THE LATER THE ERROR IS FOUND, THE GREATER THE CONSEQUENCES BECOME
DURING FIT-UP
The error can usually be corrected by repositioning, adjusting, or replacing the component before permanent welding. The cost is mainly limited to additional labor, limited additional material and consumables, and reinspection of the corrected condition.
AFTER WELDING
The error now requires completed work to be undoneâ—”cutting, grinding, refitting, and reweldingâ—”followed by renewed inspection and, where required, NDT or engineering review. Additional labor, consumables, equipment time, and QC resources are required for correction.
AFTER PAINTING
The correction now affects both fabrication and coating. The affected area must be stripped, repaired, reinspected, surface-prepared, recoated, and inspected again. Additional fabrication labor, coating materials, handling, equipment time, and QC resources are required.
BEFORE SHIPMENT
The assembly may need to be removed from staging or loading, returned to the appropriate production area, repaired, reinspected, recoated where necessary, and brought back for final release. Additional handling, lifting equipment, labor, QC resources, and shipment preparation are required.
AFTER SHIPMENT
The error is no longer contained within the factory. The assembly may need to be isolated, unloaded, handled again, and held while engineering and QC assess the required correction. Additional logistics, site coordination, inspection, transportation, and handling costs begin to accumulate before the repair itself is completed.
FACTORY RETURN & REWORK
The assembly must be transported back, handled again, repaired, reinspected, recoated where necessary, reloaded, and delivered to the project again. Return transportation, repeated handling, factory resources, QC, and additional delivery costs are added to the correction.
SITE REWORK & MOBILIZATION
Qualified personnel, tools, welding and cutting equipment, inspection resources, coating materials, and engineering support must be mobilized to the project. Travel, local services, site access, inspection, and additional coordination further increase the correction cost.
PROJECT DISRUPTION
A fabrication error can interrupt erection, delay dependent assemblies, change planned lifts, and force crews, equipment, and site supervision to remain committed longer than planned. Rescheduling, recovery work, overtime, and knock-on delays to subsequent activities can further increase the project cost.
CONTRACTUAL & FINANCIAL CONSEQUENCES
When the error creates additional cost, delay, or other consequences for the contractor or client, those impacts can return to the fabricator through back charges, claims, payment deductions, withheld payments, corrective obligations, or delay-related penalties. The commercial exposure can become many times greater than the original repair cost.
CLIENT CONFIDENCE
Repeated fabrication problems can reduce the client's confidence in the fabricator's quality and reliability. Additional witnessing, hold points, documentation, third-party inspection, and direct supervision may follow, making the remaining project activities more demanding and more costly to execute.
REPUTATION & FUTURE PROJECTS
Quality problems can extend beyond the current project. A weakened project reference, reduced client trust, or poor delivery experience can affect repeat orders, future tenders, subcontracting opportunities, and access to new markets. The largest loss may therefore be the next project that is never awarded.
REWORK CONSUMES PRODUCTION CAPACITY
Rework does not only create repair costs. It consumes the same resources needed for new production.
A fabrication facility may have sufficient labor, equipment, workshop space, QC resources, and supporting resourcesâ—”but when part of those resources is occupied correcting previous work, less capacity remains available for revenue-generating fabrication.
LABOR
Welders, fitters, fabricators, painters, inspectors, supervisors, and other skilled personnel
EQUIPMENT
Cranes, welding machines, cutting and grinding equipment, lifting devices, forklifts, and other production equipment
QC CAPACITY
Reinspection, repeated measurements, NDT, coating inspection, verification, and final acceptance
WORKSHOP SPACE
Fabrication bays, welding stations, inspection areas, staging zones, and painting facilities
MATERIALS & ENERGY
Replacement steel, welding consumables, gases, coating materials, electricity, and other production inputs
ENGINEERING & SUPERVISION
Technical assessment, repair decisions, engineering review, production supervision, coordination, and follow-up
REWORK DIVERTS EXISTING CAPACITY
A factory's available production capacity comes from the labor, equipment, space, and supporting resources it has. But the capacity actually available for new fabrication is lower whenever part of those resources is consumed by rework.
THE CAPACITY IS ALREADY THERE
Reducing avoidable rework does not create new physical capacity. It releases more of the factory's existing labor, equipment, QC resources, workshop space, engineering support, and production time for new fabrication.
HOW MERGEN IMS REDUCES REWORK AND IMPROVES PRODUCTIVITY
A Clear Path from Error Prevention to Higher Productivity
MERGEN IMS helps reduce rework by acting at the points where fabrication errors can still be prevented, detected early, corrected, and verified before they progress downstream. AR-Guided Fit-Up helps prevent avoidable mistakes before permanent welding, while focused inspection helps identify remaining problems earlier.
When an issue is found, MERGEN IMS keeps the finding, correction, reinspection, and approval connected to the same assembly until verified resolution. Project-wide quality information also makes recurring problems and rework patterns more visible, supporting preventive action and reducing recurrence.
ONE ASSEMBLY. ONE DIGITAL IDENTITY. ONE CONNECTED LIFECYCLE.
Direct access to everything related to each assembly.
Each assembly in MERGEN IMS automatically receives its own Assembly ID and QR code. By scanning the QR code or entering the Assembly ID in MERGEN IMS, the user can directly access the assembly's 3D model, drawings, technical information, quality records, production status, shipment information, and erection status.
ONE RECORD THROUGH THE ASSEMBLY LIFECYCLE
As the assembly moves through Fit-Up, Welding, Painting, Pre-Shipment, Shipment, and Erection, information created at each stage remains connected to the same assembly and available to the authorized users who need it. Together, this information forms the assembly's Digital Assembly Record, providing a clear history of the assembly and its current status.
WHAT THIS MAKES EASIER
Instead of records becoming scattered between fabrication, QC, logistics, and site teams, MERGEN IMS keeps the assembly history together. This makes it easier to trace what has been inspected, what problems were identified, what was corrected and reinspected, what has been approved, and where the assembly is in the project.
PREVENT ERRORS BEFORE PERMANENT WELDING
See the intended component position directly on the physical assembly before welding makes it permanent.
During Fit-Up, fabricators must determine from drawings where each component belongs, which side or face it should be placed on, how it should be oriented, and how it relates to the surrounding assembly. With complex details, this interpretation can take time and create opportunities for positioning or orientation errors.
MERGEN IMS displays the corresponding 3D assembly model on the iPad and aligns it with the physical assembly using AR and LiDAR, giving the fabricator a direct visual reference while working with the real steel.
CLEAR 3D GUIDANCE DURING FIT-UP
Instead of relying only on repeated interpretation of 2D drawings, the fabricator can see the intended arrangement directly in the fabrication context. This can make complex details easier to understand and help reduce unnecessary time spent determining where and how components should be fitted.
PREVENT AVOIDABLE FIT-UP ERRORS BEFORE THEY BECOME REWORK
When a potential error is recognized before permanent welding, it can usually be corrected with much less effort and disruption than after welding or later production stages.
FASTER AND MORE FOCUSED INSPECTION
Inspect faster. Cover more assemblies with the same QC resources.
During Fit-Up Inspection, the inspector uses the AR-guided 3D model on the iPad, aligned with the physical assembly using LiDAR, to compare the fabricated assembly with its intended geometry.
Component position, orientation, and hole locations can be checked directly in relation to the reference model, while automatic missing-component detection helps identify modeled components that are absent from the physical assembly.
FOCUS QC ATTENTION WHERE DIFFERENCES ARE FOUND
Instead of manually searching the complete assembly for every possible geometric problem, MERGEN IMS directs the inspector toward locations where the physical assembly differs from the aligned reference 3D model.
INCREASE INSPECTION COVERAGE AND FIND PROBLEMS EARLIER
Reducing broad manual searching can shorten the time required for geometric inspection. This allows the same QC resources to inspect more assemblies and creates more opportunities to identify fabrication problems before additional welding, coating, handling, shipment, or erection effort is added to an incorrect condition.
INSPECTION, REWORK, AND QUALITY CONTROL THROUGH EVERY STAGE
Keep every quality finding connected to the assembly until it is properly resolved and approved.
As an assembly moves through Fit-Up, Welding, Painting, Pre-Shipment, Shipment, and Erection, MERGEN IMS keeps its drawings, technical information, inspection history, quality findings, corrections and reinspection status, and current status connected to the same assembly.
RECORD THE ISSUE WHERE IT BELONGS
During inspection, the inspector can access the relevant information on the iPad and record the anomaly type, inspection result, photographs, comments, and supporting evidence directly in MERGEN IMS. The finding remains connected to the affected assembly instead of becoming separated in photographs, messages, or standalone reports.
MAKE REWORK CLEAR
Production personnel can open the recorded finding in MERGEN IMS and see what was identified, where the problem is, and the supporting photographs and comments before correction begins. This gives the person performing the rework a clear record of what QC has identified.
REINSPECT BEFORE APPROVAL
After correction, the inspector can reopen the original finding, review the previous evidence, inspect the corrected condition, and either approve it or return it for further correction.
TURN QUALITY DATA INTO MANAGEMENT VISIBILITY
See where problems repeat, where rework is concentrated, and where quality issues are affecting production.
Every inspection, quality finding, correction, reinspection, approval, and production-stage update recorded in MERGEN IMS contributes to a connected project-wide view of quality and production.
SEE PATTERNS â—” NOT ONLY INDIVIDUAL FINDINGS
Instead of treating each quality issue as an isolated event, QC and management can see where the same problems occur repeatedly and where rework effort is being consumed.
TURN VISIBILITY INTO PREVENTIVE ACTION
Management can trace recurring patterns back to the affected assemblies, findings, corrections and reinspection history, and related production information to investigate what is happening and why.
The information can support root-cause investigation and help determine whether recurring problems are linked to personnel, equipment, fabrication procedures, work methods, drawings, or other production conditions. Based on the findings, management can take targeted action such as training, closer supervision, equipment adjustment or maintenance, revised work instructions, or process improvement, and then monitor whether the problem occurs less frequently.
FROM FACTORY TO SHIPMENT AND ERECTION
Keep quality status, shipment information, site receiving, storage planning, and erection connected to each assembly.
MERGEN IMS continues to track each assembly after fabrication, so the same information used for quality control remains available as the steel moves through Pre-Shipment, Shipment, Site Receiving, Storage, and Erection.
CONFIRM QUALITY BEFORE SHIPMENT
Before release, QC can review the assembly's inspection history, outstanding findings, corrections, reinspection status, and approval information in MERGEN IMS. Only after the required quality activities are complete is the assembly released as Ready for Shipment. MERGEN IMS can also automatically compile the recorded inspection information into a printable quality document when required.
KNOW WHAT IS LOADED, IN TRANSIT, AND ARRIVED
The logistics team records transport information in MERGEN IMS and assigns the relevant assemblies to each vehicle. This provides a record of which assemblies are included in each shipment, while shipment status can progress through stages such as Loaded, In Transit, and Arrived.
PLAN RECEIVING, UNLOADING, AND STORAGE
Before or when a shipment arrives, the site team can review the assemblies in that load and see where each one belongs in the complete 3D building model. Storage zones can be defined in MERGEN IMS, allowing the site team to plan where arriving loads or assemblies should be unloaded and stored based on their future structural location and erection needs.
SUPPORT ERECTION WITH THE SAME ASSEMBLY INFORMATION
At site, the team can locate an assembly in the 3D building model and access its drawings, technical information, quality history, shipment information, and structural location directly in MERGEN IMS. As erection progresses, the assembly status can be updated within the same connected project record.
FROM IFC TO FACTORY FLOOR
Turn the complete IFC model into an assembly-ready digital project with less manual preparation.
A steel fabrication project may contain hundreds or thousands of assemblies. Preparing individual assembly models manually can require significant repetitive work in isolating, exporting, naming, organizing, and associating files.
AUTOMATIC ASSEMBLY PREPARATION
The complete IFC project model is imported once into MERGEN IMS. MERGEN IMS automatically separates the project into individual assemblies, prepares the corresponding 3D assembly models, and connects them with their Assembly IDs and project information.
BRING PROJECT INFORMATION TO THE FACTORY FLOOR
Once the project is prepared, authorized users can access the information relevant to each assembly directly on the iPad during fabrication, inspection, production control, logistics, and site activities. The 3D model, drawings, technical information, quality records, photographs, findings, and assembly status remain available within the same connected project environment.
CONNECT THE WORKFLOW. KEEP CONTROL OF YOUR DATA.
Use one connected digital workflow while keeping project and operational data within the organization's own controlled environment.
As MERGEN IMS is used across fabrication, inspection, production, shipment, and erection, it brings together important project information including models and drawings, production progress, inspection records, quality findings, correction activity, shipment information, and erection status.
Because this information can provide a detailed picture of the company's projects, quality performance, and production activities, how and where it is stored matters.
KEEP PROJECT DATA WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION'S CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT
MERGEN IMS does not require the company's project and operational data to be stored in a project database operated by MKA Software.
Project information remains on the organization's iPads and within its own iCloud environment, where the data required for the workflow is stored and synchronized.
This allows the company to use a connected digital production and inspection system while maintaining control over where its project data is stored and how it is accessed.
CONTROL WHO CAN ACCESS WHAT
Working within the same project does not mean that every user has access to everything.
Each authorized user has an individual account, while assigned permissions determine which information and functions are available based on the user's responsibilities.
Inspectors can access inspection activities, production personnel can work with fabrication and rework information, logistics and site teams can access shipment and erection functions, and management can view the broader production and quality information needed for decision-making.
SUPPORTING EN 1090 FACTORY PRODUCTION CONTROL
For structural steel fabricators operating under EN 1090, Factory Production Control requires documented control of manufacturing, inspection, product conformity, nonconformities, and associated quality records.
MERGEN IMS supports selected workshop-level FPC activities by keeping each assembly's model, drawings, technical information, inspection results, photographs, quality findings, corrections, reinspection status, approvals, and production status connected within its Digital Assembly Record.
This provides a structured digital foundation for maintaining, retrieving, and demonstrating assembly-level production and quality-control records alongside the manufacturer's established Factory Production Control system.
| EN 1090 area | How MERGEN IMS supports it |
|---|---|
| FPC Inspection & Quality Records â—” EN 1090-1 §6.3.1 | Creates assembly-specific inspection records and evidence. Inspection results, photographs, comments and quality findings are recorded against the relevant assembly and remain available for later review. |
| Component Specification & Inspection Control â—” EN 1090-1 §6.3.6 | Brings intended component information to the point of work. Fabricators and inspectors can access the relevant 3D model, drawings and technical information while working with the physical assembly. |
| Product Evaluation & Geometrical Verification â—” EN 1090-1 §6.3.7 / EN 1090-2 §12.3 | Supports direct comparison between intended and fabricated geometry. The AR-guided 3D model helps inspectors identify and assess differences in component position, orientation, hole locations, and missing components in their physical context. |
| Nonconformity, Correction & Reinspection â—” EN 1090-1 §6.3.8 / EN 1090-2 Clause 12, particularly §12.3 | Controls the finding through to verified resolution. Anomalies remain connected to their evidence and supporting information through correction, reinspection, verification, and approval. |
| Quality & Execution Documentation â—” EN 1090-2 §4.2.1 / §4.2.4 | Preserves the history of what happened to each assembly. Production progression, inspection activity, identified problems, corrections and quality status form a continuous Digital Assembly Record. |
WHERE MERGEN IMS DELIVERS THE MOST VALUE
MERGEN IMS is especially valuable for steel fabricators that:
Increase production output with existing resources
Reduce avoidable errors, rework, repeated inspection, and the production capacity they consume.
Pursue demanding projects or markets
Meet higher expectations for inspection discipline, traceability, and documented quality evidence, where fabrication quality is a key differentiator.
Handle large projects with many assemblies
Reduce repetitive work and opportunities for error in model preparation, assembly identification, file organization, and record management.
Produce assemblies with demanding Fit-Up accuracy
Easier verification of component position, side, face, orientation, and complex relationships that are difficult to interpret from 2D drawings alone.
Increase production volume without more QC resources
Enable faster, more focused inspection and greater inspection coverage.
Manage inspection across multiple teams
Maintain a continuous and accessible quality history across inspectors, shifts, departments, or locations.
Meet demanding traceability and documentation requirements
Keep inspection results, photographs, findings, corrections, reinspection, approvals, and production history connected to each assembly.
Gain clear management visibility
Identify recurring quality problems, rework, and production bottlenecks, so that patterns can be investigated and preventive actions targeted.
Strengthen coordination from factory to site
Keep assembly status and information connected through factory release, shipment, receiving, storage, and erection.
Prevent costly site problems
Reduce the risk of fabrication errors discovered after shipment or at site, where correction can cause significant financial, operational, or schedule consequences.
WHY MERGEN IMS MATTERS TO YOUR BUSINESS
Better use of existing capacity. Lower project risk. Stronger control. Greater confidence to grow.
In a steel fabrication business, the cost of an error is rarely limited to repairing the steel. Rework can consume labor, equipment, workshop space, materials, inspection resources, and production time that could otherwise be used for new fabrication. When problems are discovered late, they can also affect delivery, erection, project costs, client confidence, and future business opportunities.
MERGEN IMS helps your company prevent more avoidable errors, identify remaining problems earlier, resolve them before they become more costly, and give management a clearer picture of what is happening across the business.
The business value therefore goes beyond better inspection. MERGEN IMS helps protect your margins, make better use of the resources you already have, reduce project risk, strengthen client confidence, and create a stronger foundation for future growth.
GET MORE FROM THE CAPACITY YOU ALREADY HAVE
Every hour spent correcting previous work is an hour that cannot be used for new production. Rework can occupy fitters, welders, inspectors, equipment, workshop space, materials, and production time that your company is already paying for.
By helping prevent avoidable errors, detect remaining problems earlier, and resolve them more efficiently, MERGEN IMS can reduce the amount of existing capacity consumed by rework.
This means more of your current resources remain available for new fabrication and new projectsâ—”without increasing headcount, equipment, or factory space.
PROTECT YOUR PROJECT MARGINS
The later an error is discovered, the more expensive it can become. A small problem in the factory can turn into repeated work, wasted materials, extra labor, delays, and additional costs.
MERGEN IMS helps your company prevent more errors and identify problems earlier, before they become more expensive to correct.
By reducing unnecessary rework and avoiding costly downstream problems, MERGEN IMS helps protect the profitability of each project.
REDUCE DELIVERY AND SITE RISK
Problems that reach the construction site are usually harder, slower, and more expensive to solve than problems found inside the factory.
MERGEN IMS helps your company identify and resolve more issues before the steel leaves the factory, reducing the risk of unexpected problems during delivery and erection.
This can mean fewer delays, fewer costly site corrections, smoother project execution, and more satisfied clients.
GAIN CLEARER CONTROL OF YOUR BUSINESS
When information is scattered across people, spreadsheets, messages, separate reports, and different departments, it can be difficult for management to see the real situation quickly.
MERGEN IMS brings production, quality, rework, project progress, shipment, and site information together, giving management a clearer view of what is happening, where problems are developing, and where attention is needed.
This helps your company make decisions earlier, respond to problems faster, and manage projects with greater confidence.
STRENGTHEN CLIENT TRUST AND CREATE NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
Clients can have greater confidence in a fabricator that can demonstrate how quality is controlled, how problems are handled, and how project information is tracked from production to delivery.
MERGEN IMS helps your company present a more controlled and professional way of working, supported by clear records, stronger traceability, and better visibility of project progress.
Over time, this can strengthen your reputation, support repeat business, and improve your position when competing for larger, more demanding, or higher-value projects.
WHY MERGEN IMS MATTERS TO YOUR MARKET POSITION
Stronger differentiation. Clearer evidence. Greater client confidence. Better project opportunities.
MERGEN IMS strengthens how your company can present its capabilities by making quality control, traceability, project progress, and production performance more visible and easier to demonstrate.
The system creates a stronger connection between what happens inside the factory and what can be shown to clients through project records, visual progress information, quality history, statistics, reports, and traceable project data.
This helps your company communicate its capabilities with greater credibility and present itself as a more controlled, transparent and reliable fabrication partner.
DIFFERENTIATE YOUR COMPANY BEYOND PRICE
MERGEN IMS allows your company to demonstrate digital quality control, assembly-level traceability, structured inspection and correction, project visibility, and connected production-to-site information as part of the way your factory operates.
These visible capabilities can distinguish your company from fabricators relying mainly on conventional or fragmented processes.
They give clients additional reasons to value your company for control, transparency, reliability, and technological capabilityâ—”not only fabrication price.
MAKE YOUR CAPABILITIES VISIBLE TO CLIENTS
MERGEN IMS makes key parts of your fabrication and quality process easy to demonstrate through real project information, visual progress, traceable records, and connected workflow data.
During factory visits, client presentations, audits, and prequalification, your company can show how quality, production, correction, shipment, and project status are managed within the same system.
This gives clients a clearer and more credible view of the systems and controls behind the steel you deliver.
TURN PROJECT PERFORMANCE INTO CREDIBLE EVIDENCE
MERGEN IMS turns production, inspection, quality, correction, shipment, and project-progress data into reports, statistics, trends, and visual summaries.
Verified results can support project presentations, capability statements, prequalification, tender submissions, and case studies with real information from completed and ongoing projects.
This allows your company to support claims about quality, reliability, and project control with clear and measurable project evidence.
STRENGTHEN YOUR POSITION IN CLIENT EVALUATION AND TENDERS
MERGEN IMS helps your company demonstrate quality control, traceability, project visibility, issue management, and digital project processes with clear supporting information.
These capabilities can strengthen your company's position during client evaluations, prequalification, audits, and tender processes, especially when projects require strong documentation, reliability, and execution control.
This gives clients greater confidence in your company's ability to manage larger, more complex, and more demanding fabrication projects.
BUILD STRONGER PROJECT REFERENCES AND FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES
MERGEN IMS keeps project progress, quality records, inspection results, corrections, shipment information, statistics, and visual project data connected throughout the project.
Successful projects can therefore be documented more clearly and developed into stronger project references, case studies, client presentations, and capability materials for future opportunities.
Over time, this can strengthen your company's reputation, support repeat business, and provide more credible evidence when pursuing new and higher-value projects.