Marking and erection logic

What the marking contains

During production the machine writes an identifier on the part. It typically says:

• which project and which panel it belongs to,
• its position within the panel,
• which member type it is.

The panel sheet goes with it: the drawing showing where it sits.

Why it is a structural matter

Mixed thickness

In a well-optimised structure not every member has the same thickness: thicker where the load is high. Yield strength and thickness.

A 1.0 and a 1.2 mm section look identical. If they are swapped, the weaker member ends up in the loaded position — and that is invisible in the finished wall.

Connection preparation

The cut-outs and holes on the members were made for a given position. Installed in the wrong place they do not fit, or worse: they fit but do not belong there.

Bracing

The position of bracing members is not interchangeable: the stability of the structure depends on it.

What to know from the erection side

Bundling follows the sequence

If members arrive in erection order, there is no sorting on site. On a tight site this matters a lot.

The sheet has to be on site

Panel sheets and erection drawings must be available to the installers. In modern practice this is on a tablet, but the point is that the installer can see what they are building.

Feedback

If a member does not fit, it has to be reported, not “sorted out”. A wrongly cut member points to a design or production error that may affect the rest of the run.

What to document

During erection, before covering: the identifiers of installed members, the position of the panels, the presence of bracing. This is evidence later. The construction log.

The point

Marking is the cheapest quality assurance tool in the technology. Ignoring it throws away exactly the accuracy that machine production was chosen for.