Hey Reader

Imagine opening a new structural engineering project and having half your preliminary design already worked out.

And I’m not talking about any crazy AI automation

That's what you can achieve by building a library of design aids.

And it’s not just about saving time.

In 1990, Mark Stewart at the University of Newcastle simulated engineers designing steel members.

Using safe load tables meant fewer members came out the wrong size, and design time dropped by around 65%.

So how do you create your own design aids?

I'd start by opening one of your previous projects and looking at the structural elements you use over and over again.

Pick one, say a steel connection.

Choose a few practical configurations you commonly use, run the design checks for each one, and put the capacities into a table.

Then add the important assumptions and detailing requirements, like bolt spacing, edge distances and plate thicknesses.

That's pretty much it.

But there's one important thing I always check.

A good design aid shouldn't just tell you that something has enough capacity. It should also tell you that it can actually be built.

There's no point choosing a connection with two M20 bolts if you can't physically fit them inside the small UB or get a tool in there.

So I try to include the geometry, detailing requirements and assumptions in my tables as well.

The idea isn't to eliminate engineering judgement.

It's to spend less time repeating calculations and more time on the parts of the project that actually need your attention.

Cheers,

Gabe