Steel trade glossary
The words the trade actually uses.
Plain-English definitions of the terms behind MetlSys. If a demo throws a word at you, it is probably here.
- Heat number (cast number)
- The identifier a mill assigns to a single melt of steel. Every plate, bar or coil from that melt shares it, and it is the anchor for traceability and for matching a certificate to material. Why generic ERPs miss this.
- Mill certificate (mill test certificate)
- The document from the mill certifying a material's chemical composition and mechanical properties for a given heat. MetlSys stores these as records, matched to stock by heat number.
- EN 10204
- The European standard that classifies inspection certificates by type: 2.1, 2.2, 3.1 and 3.2, in increasing order of independence. EN 10204 explained.
- Type 3.1 certificate
- A certificate of the specific material, validated by the manufacturer's authorised inspection representative independent of the production department. The usual requirement for traceable structural and pressure work.
- Type 3.2 certificate
- A certificate validated by both the manufacturer and an independent inspector (or the customer's representative).
- Catch-weight
- Selling by actual weighed weight rather than a fixed theoretical weight. Stock carries both figures and the difference is settled on despatch. Catch-weight invoicing explained.
- Theoretical weight
- The weight calculated from an item's dimensions and density, used for estimates and pricing before the material is weighed.
- Two-stage goods receipt
- Booking material in on arrival, then confirming the weighed weight later on the scales, so goods-in is not blocked waiting to weigh.
- Goods received note (GRN)
- The record raised when material is booked in against a purchase order.
- Subcontract processing
- Sending material out for machining, cutting or testing and receiving it back. Child batches inherit the parent's heat number, certificate and cost.
- Cut-to-length
- Cutting stock bar, tube or plate to a customer's specified lengths.
- Kerf
- The width of material removed by the saw blade in a cut. It is part of cut-piece pricing because it is paid-for material that leaves as swarf.
- Facing allowance
- Extra length added to a cut to allow the ends to be faced or cleaned up, also part of cut-piece pricing.
- Remnant (offcut)
- The usable piece left after a cut, tracked as stock in its own right so it can be sold rather than lost.
- Electronic proof of delivery (ePOD)
- A signed, timestamped delivery record captured at despatch. A clean ePOD can raise the invoice automatically.
- Non-conformance report (NCR)
- The record that quarantines material which fails a check until the issue is resolved.
- Stockholder
- A business that buys steel or stainless in bulk, holds stock, and sells it in smaller quantities, often with processing. The primary MetlSys user. What MetlSys does for stockholders.
- Service centre
- A site that processes and distributes metal, for example cutting or slitting, for its customers.
See these on real stock.
Bring your own worst mill cert to a demo and watch it filed by heat, with the weight settled on despatch.