Experience
Demonstrating a track record
Experience questions test whether you understand how a fabricator proves it has done comparable work. The recurring concept is demonstrated capability: documented evidence of successfully completing projects of similar scope, complexity, and material. Evidence typically includes project lists, references, certificates of completion, and records showing the types of connections, member sizes, and coatings handled.
Know the difference between breadth and depth of experience. Breadth is variety of project types; depth is demonstrated performance on demanding work such as heavy welded built-up members, fracture-critical members, or complex geometry. A fabricator seeking work outside its demonstrated range should expect to show additional qualification, procedure testing, or a written plan.
Traps: treating years in business as equivalent to relevant experience; assuming a large project list substitutes for records of quality performance; and overlooking that experience must be documented, not merely asserted. Question writers often present a plausible-sounding claim ("twenty years in the industry") against a documented but shorter record - the documented record wins.
Worked example: A fabricator with 15 years of experience bids fracture-critical work but its project list shows only conventional structural steel. The correct response is not to claim the years as qualification but to identify the gap and propose additional procedure qualification, NDT capability, and personnel records that address it. Experience is a claim you support with evidence, not a number.