Does your building have weak steel?

[Verbl Kint]

PH buildings erected using ‘weak’ steel, group warns | Inquirer News

PH buildings erected using ‘weak’ steel, group warns

By: Melvin Gascon


Over the last 12 years, buildings have been erected in the country using a weaker type of steel bars, and manufacturers and structural engineers have been hiding this fact from the public, a group of public safety advocates said on Thursday.
The group called on concerned government agencies to investigate what they alleged to be the deliberate concealment of the use of “quench-tempered” (QT) or “thermo-mechanically treated” (TMT) reinforcement steel bars, despite the prohibition against their use in high-rise buildings.

“We are exposing this as this is dangerous and economically debilitating for our country, with the fact that it has been kept secret from us. We believe we owe it to the public to inform them how dangerous this problem is,” said former Senator Nikki Coseteng, who has waged a campaign against the use of QT steel bars.

According to the former two-term senator, manufacturers have flooded the market with QT bars, which are supposedly cheaper to produce, to replace the “micro-alloy” types traditionally used in the country.

In his 2010 study, structural engineer Emilio Morales, a member of the group, said the National Structural Code clearly imposed limitations on the use of QT or TMT steel bars since these materials could not be subjected to bending, welding, threading or galvanizing.

“This poses a high risk when used in the construction of high-rise buildings and can submit to failure when subjected in the event of a high-intensity earthquake,” Morales said.
QT steel bars may be used only for low- to medium-rise buildings, and for “nonsensitive” structures such as fences, pigpens, or roads, he added.
Morales said manufacturers shifted to QT or TMT bars for these were cheaper to produce and did not require vanadium as an additive. “With QT rebars, what we normally get is one that may appear to be tough on the outside, but has actually weaker internal structure,” he said.

Inventory pushed

Coseteng urged the Department of Interior of Local Government to require all cities and municipalities to conduct an inventory of all existing high-rise buildings that have been built in the last 12 years.

She also assailed the Bureau of Product Standards for not informing the public about QT steel bars and not requiring tests on their durability.
Rodel Taton, a lawyer who heads the Consumer Union of the Philippines, said manufacturers and developers face criminal and civil liability for failure to disclose to the public the possible damage to be caused by their use of defective steel bars.

“We have joined this cause because we strongly believe that consumers have the right to be informed on the exact nature of the items we buy, and any concealment of any relevant information is violation of our rights as consumers,” Taton said.


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[maxpedition]

Many high rise buildings built by reputable contractors purchased their steel bars from our local manufactures like steel asia, pagasa steel, etc. They do require these suppliers to submit test results of steel bars quality. Maybe these steel bars are imported from china which is undersize and substandard in quality but cheaper in cost.

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[stagea]

The people who wrote the article may be getting a lot of things wrong regarding QT vs MA steel, though I agree to a probe on steel quality. Both types come in different grades, and they should validate the quality/grade of the steel used instead of the type used (unless the building design specifically called for one type).

[minicarph]

So since 2006 lang sila gumamit neto inferior steel

[maxpedition]

The people who wrote the article may be getting a lot of things wrong regarding QT vs MA steel, though I agree to a probe on steel quality. Both types come in different grades, and they should validate the quality/grade of the steel used instead of the type used (unless the building design specifically called for one type).

Standard practice on building construction is to test your steel bars before you use it. Elongation and tensile stresd are common way to test your ateel bars. QT and MA are only merhod used in producing steel bars.

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[gongrhey]

Standard practice on building construction is to test your steel bars before you use it. Elongation and tensile stresd are common way to test your ateel bars. QT and MA are only merhod used in producing steel bars.

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True. When I was with one of the leading construction company in the country, our qc inspectors will get samples of every batch of steel delivery for third party testing. The test results are part of the material receiving report. We will not pay the supplier without those reports and materials certifications.

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[shadow]

Simula naman ng bumaha ng mga China made products nag labasan ng mga yan. Pati mga simpleng steel bars now nabibili sa local hardware laging substandard ang sukat.


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[Gumusut_Amige]

Simula naman ng bumaha ng mga China made products nag labasan ng mga yan. Pati mga simpleng steel bars now nabibili sa local hardware laging substandard ang sukat.


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and most hardwares just simply say that is the common standard nowadays[emoji30]
paano ba talaga ang proseso dito... bahala na ba si hardware owner kung ano gusto nyang i-supply?
hindi naman siguro ipapa-lab test ni house owner ang isang steel bar dahil dagdag gastos at di lahat ng lugar ay may UTM.
alam ko walang copy ng steel mill certs. during delivery sa mga hardware store kasi mas mahal pag ni-require.

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[chronicle]

Magkaka alaman kapag dumating na ang "the big one".

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[maxpedition]

Magkaka alaman kapag dumating na ang "the big one".

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Bato bato sa langit ang madaganan patay [emoji23][emoji23]

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[chronicle]

Bato bato sa langit ang madaganan patay [emoji23][emoji23]

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Not that i wish to see it during our lifetime or beyond. But given how china has a reputation for producing some (not all) substandard materials and the corruption in our govt, i would say that there is a high chance that some building / houses have weak steel.

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[brushless]

This reminded me of the collapsed building in Divisoria.

[Lew_Alcindor]

and most hardwares just simply say that is the common standard nowadays[emoji30]
paano ba talaga ang proseso dito... bahala na ba si hardware owner kung ano gusto nyang i-supply?
hindi naman siguro ipapa-lab test ni house owner ang isang steel bar dahil dagdag gastos at di lahat ng lugar ay may UTM.
alam ko walang copy ng steel mill certs. during delivery sa mga hardware store kasi mas mahal pag ni-require.

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Some hardwares here in our area (Laguna) are honest enough to tell why some steel and metal of the "same specs" are cheaper than the others. Of course sub-standard.

Color coded yan. Alam yan ng mga suki ng hardware: Yellow, Green, Red/Pink.

[Gumusut_Amige]

Some hardwares here in our area (Laguna) are honest enough to tell why some steel and metal of the "same specs" are cheaper than the others. Of course sub-standard.

Color coded yan. Alam yan ng mga suki ng hardware: Yellow, Green, Red/Pink.

sana ganon nga... paano kung pinalitan nila ang color coding or yung sub-standard ay color coding ng standard ang kulay nya.

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[monty_GTV]

sa atin naman sa Pinas, we are more the re-active type than the pro-active. hanggang walang nangyayaring disgrasya, walang komento. may mga standards at building codes tayo but hindi naman seriously nasusunod at nai-implement. sa malalaking construction companies ay pwede pa na may control kasi may QA/QC department sila na nag-inspect at certify sa mga materyales na binibili from suppliers. pero like sa mga typical na construction ng residential, pagkakuha ng building permit at nag-umpisa na ng construction, bili ka na lang sa hardware ni tsekwa kung anong kaya ng budget mo o size ng bakal na sinabi ni foreman. may tao ba ng local government na bumibisita to check kung tama ang specifications ng bakal o ibang materyales na ginagamit?. only when sumablay ang itinatayo o itinayong structure saka sasabihin na sub-standard kasi ang ginamit...

[Ry_Tower]

sa atin naman sa Pinas, we are more the re-active type than the pro-active. hanggang walang nangyayaring disgrasya, walang komento. may mga standards at building codes tayo but hindi naman seriously nasusunod at nai-implement. sa malalaking construction companies ay pwede pa na may control kasi may QA/QC department sila na nag-inspect at certify sa mga materyales na binibili from suppliers. pero like sa mga typical na construction ng residential, pagkakuha ng building permit at nag-umpisa na ng construction, bili ka na lang sa hardware ni tsekwa kung anong kaya ng budget mo o size ng bakal na sinabi ni foreman. may tao ba ng local government na bumibisita to check kung tama ang specifications ng bakal o ibang materyales na ginagamit?. only when sumablay ang itinatayo o itinayong structure saka sasabihin na sub-standard kasi ang ginamit...

Totoo yan sa mga 3rd world countries. Mahina implementation ng rules kaya reactive lang gov't and regulators nga. Ang masakit nga is need pa meron mamatay/masaktan/madisgrasya bago ayusin. Tapos ningas-kugon pa implementation after. Wala din.

[jut703]

Mura lang kasi buhay dito.

Sa first world countries people will spend millions just to save one life. Dito collateral damage lang yan. [emoji23]

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[Wh1stl3r]

sa atin naman sa Pinas, we are more the re-active type than the pro-active. hanggang walang nangyayaring disgrasya, walang komento. may mga standards at building codes tayo but hindi naman seriously nasusunod at nai-implement. sa malalaking construction companies ay pwede pa na may control kasi may QA/QC department sila na nag-inspect at certify sa mga materyales na binibili from suppliers. pero like sa mga typical na construction ng residential, pagkakuha ng building permit at nag-umpisa na ng construction, bili ka na lang sa hardware ni tsekwa kung anong kaya ng budget mo o size ng bakal na sinabi ni foreman. may tao ba ng local government na bumibisita to check kung tama ang specifications ng bakal o ibang materyales na ginagamit?. only when sumablay ang itinatayo o itinayong structure saka sasabihin na sub-standard kasi ang ginamit...

Agree ako bro pero dito sa amin, walang dugong tsekwa yung madayang steel distributor. Pure Pinoy sya.

At least pag ako kausap sinasabi nya naman kung undersized and/or poor quality yung steel. Di rin naman kakayanin sukatin ng caliper bawat isang rebar kaya hiyaan na din lang. Random sampling lang kami.

[maxpedition]

Agree ako bro pero dito sa amin, walang dugong tsekwa yung madayang steel distributor. Pure Pinoy sya.

At least pag ako kausap sinasabi nya naman kung undersized and/or poor quality yung steel. Di rin naman kakayanin sukatin ng caliper bawat isang rebar kaya hiyaan na din lang. Random sampling lang kami.

Sa deformed bars pag galing china kita mo parang madami maliit na butas compare sa local manufactured one. Baligtad na ngayon mas maasahan mo pa local kasya made in china[emoji23] [emoji23]

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[Gumusut_Amige]

Sa deformed bars pag galing china kita mo parang madami maliit na butas compare sa local manufactured one. Baligtad na ngayon mas maasahan mo pa local kasya made in china[emoji23] [emoji23]

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magagalit si pdiggy sa statement mo na yan
sa kanila din ba galing yung mga por kilo na roofing materials? dami na dito sa amin na parang kabute na nagsusulputan!