| Standard | Title | Reference Tools | Reference Table |
|---|---|---|---|
| ANSI/AISC 303-22 | Code of Standard Practice for Steel Buildings and Bridges | - | - |
What this standard covers
ANSI/AISC 303 (Code of Standard Practice for Steel Buildings and Bridges) defines the customary trade practice for structural steel: the scope of work, the division of responsibility between parties, tolerances, and how contract documents are to be interpreted.
AISC 303 is a contractual and procedural standard, not a design one. It defines what is and is not structural steel, what the design documents must convey, who is responsible for connection design, and how erection, quality and acceptance are handled. It is the document that answers who is responsible when the drawings are silent.
Its mill, fabrication and erection tolerances are the practical reason it matters to a designer: they define how straight, plumb and accurately located steelwork will actually be. A design that assumes a fit-up more accurate than these tolerances permit is not buildable, so they should be checked before detailing tight connections.
What you will find in it
- Scope of structural steel
- What is classified as structural steel and what falls outside it, which determines what the fabricator supplies.
- Design documents
- The information the structural design documents and specifications must convey for the work to be bid, detailed and built.
- Connection design responsibility
- The alternative arrangements for who designs the connections, and what the engineer must provide under each.
- Fabrication tolerances
- Permitted deviations on fabricated members, including straightness, length and the location of holes and attachments.
- Erection tolerances
- Permitted deviations on erected steelwork, including plumbness and elevation, which set what fit-up the design can rely on.
- Quality and acceptance
- Inspection, correction of errors and the basis on which work is accepted.
When to use this standard
Consult AISC 303 when setting the scope of a steel package, when deciding who designs the connections, when judging whether erected work is acceptable, or when a question of trade practice arises that the contract documents do not answer.
How it fits with the other standards
AISC 303 accompanies AISC 360 for design, AISC 341 and AISC 358 for seismic work, and the RCSC Specification for bolted joints. It governs practice rather than strength, so it is used alongside all of them.