Prepare for the AISC documentation audit by staging the exact records that prove control of steel fabrication and structural steel erection work. This lesson shows a certified steel company or a steel fabricator how to map scope to the AISC Quality Certification Program, assemble the packet AISC auditors expect, and use an AISC audit checklist to verify completeness. It supports teams asking what is AISC certification, how to become AISC certified, and how to get AISC certified without costly resubmittals.
The documentation audit is the first formal review in the AISC certification program. Before any site visit, AISC auditors assess whether your written system and your project records demonstrate control of steel for construction. If your scope is fabrication, they look for steel fabrication procedures, traceability, welding, and inspection records from an AISC certified shop. If your scope is erection, they look for structural steel installation and field controls that answer what is steel erection and how your structural steel erectors manage quality during steel building erection. Bridge applicants align to bridge certification requirements and show steel work in construction that matches bridge drawings and specs.
The goal is alignment: the program you claim, the work you actually do, and the documents that prove it. Failures here delay the path from AISC certification training to an AISC certified result.
Assemble the quality manual and core procedures that match your chosen AISC certification categories. Include document control, receiving and material identification, heat number traceability, welding procedure and qualification records, bolting inspection, calibration, nonconformance and corrective action, and internal audits. A short internal audit guide that references how you verify procedures in use is helpful. If you maintain welder qualifications, include WPS, PQR, and WPQ. If you cite AISC welding certification language in your procedures, make sure the practice and records match.
Provide one or more recent projects with documents that clearly show Section 2.1 structural frame elements. For a steel fabricator or an AISC certified fabricator, include contract drawings, approved shop drawings, MTRs, travelers, in process inspection, and final release. For an erector or an AISC certified erector, include erection drawings, field inspection, bolting and torque records, and site nonconformance handling. This is where structural steel erection companies demonstrate how steel structure erectors control work in the field. Keep everything consistent with the declared scope so reviewers do not have to guess.
Include an organizational chart, a named management representative, and training records that match your scope. For fabricators, show weld orientation and inspector training. For erectors, show field safety, torque, and inspection training. If you reference Modern Steel Construction or AISC publications in your training, be sure the practice shown in the project files matches. A clean people section helps buyers and auditors confirm that your company is an AISC certified fabricator or a certified steel erector in more than name.
Add an approved vendor list with supplier evaluations, purchase orders that carry grade and specification requirements, and receiving inspection forms that tie MTRs to travelers. Include your calibration list and recent certificates for torque wrenches and inspection tools. This is often where an AISC certified shop proves everyday control.
Provide a small stack of NCRs, dispositions, and corrective actions that show you close problems and prevent recurrence. This demonstrates the practical use of your internal audit guide and your corrective action process.
Choose the program and category that match your work. Examples include fabricator, erector, advanced categories for complex erection, and bridge certification. Buyers search for AISC certification list, AISC certified fabricator list, AISC certified fabricators list, AISC certified steel erectors, and AISC certified erectors list to vet suppliers. Your documentation audit packet must make it obvious where you fit and why.
If you fabricate, align to AISC certified fabricator requirements and show shop control from purchase order to final release. If you erect, align to AISC erector certification or AISC steel erector certification and show control of field work. If you handle complex work, verify what the AISC advanced certified steel erector category requires and stage evidence accordingly. If you are an AISC certified fabricator West Virginia or any other state, the evidence pattern is the same: scope, system, people, and project files that match your claims.
Build a simple index that points the reviewer to each required item. Digital folder names should mirror a printed binder if you use one. A typical map includes: 00 Index, 01 Quality Manual and Procedures, 02 Organization and Training, 03 Purchasing and Receiving, 04 Welding and Bolting, 05 Calibration, 06 Nonconformance and Corrective Action, 07 Project Evidence, 08 Internal Audit, 09 Management Review. Use short filenames and date stamps so your AISC contact or any reviewer can find items fast.
Scope mismatch is number one. Do not include stairs, handrail, steel deck, or joists as core evidence when the audit is about the structural frame. Second is outdated documents. AISC auditors will flag undated procedures or uncontrolled forms. Third is weak project files. If the drawings and records do not clearly show structural frame elements and inspections, you will get questions. A short AISC certification checklist at the end of your packet prevents most of this churn.
Teams that pass the documentation audit know the language buyers and reviewers use. Expect questions that sound like AISC certification cost, AISC fees, AISC membership, AISC certification requirements, AISC certification categories, AISC shop certification, AISC welding certification, AISC certification program, AISC certification training, and what is AISC certification. Erection clients ask what is steel erectors, what is steel erection, and who are structural steel erectors. Procurement may check the list of AISC certified fabricators on AISC org. Your packet should make it easy to see that you are AISC certified or on track, and that your files would place you on any AISC certification list a buyer checks.
Clean first submissions reduce AISC certification cost because you avoid rework and delay. If you want a pre check, many teams engage AISC certification consultants for a quick gap review against an AISC audit checklist. If you have a question during assembly, use the site contact form here: AISC contact. Move to the on site audit only after this documentation audit is clean.