Formed in 2010 by manufacturers Dexion, Dematic, Macrack, Commando and APC, the ASI stated that the stricter laws were designed to crack down on non-compliance, as well as ensure companies and workers were not exposed to health and safety risks associated with using substandard steel storage products.
Dexion CEO and ASI chairman Peter Farmakis said that pushing for local manufacturing of products would eliminate the difficulty of tracing material and manufacturing methods associated with internationally procured steel products – which are often beyond the reach of Australia’s legal and regulatory framework.
Stating that accountability was lost when steel manufacturing was taken offshore, he said both the procurer and the supplier would bear the repercussions of non-compliance in Australia under the Work Health and Safety Act.
“The Australian manufacturing market is mature,” he said.
“It’s one that’s established a high level of quality over many years so … customers are insured against unsafe, non-compliant products by the very fact that they are purchasing locally manufactured products from within a strict work health and safety compliance regime.
“The group’s primary objective is to ensure the health and safety of Australian businesses.
“Mitigating potential risks is paramount to the work we do, so we aim to raise awareness within the steel community of the issues associated with imports.”
According to the ASI, action is needed now in light of a number of major Australian steel projects recently reporting quality concerns and fraudulent importer behaviour, including falsified test certificates– a growing trend acknowledged by ASI national manager Ian Cairns.
“Over the past five years, the ASI has seen an increase in the number of complaints in relation to non-compliant imported steel products,” he said.
“In particular, we are seeing a trend towards businesses procuring material such as steel plates, structural sections and metal castings from outside of Australia that are often found to have some issues in meeting local specifications.”
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