ASTM Bolt Standards Combined into Single Document

By Chad Larson, President, LeJeune Bolt Company, Burnsville, Minn., and Tom Schlafly, AISC Director of Research

SEAA members use structural bolts every day. A new ASTM standard combines existing standards into a single new standard called ASTM F3125. What does this mean for steel fabricators and erectors? The following article is republished withe permission from the November 2015 issue of Modern Steel Construction.

We all know construction can be complicated. Schedule complexity, environmental compliance, design challenges and new technologies are just a few of the hurdles that exist beyond the physical acts of designing and building structures. There is also an enormous burden on producers, designers and users of construction materials to understand and comply with numerous standards. The standards, codes, and specifications required to bring a simple project off the ground can number in the hundreds. As an industry we need to identify when standards or processes have become unnecessarily complex and seek out ways to improve them.

The ASTM F16 fastener committee has identified an opportunity to improve and simplify standards for structural bolts and has also begun the process of reviewing other F16 standards for ways to improve, simplify, combine or eliminate them if not in use. More