Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1. Introduction
But here we talk about economics. Clearly, the owners of buildings want
their completed projects to cost as little as possible, or they want as
much utility as possible from the money they spend, while meeting all
the standards they set. A particular client may or may not be interested
in lifetime costs and the demands of maintenance, but it is generally
desirable for projects to have a reasonable degree of durability and not
be expensive to maintain.
It often happens that the structural engineer feels that he/she is not
allowed to specify the most economical structure, forgetting that the
structure is just one element of the project. Deleting a column may, for
example, have a big impact on the letability of a space and thus the
income of the owner, even while it chases up the cost of the structure.
We need to see the broader picture. Moreover, much of the cost of a
project, as well as the owner's ultimate perception of whether he got
value for money, has to do with the process by which the project is
created. If the project runs smoothly with a minimum of claims and is
finished in time and budget the client tends to be happy. Predictability
may be even more important than the quantum of the cost. If the project
can be handled in such a way that the owner gets the final product
considerably quicker, some of the cost can be offset against an earlier
revenue stream.
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factors. That does not mean, however, that the design of the structure is
unimportant – a well-designed and specified structure, properly
fabricated and erected, remains the basis for an economical project that
meets the client's requirements.
In what follows we will consider the various things the designer, detailer
and/or steelwork contractor should do or keep in mind to ensure that
economical steelwork projects are delivered.
3. Avoiding over-specification
• Design connections, including the welding and number of bolts, for
the actual forces in the connection. Don't just say 'full strength
welds'.
• Specify an appropriate level of quality assurance, and ensure that the
inspectors don't insist on a higher level or on unimportant 'nice to
haves'.
• Specify only the level of finish that is required for a specific
application. Only steel seen at a close distance by members of the
public needs to be immaculate.
• Use an appropriate corrosion protection system for the corrosiveness
of the environment, the exposure to wear and tear, and the life
expectancy of the project. It is generally not necessary to paint
concealed steel, except in a corrosive environment.
• Use high strength friction grip connections only where required.
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• Specify precambering of beams only where really necessary.
• Use washers only where needed.
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Figure 1 – Heavy industrial building with a high degree of modularity
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• The engineer should listen to the contractor, rather than feel that his
ego is threatened by any suggestion of the contractor. At least some
of the contractor's ideas may be beneficial to a project.
• With the existence of CNC equipment that can cut to length, punch,
drill, make notches, and make splice or gusset plates, most
contractors prefer bolting to welding. Thus, as far as possible, specify
bolted construction. Alternatively, specify shop welding and site
bolting. Only rarely should site welding be required.
• Be aware of the effect of tolerances. Steelwork can be fabricated very
accurately, but not exactly, and there must be room for adjustment.
With things like crane girders there may also be a need for
adjustment during the lifetime of the structure. It is even more
important to be aware of the construction tolerances of other
materials such as concrete that the steel structure has to interface
with, and to allow adequate scope for adjustment.
• Design structures that can be fabricated, transported to site and
erected without special measures, if possible. This implies that the
engineer should give some consideration to how the steelwork will be
fabricated, transported (ie. broken into pieces for transportation) and
erected, unless it is just a typical structure. If special measures are
required during fabrication, transport or erection, these should be
brought to the attention of the steelwork contractor and discussed
with him, or the contractor has to bring his ideas to the attention of
the engineer.
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In most of these cases the higher mass solution may be the better
one if labour is taken into account.
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Figure 2 – Plate girder with flange reinforcing plates, avoiding
turnover and allowing down hand welding