All Canadian steel buildings must be CSA-A660 Certified. Factories that are CSA-A660 certified have invested significant time and money to ensure that all Canadian standards are met. You may experience major problems obtaining building permits for a building manufactured by a factory that is not CSA-A660 certified.
All buildings manufactured in the U.S. should have a factory of origin written on all purchased contracts along with a copy of their A660 certificate for that factory.
CSA-A660 Certification assures any Canadian purchaser that a certified building is manufactured to adhere to the standards of the CSSBI: Canadian Sheet Steel Building Institute. Not all steel building system companies are able to meet the high standards of quality set by CSA-A660 and the CSSBI.
Buyer Beware: there are steel building system manufacturing competitors selling buildings in Canada that DO NOT have CSA-A660 Quality Certification.
What is CSA-A660 Certification and what does it mean for you? The CSA-A660 Standard was developed to assist code enforcement officials in reviewing building permit submissions incorporating steel building systems and to help purchasers receive a quality certified building. As part of the CSA-A660 compliance, the manufacturer will provide a “Certificate of Design and Manufacturing Conformance” signed and sealed by a licensed Professional Engineer for each building project.
It is important to note that ISO Accreditation is not the same as CSA-A660 Certification. ISO certification only verifies that a company can manufacture a product consistently and does not satisfy CSA-A660 requirements. It does not address whether a steel building system has been designed in accordance with the applicable codes or whether the staff is qualified to undertake the work. The CSA-A660 certification includes a quality control audit like ISO, but in addition undertakes an engineering design and personnel audit.
CSA-A660 Standard compliance means that the manufacturer has been audited for: