Efficient steel design and construction

The seminar will provide useful CPD for engineers and other designers at various stages of their careers from new graduates, those working towards chartered membership and for our more experienced members looking to stay abreast of current best practice.

The following topics will be covered:

· Efficient steel design at the concept stage

· Low embodied carbon steel buildings. Design Recommendations

· Early Involvement, Fabrication and Delivery-Led Design

All welcome

Recommended for 2 hours CPD

Tickets are: £25 for graduate members, £35 for members and non-members

Enquiries – admin@istructescotland.org

Programme

13.30 Registration, tea/coffee, networking

13.55 Welcome– introduction by Richard Campbell

14.00 Presentation 1 – Willie Crowe – Efficiency of steel design

As structural engineers strive to reduce carbon, efficiency of design is more important than ever. Weight of steel must be minimised by GOOD design. The most important stage in any design is the first few steps i.e. The Concert stage. If the concept is wrong or weak the follow-on design will never deliver an efficient structural solution. Thinking and tools to develop concepts quickly will be presented and discussed. Topics covered will be spans, grid layouts, loading, stability systems, transfer structures., cladding support, and avoiding and reducing the burden of secondary steels.This section of the seminar is also very suitable for graduate engineers not involved in concept and scheme design. Where senior engineers carry out this task in the design office and less experienced engineers are given the task of detailed code compliance calculations and detailed analysis. This practice handicaps, to a degree, the development of younger engineers.

NB - The CM Exam section 1 covers this skill and to pass the exam the candidates must demonstrate their ability in developing concept and schemes and selection of the most efficient structural solution. Therefore this part of the seminar is ideal preparation for sitting the CM Exam .

14.40 Presentation 2 – Graham Couchman - Low embodied carbon steel buildings. Design Recommendations

Graham’s presentation will focus on the content of a recently published SCI guide that provides designers with ideas on how, and indeed why, to challenge their previous views on optimum design (P449 Low embodied carbon steel buildings. Design Recommendations). For decades knowledgeable designers aimed for minimum cost, recognising that minimum weight – despite being easier to identify - often did not coincide with that metric. In a world where we must reduce material content (as well as the impact of the materials themselves), and it has been recognised that the pursuit of minimum cost at all stages of design and construction and potentially even operation can lead to significantly excessive use of material, SCI has investigated solutions that would give a more balanced result. Many of these have existed for years, so could be readily applied when the right drivers exist. Topics covered will include:

· Choice of general arrangement

· Level of loading

· Members and steel grades

· Semi-continuous design

· Steel-timber solutions

· Design for fire resistance

15.20 Presentation 3 – Stephen Kelly - Early Involvement, Fabrication and Delivery-Led Design and Case Study “One Centenary Way”.

The UK has many well established structural steel fabricators and erectors who have a wealth of knowledge and expertise that would welcome any early project engagement where thy can influence the design , materials and delivery of project. The presentation will cover how best to engage the fabrication industry from concept to construction, fabrication and delivery-led design, look at some steel fabricator consultant grumbles and a good news story of how early engagement can make the “unbuildable” possible….

16.00 Closing remarks & finish

Willie Crowe

Willie joined Arup as a graduate in 1978 and retired 2015. Worked for Arup as structural engineer designing projects such as the Edinburgh International Conference Centre and the Armadillo in Glasgow.

After retiring from Arup set up William Crowe Ltd Chartered Engineers and works as a sole practitioner on a varied workload including high end bespoke private houses, small scale industrial and commercial projects.

Willie run’s the CM Exam preparation classes with candidates attending the online course from: Scotland, Northern Ireland, parts of England, the Middle East and Hong Kong.

Graham Couchman

Graham is Chairman and CEO of SCI (the Steel Construction Institute). He is a former Chairman of the CEN committee responsible for Eurocode 4. He has been with SCI since 1995, having previously worked on construction sites with Taylor Woodrow, design offices with Nuclear Design Associates and Mott MacDonald, and at EPFL in Switzerland where he completed his PhD. He took three years out from SCI to work for BRE from 2005 to 2007. His main area of interest is composite steel-concrete construction. He is the author of numerous papers, articles in New Steel Construction magazine, design guides and books on a range of steel construction related topics.

Stephen Kelly

Stephen Kelly is the Technical Lead BHC Ltd. Stephen began his engineering career at BHC Ltd in 2000 as a apprentice structural fabricator moving into the drawing and design office undertaking modelling and connection design for steel structures such as Glasgow Fort Shopping Centre, Xscape indoor Ski Centre and many Scottish schools. With the growth of BHC ltd, the technical department expanded with Stephen taking the position of Drawing Office Manager in 2010 and most recently promoted to Technical Lead overseeing a team of 60+ technical staff and an output of over 35,000 tonnes per year. BHC are one of the UK’s leading Structural Steel Fabricators based in South Lanarkshire, providing structural steel fabrication, offsite fire protection, metal decking and concrete services working throughout the United kingdom and internationally for many of the tier one contractors.

Getting there:

The Technology and Innovation Centre (TIC Building) 99 George Street, Glasgow, G1 1RD, is within easy walking distance from Glasgow Queen Street Station, and a 15 minute walk from Buchanan St bus garage and about a 10 minute walk from Glasgow Central station. There are several car parks in the vicinity. Please remember that Glasgow is an LEZ city