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October 2006
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Tolerances Illustrated
By understanding and accommodating structural steel production, fabrication,
and erection tolerances, you can avoid expensive and time-consuming field fixes.

BY ERIKA WINTERS DOWNEY AND JASON ERICKSEN, S.E.

A
AS A YOUNG DESIGNER, IT WAS installation problems can all be the end taint the owner’s, architect’s, developer’s, or
SURPRISING TO ME HOW A HALF result of misunderstanding or neglect of general contractor’s view of the project’s
INCH HERE OR THERE COULD HAVE structural steel tolerances. Engineers most success—even if the steel frame performs
A BIG EFFECT ON THE SUCCESS OF often encounter steel tolerances when exactly as designed.
THE CONSTRUCTION OF A LARGE addressing the interface of the steel frame Providing adjustable details at system
BUILDING. Poor curtain wall fit-up, par- with another material or system. Problems interfaces is the most straightforward solu-
tition wall problems, finished floor eleva- in these areas are not only time-consum- tion to accommodate system tolerances.
tion unevenness, and door and opening ing and expensive to fix, but also they can Understanding where adjustable details are
needed and providing details with the proper
Table 1. Mill Cross-Section Tolerances for W Shapes per ASTM A6-05a amount of adjustment allows an engineer to
provide a structural frame that easily inte-
Parameter Over Under
grates the non-structural elements.
depth at web 1 1 An engineer designing with structural
A /8” /8”
centerline
steel must account for three types of toler-
B flange width ¼” 3
/16” ance in their design: Mill Tolerance, Fabri-
flanges out of cation Tolerance, and Erection Tolerance.
T + T’
T ¼”* 0”
square Mills producing hot-rolled structural
web off steel must conform to the ASTM A6 speci-
3 3
E /16” /16” fication as stated in AISC’s Manual of Steel
center
Construction, 13th Edition. ASTM A6 sets
C max depth ¼” 0”
the acceptable variance for member length,
Additional References: Table 1-22, Manual; Figure C-5.1, COSP; see also Manual Tables 1-23 straightness, camber, sweep, and cross-sec-
through 1-29 for other shape types (S, M, WT, MT, ST,Channels, Angles, Rect. HSS, Rnd. HSS,
Pipe and Plates). tion properties. Cross-section properties
* increase to 5/16” for nominal depths greater than 12”. addressed are overall depth and width,
flange and web thickness, and flange out-
of-alignment (see Table 1).
Table 2. Mill straightness tolerances for W Shapes in ASTM A6-05a ASTM A6 tolerances for member cam-
Sizes Length, L Camber Sweep ber and sweep of typical wide flange shapes
bf ≥ 6 in. All /8” × (L/10)
1
L
L/10) /8” × (L/10)
1
L
L/10)
are shown in Table 2. It should be noted
that these tolerances are for incidental mill
bf < 6 in. All /8” × (L/10)
1
L
L/10) 1
/8” × (L/5)
L
L/5) camber; a different set of tolerances apply
for fabricator “induced” camber. Small
amounts of incidental mill camber are
common and don’t typically cause prob-
L ≤ 45’ /8” × (L/10)
1
LL/10) ≤ 3/8” lems in construction. However, if a piece
bf ≈ d
“columns” is to be used as a column or a beam in an
application that requires it to be flat, one
can specify “no camber” on the order.
3
Fabrication and erection tolerances are
L > 45’ /8” + [1/8”× (LL – 45)/10] Camber Sweep
specified in the 2005AISC Code of Standard
Additional References: Table 1-22, Manual; Figure 1-1, Manual; See also Manual Tables 1-23 Practice (COSP), included in Part 16 of the
through 1-29 for other shape types (S, M, WT, MT, ST,Channels, Angles, Rect. HSS, Rnd. HSS,
Pipe and Plates).
Manual. Examining the COSP and its com-

OCTOBER 2006 MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION

mentary can greatly improve your under-
standing of how a structural steel building Table 3. Beam and Column Fabrication Tolerances for Length
fits together. Fabrication and erection tol- Max.
Sizes Length, L
erances are addressed specifically in sec- Variation
tions 6 and 7 of the COSP. Issues that are
addressed are:
➜ Location of workpoints. Both ends
➜ Temperature shrinkage and expansion. finished for
work line
➜ Beam and column out-of-alignment (in contact bear- actual
All ±1/32”
elevation and plan). ing center line
➜ Column clearance. (i.e. columns,
COSP 6.4.1) finished end
➜ Erection tolerance at column splices. perpendicular
➜ Induced camber tolerance. to work line
Table 3 illustrates fabrication tolerances
for column and beam length, respectively. Members that L ≤ 30’ ±1/16”
Table 4 highlights fabrication tolerances frame to other
for column and beam straightness. steel members
Table 5 shows beam and column erec- (COSP 6.4.1) L > 30’ ±1/8”
tion tolerances.

Additional Information
➜ Architecturally Exposed Structural
Steel (AESS) has its own set of toler-
ances. These are outlined in section 10
of the COSP.
➜ Chapter M of the Specification addresses
Quality Control issues for Fabrication
and Erection.
➜ HSS mill tolerances must conform to ➜ Modern Steel Construction SteelWise
ASTM A500. article, June 2005, “Tolerating Toler-
➜ Pipe mill tolerances must conform to ances,” by Kurt Gustafson.
ASTM A53. Proper knowledge and application of
➜ Engineering Frequently Asked Ques- structural steel tolerances will enable you
tions, free on AISC’s web site at www. to smoothly navigate the construction
AISC.org/FAQ. process. Time and money will be saved

Table 4. Beam and Column Fabrication Tolerances for Straightness of W Shapes

Concerning Member Type Length Camber Sweep
Straight, struc-
tural shape or
All See ASTM A6
built-up, non-
compression
Straightness
of structural Straight, struc-
members tural shape
All L
L/1000
without speci- or built-up,
fied camber, compression
COSP 6.4.2
Same sweep as
Curved mem- ASTM A6 mea-
All See ASTM A6
bers sured from theo-
retical curvature
– 0 in.
L ≤ 50 ft See ASTM A6
+ ½ in.
Beams with Specified Camber,
COSP 6.4.4 – 0 in.
L > 50 ft + ½ in. + See ASTM A6
[1/8 in. × (L – 50)/10]
All Free of twists, bends, open joints, sharp kinks or bends. Camber Sweep
* Except when a smaller variation in straightness is specified in the contract documents
** For the purpose of inspection, camber shall be measured in the fabricators shop
Beams and trusses that are detailed without specified camber shall be fabricated so that, after erection, any incidental camber is upward,
COSP Section 6.4.3.
Additional References: Manual Tables 1-22 through 1-29; See COSP Section 6.4.5 for camber of trusses.

MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION OCTOBER 2006

 Table 5. Beam and Column Erection tolerances for Work Points

Member Location Tolerance

Interior L
L/500*

Perpendicular to
building line:
1” toward and 2”
away from building
line for first 20 sto-
ries; increase 1/16”
for each additional
story up to max.
limit of 2” toward
and 3” away from
Columns
building line.**
(COSP 7.13)
Exterior

Paralell to building
line (not illustrated)
2” or less from the
established column
line for first 20 sto-
ries; increase 1/16”
for each additional
story up to max.
limit of 3”.

Beams plus 3/16”, minus column splice line

5
connecting /16” from column
to column splice point

Members specified
other than dimension
columns +3/16”, –5/16”
(COSP 7.13)
“variation accept-
able as long as it
is caused solely by
All other
variations in eleva-
tions of supporting
members”

*Stricter limits apply at elevator shafts; see 7.13.1.1.

** Additional limits at column splices; see 7.13.1.1 and figure C-7.6.
Additional References: COSP figure C-7.1 differential column shortening; COSP figure C-
7.2, temperature adjustments; COSP figures C-7.3 & C-7.4, column clearances.

by understanding tolerances correctly firm a good reputation and put you in a

and communicating expectations clearly.
Working closely with the fabricator, erec-
tor, and contractor during the design and
construction process will help a job run
smoothly. Being known for designing
projects that run smoothly can earn your
favorable position to win future work.
Erika Winters Downey is an AISC Steel Solu-
tions Center advisor and Jason Ericksen is the
Steel Solutions Center director.

OCTOBER 2006 MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION

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Modern Steel Construction September 2006

58014 59465

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58014 59465
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x October 2006

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48 MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION OCTOBER 2006