If you fabricate structural steel, bridge components, or heavy equipment, the coating shop you choose carries real risk. A coating failure in service means field repairs, warranty disputes, and a hit to your reputation with the owner. QP3 certification exists to take that risk off the table before your steel ever ships.
What is QP3? QP3 is an accreditation from AMPP (formerly SSPC) that evaluates a contractor's ability to perform surface preparation and coating application in a fixed shop facility. Shops are audited on quality control, inspection and testing, process control, worker training, and safety and environmental compliance. Certification requires an on-site audit and ongoing re-audits, so a current certificate means the quality system is working today, not five years ago.
Why owners and DOTs specify it. A QP3 certificate means a technical society has already audited the shop, so the owner does not have to. It reduces the risk of adhesion failures, mil thickness misses, and contamination under the coating. And QP3 shops document everything: surface profile, ambient conditions, wet and dry film thickness, cure. When a question comes up two years after erection, the records exist.
The AISC connection. QP3 is a joint standard with the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC 420-10/SPE-SSPC-QP 3). When you outsource coating to a QP3 certified shop, your steel is processed under the same standard AISC would hold your own in-house paint line to, without you carrying the equipment, QC staff, and audit overhead. For many fabricators, sending steel to a certified partner is the cleaner business decision.
Before you send steel to any paint shop, ask:
- Is your QP3 certification current?
- Is the shop enclosed, covered, or open?
- Who performs coating inspection, and what are their credentials?
- What inspection records come with the finished steel?
Regal Industrial is QP1, QP3, and QP6 certified, with AMPP certified inspectors on staff, enclosed heated shops in Donora PA, Millville NJ, and Pekin IL, and truck, rail, and barge access. Fabricators who need metallizing plus a sealed liquid system get both under one certified roof with one QC package.
Contact Regal Industrial for a quote on your next shop coating package.