Judging Criteria
Projects submitted to the Excellence in Hot-Dip Galvanizing Awards are judged by members of the architecture and engineering community. Each submission will receive five ratings (1-10) in four criteria scores as well as an overall impression score. The four criteria areas are determined by the category (artistic, industrial, etc.) in which the submission is judged.
The judging criteria is as follows:
| Artistic | Complexity of Design | Community Impact/Visibility | Final Appearance | Zinc Integral to Aesthetics |
| Bridge & Highway | Corrosion Control over Design Life | Harshness of Environment | Impact to HDG Market | Ingenuity |
| Building & Architecture | Complexity of Design | Final Appearance | Sustainability | Zinc Integral to Aesthetics |
| Civic Contribution | Community Impact/Visibility | Creativity | Galvanizer Involvement | Project Enhancement |
| Duplex Systems | Complexity of Design | Corrosion Control over Design Life | Final Appearance | Project Enhancement |
| Electrical, Utility, & Communication | Corrosion Control over Design Life | Cost Effectiveness | Impact to HDG Market | Ingenuity |
| Food & Agriculture | Cost Effectiveness | Harshness of Environment | Impact to HDG Market | Ingenuity |
| Industrial | Complexity of Design | Corrosion Control over Design Life | Cost Effectiveness | Harshness of Environment |
| International | Community Impact/Visibility | Corrosion Control over Design Life | Impact to HDG Market | Project Enhancement |
| Lifetime Achievement | Community Impact/Visibility | Corrosion Control over Design Life | Harshness of Environment | Project Enhancement |
| Original Equipment Manufacturing | Galvanizer Involvement | Impact to HDG Market | Ingenuity | Project Enhancement |
| Recreation & Entertainment | Corrosion Control over Design Life | Creativity | Impact to HDG Market | Zinc Integral to Aesthetics |
| Transportation | Community Impact/Visibility | Cost Effectiveness | Impact to HDG Market | Sustainability |
| Water & Marine | Corrosion Control over Design Life | Cost Effectiveness | Harshness of Environment | Ingenuity |
The Most Distinguished category follows unique judging criteria and rules, and will be judged as follows:
- Most Distinguished - honors the best project of the year. All submissions are considered and the award is bestowed upon the project that scored well in all judging criteria and overall was the most outstanding, innovative, and appealing while providing potential to leverage more tonnage and impact the North American galvanized steel market.
Criteria Definitions
Judges are provided the following detailed definition of all criteria above to assist in their ratings:
| Complexity of Design | intricacy of connections/elements and/or difficulty in handling or challenges for successful galvanizing |
| Corrosion Control over Design Life | difficulty or inconvenience of maintaining structure was key in decision to galvanize |
| Cost Effectiveness | initial cost savings, construction schedule savings, savings during use, life-cycle cost savings, and/or indirect cost savings |
| Creativity | unique use of galvanizing and/or intriguing design elements or function |
| Final Appearance | compliment to the environment and overall appeal of the project |
| Galvanizer Involvement | critical in converting the project to HDG, helped with the design process, proactive stance |
| Harshness of Environment | corrosivity to the environment and galvanized steel's performance over other systems in decision process |
| Impact to HDG Market | new use for galvanizing, visible project and/or innovative use that creates potential for market growth |
| Ingenuity | innovation in design/application and/or use of galvanizing |
| Project Enhancement | value added, competitive edge, enhanced effectiveness of project/product because of galvanizing |
| Sustainability | greenness of galvanizing was key to use and/or added to overall sustainability of project |
| Zinc Integral to Aesthetics | visible zinc finish that adds to the overall beauty/appeal or is key design element of the project |