Steel buildings are already known for strength and durability compared to other construction materials, but working with a Canadian steel building supplier specifically adds a layer of regulatory rigor most buyers never think to ask about.
Licensed Professional Engineers, Not Just “Engineers”
Major Canadian steel building suppliers are required to work with licensed Professional Engineers (PEs) — a genuinely rigorous credential, not just a job title. Becoming a licensed PE requires a four-year engineering degree, a minimum of four years working under a Professional Engineer, passing both the Fundamentals of Engineering and Principles of Engineering examinations, and finally earning a license from the Canadian licensure board. By the time someone holds that license, they’re typically highly specialized in their field.
The real distinction between an ordinary engineer and a licensed PE comes down to accountability and authority: a PE carries personal responsibility not just for their work, but for how that work affects public safety — and only a PE can prepare, sign, seal, and submit an engineering plan to a public body for approval, or seal engineering work for public or private clients.
Governed by CAN/CSA A660 Standards
The CAN/CSA A660 standard was developed specifically to help code enforcement officials evaluate steel building quality, requested by the Canadian Steel Building System Manufacturers themselves. Because a manufacturer’s facility is often physically separate from the construction site — with buildings sold through contractors or local builders — code officials need a reliable way to verify structural adequacy without inspecting the factory directly. A660 solves that with a certification program: the standard requires a manufacturer’s facilities, quality assurance systems, and staff to consistently deliver quality steel building products, verified by a certification agency such as the Canadian Welding Bureau.
Under A660, manufacturers must provide Certificates of Design and Manufacturing Conformance for each building and specific location, signed and sealed by a licensed PE. Those certificates list the key design criteria that code enforcement officials, the engineer of record, and the building’s owner all rely on for verification. This is a meaningfully different bar than simply claiming a building is “up to code” — it’s an ongoing, audited certification of the manufacturer itself, not just a one-time check on a single order.
Certified to Factory Mutual (FM) Standards
FM (formerly Factory Mutual) is a global insurer specializing in loss prevention, determining insurance risk through genuine engineering analysis of a property rather than actuarial calculations alone. FM’s standards cover a wide range of property risk factors, and building materials certified to FM standards have been evaluated against real engineering criteria — not just a generic quality label.
Why This Matters for Your Building
These aren’t abstract credentials — they directly affect whether your building gets approved, insured, and built to a standard that actually holds up. A supplier working under CAN/CSA A660, licensed PE oversight, and FM-certified materials gives you documentation that satisfies code officials, insurers, and your own peace of mind simultaneously, rather than requiring separate verification from each. Toro is also AISC-accredited and meets AWS D1.1 welding standards, backing up these Canada-specific credentials with recognized North American manufacturing certifications on top.
What to Ask Any Supplier
Before committing to a supplier, it’s worth asking directly: is your engineering staff made up of licensed PEs, or a mix of licensed and unlicensed engineers? Is your manufacturing facility A660-certified, and can you provide documentation? Are your building materials FM-certified, and for which specific products? A supplier who answers these clearly and specifically, rather than with a vague assurance of quality, is telling you something real about how seriously they take the engineering behind their buildings.
Permits, Codes & Engineering
Beyond the Canada-specific standards above, structural design also references the National Building Code of Canada, with steel component design following CSA Group standards more broadly. Toro’s in-house engineering team — not a third-party engineer most competitors outsource to — holds these exact credentials and calculates your building’s design loads for its specific address before it ships.
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Choose a Certified Canadian Supplier
Toro Steel Buildings meets CAN/CSA A660, works with licensed Professional Engineers, and uses FM-certified materials. Request a free quote to get started.