What Is EN 1090 Execution Class 2?
What Is EN 1090 Execution Class 2 and Why It Matters for Your Structural Steel Project
If you’re specifying structural steelwork for a project, you may come across references to “EN 1090” and “Execution Class.” These aren’t just technical jargon — they’re a formal quality framework that tells you how rigorously a fabricator’s processes have been checked, and they matter whether you’re a homeowner working with an architect or a contractor managing a development.
EN 1090 is the European (and UK, via UKCA marking) standard covering the manufacture of structural steel and aluminium components. It sets out requirements for everything from welding procedures to quality control on the factory floor. Fabricators working to this standard are assessed against a series of “Execution Classes” (EXC1 to EXC4), which reflect the level of risk and complexity a structure carries — a garden shed frame sits at a very different level to a multi-storey building.
Achieving Execution Class 2
Achieving Execution Class 2 means a fabricator’s processes have been independently audited and verified to a recognised standard suitable for the majority of general structural applications — the level most commercial and residential structural steel projects require.
Two elements sit behind this: Weld Qualification Procedure Records (WQPR), which confirm welders and welding procedures have been formally tested and approved, and Factory Production Control (FPC), an ongoing quality management system covering materials, processes and traceability throughout manufacture.
For a client, this translates into a simple reassurance: the steelwork in your project has been made under audited, independently verified conditions, not just to a fabricator’s own informal standards.
ABL Fabrications’ WQPR and FPC procedures were successfully audited in May 2016, achieving Execution Class 2, with our manufacturing processes meeting applicable UKCA requirements where relevant. Get in touch to discuss your structural or architectural steelwork project.
