The design and evaluation of anything that supports or carries a load is the responsibility of a structural engineer. A structural engineer’s job can be broken down into two categories: buildings and non-building structures or devices. You must complete post-secondary education in civil engineering to become a structural engineer, as structural engineering is a specialty within this discipline.
Building structural engineers are in charge of evaluating schematics and ensuring that the structure complies with building codes for structural safety, is safe to occupy, and can withstand the elements. Site visits and design review are two of a building structural engineer’s daily responsibilities.
The structural engineer inspects the foundation, infrastructure, curtain wall, insulation, and building envelope during a site visit. The engineer can ensure that the actual building meets the drawings provided and that any necessary corrections are made by carefully inspecting it and comparing it to the approved building plans. At various stages of project completion, the engineer is called in to inspect, and official approval is frequently required before the next stage of development can begin.
The design review process entails a thorough examination of submitted building plans as well as the creation of a list of issues and deficiencies. These flaws must be addressed by the designer or builder. Changes to the plans must be reviewed again to ensure compliance. All site inspections are based on the approved plans, so it’s critical that they’re accurate and complete.
Product design and safety inspections are two types of projects that non-building structural engineers work on. A structural engineer must review and inspect any machinery or equipment that is designed to carry a load. Large machinery, medical equipment, and vehicles are all common projects for this type of engineer.
The engineer is a member of the design team during the design phase. Defining structural weak points, providing safety tolerances, determining pivot points, and modifying designs to increase the overall device’s strength are all responsibilities. The upper and lower load capacities are calculated mathematically, but the type of material used, the location of the joint, and the intended use all affect the accuracy of these calculations.
All new designs or prototypes must pass a safety inspection. This work entails conducting structured field tests to determine the unit’s load capacity. For example, the engineer may have determined that a car jack’s maximum lift capacity is 3,300 pounds (1,500 kg).
A prototype is built and then tested with incrementally increasing weights to confirm this value. The unit’s performance and response are measured and recorded. The values will be approved for publication only after the tests have been successfully completed and the test data has been analyzed.