customers is using metric plans or specifications any longer. The phase-in period will allow industry members to make the change over at minimal additional expense. CRSI is now in the process of making the appropriate changes to our manuals and literature.”