One of the most important things to acknowledge before even beginning to think about ordering a shipment of steel beams or RSJs is the fact that no two suppliers are exactly the same. While the RSJ prices you pay will of course have to be factored into the decision, it’s of crucial importance to realise that the kind of quality and value for money you can expect from different providers really is night and day.
Now, there are of course certain areas of industry and retail where minor oversights, discrepancies and imperfections are not the end of the world…heavy construction not being one of them. Beams cut to the wrong sizes, RSJs of insufficient quality, late deliveries and so on – any of these things and many others can well and truly get in the way of your project’s successful completion. As such, it’s more than worth investing as much time as necessary in the process of actually finding the best possible supplier in the first place, just to make sure the rest goes off without a hitch.
The good news is that in theory at least, it’s never been easier to find a quality supplier and build the kind of long-term, large-benefit relationship anyone in the construction business could benefit from. So, for those looking to do exactly that, here’s just a few simple tips for making it happen:
Consider Buying Online
First of all, it’s worth noting that any and every solid brand name in the world of structural steel has, just like much of the world in general, made the move to web retail. Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to organise a huge shipment simply by clicking a few buttons and never actually speaking to another human being – it’s just that the brand’s website can be a great indicator of what to expect in terms of professionalism, pride and the prices you’ll be paying.
Simply take a look across the pages of their website and think carefully about how they come across. Does it appear to be a consummately professional operation you’d be happy to include in your project, or are there any discrepancies that don’t exactly breed confidence?
The Qualities to Look For
When you’ve narrowed down the field to a few primary choices…there are after all hundreds of them out there…it’s simply a case of establishing which of them ticks all the right boxes and thus represents the name to go with. Again, it sounds like a tricky and long-winded process, but in reality it’s actually just a case of bearing a few essential traits in mind.
These include:
- Experience – For any business in any area, experience provides the kind of hands-on practice and opportunity to improve what you do in a way money cannot buy. As such, it’s generally a good idea to consider doing business with an RSJ provider that’s been in the industry for at least a few years as while many newcomers may be up to the job, experience counts for a great deal too.
- Feedback – It should be pretty obvious by looking into a few examples of feedback whether or not the provider has lived up to the mark in the eyes of previous clients. It’s almost unheard of for a modern business of any kind not to list examples of feedback via their own website, but if there’s none to be found it’s as easy as carrying out a quick web search to see what the punters are saying.
- Case Studies – Along with feedback from customers, it’s also a good idea to look for signs of evidence with regard to the projects they’ve played a role in before. Whether it’s an example of a build that could not have been completed without their products or some kind of close affiliation with a leading construction brand, pretty much anything that shows their goods put to good use can be reassuring and important.
- Guarantees – Last but not least, if they’re genuinely confident about what they do and how they do it, then there’s really no reason why they shouldn’t be able to back their services, products and prices with a range of 100% satisfaction guarantees. If not, this should tell you all you need to know about their own opinions about what they do…not a good starting point.
Buying British
Above all else, it’s a good idea to avoid the temptation to dive head-first into the international steel imports from the Far East, which although incredibly cheap simply cannot be assessed for quality and reliability. As is the case with so many things, buying right means buying British!
