Heat traceability in SAP works through the batch management framework. When steel is received, a batch record is created with the heat or melt number as the batch classification. The supplier's Material Test Report — the document that records chemical composition, mechanical test results, treatment condition and applicable standard — is attached to the batch record as a document link. When a plate or section is cut into smaller components on a production order, the component pieces are managed as separate stock items (or sub-batches) that inherit the heat number of the parent material. Offcuts and remnants returned to stock retain the original heat number. When components from potentially different heats are assembled into a fabrication, the production order's component list records which batch — therefore which heat — of each input was consumed. At despatch, a report queries which batches are in the delivery and retrieves the associated MTR documents, producing the complete certificate package without manual assembly. Forward trace works the same way in reverse: find a heat number and the system shows every order that consumed it and every delivery it shipped in.

SAP supports multiple units of measure per material, which is how weight-based steel inventory is managed. Each steel item — say, 10mm mild steel plate Grade S275 — is configured with kilograms as the base unit of measure and metric tonne as an alternate. A goods receipt for a plate delivery books the actual weighed weight of each plate in kilograms, not the theoretical weight calculated from dimensions. The yard location and heat number are recorded at goods receipt. When material is issued to a production order (cutting), the issue is recorded in kilograms — the weight of plate actually taken to the cutting machine. The cut plan records the theoretical weight of each component being cut. The difference between the issued plate weight and the sum of the component weights plus offcuts is the cut waste, recorded as a variance against the standard yield. Offcuts above the minimum reusable size are receipted back into stock — same material code, same heat number, weighed and booked in as offcut stock — rather than being written off as scrap. This remnant management means the heat traceability and weight accuracy of your yard inventory stays correct even as material moves through multiple cutting operations.

Welding procedures and welder qualifications are held as master data records in ERP. Each Welding Procedure Specification (WPS) record holds the reference standard (EN ISO 15614-1, AWS D1.1, ASME IX), the scope of qualification (base metal P-numbers or material groups, filler metal classification, joint type, welding position, essential variable ranges) and the reference Procedure Qualification Record (PQR) that qualifies it. When a production order is raised for a fabrication job, the routing operations include the applicable weld operations, and each weld operation references the WPS that must be used. When the welder confirms the operation, their employee ID is recorded against the weld. The system validates that the welder holds a current Welder Performance Qualification (WPQ) that covers the WPS in use — base metal, filler, position and process must all be within the welder's qualified range. WPQ expiry dates are tracked with configurable advance-warning alerts so the quality team knows which welders need to renew their qualifications before they expire rather than discovering an out-of-date certificate when a third-party inspector requests the documentation on site.

Yes — project-based job costing is a core configuration requirement for structural steel fabricators and is handled in SAP through the project system (PS) or through the production order with job-level reporting. Each customer contract is set up as a job in ERP. All costs that belong to that job — material issued from stock at actual purchase price, machine hours confirmed at cutting and fabrication work centres, welding and fitting labour hours, sub-contract operations (galvanising, specialist NDT, painting), consumables and bought-in items like shear studs, bolts and lifting lugs — are posted against the job number. Estimated costs are loaded from the quotation or bill of quantities at the start of the job, creating a budget. Real-time reporting shows cost-to-date versus budget at any point during fabrication, broken down by cost element (material, labour, sub-contract, overhead). This means a job supervisor can see that the material cost is tracking to budget but fabrication hours are 20% over-run at the midpoint — while there is still scope to tighten the remaining work rather than absorbing the loss silently. At job completion, the actual margin is calculated against the contract value and reported alongside similar historical jobs for continuous improvement of the estimating model.

Pressure vessel fabrication to ASME VIII, PD 5500 or EN 13445 requires a data book — the complete record of materials, welding, NDT, heat treatment and testing — that is submitted to a Notified Body or Authorised Inspector for statutory sign-off. In ERP, the data book content is built continuously as the vessel is fabricated rather than compiled retrospectively. Material certificates are attached at goods receipt, linked to the heat numbers used in each component. Weld records — WPS reference, welder qualification, filler material heat number, preheat temperature, interpass temperature, PWHT record — are recorded against each weld joint identified by the weld map reference number. NDT certificates are uploaded against each joint's inspection record. Hydrostatic test parameters and results are recorded against the production order. The data book report is a formatted output of all these linked records, structured to the content requirements of the applicable design code. For fabricators who deal with witness inspection — where the Authorised Inspector or customer inspector has hold points they must attend — the ERP inspection workflow includes a notification step that triggers the inspection request, preventing the fabrication from progressing past a witness point without the inspector having been given the opportunity to attend.