gwynn
Structural
- Aug 26, 2007
- 233
Partially out of curiousity, I would like to hear from those in purely design environments how much consideration is given to constructability.
Roughly %50 of my time is spent doing construction engineering (which probably means >%80 of my projects). As we do construction engineering and frequently have contractors as clients in design build projects, constructability is stressed as very important.
Many of the designs that cross my desk as a construction engineering project would get me a stern talking to from the boss if I tried to send them out to a client as a design, due to construction issues.
I see minor issues like easily avoided underhand field welds all of the time. It can be done, but it's a pain. The larger issues aren't quite as frequent, but things like pre-stressed girders which need post-tensioning on the top flange just to get them to site, circular concrete columns that are not a standard tube size and girders that cannot be erected singly still show up too often. Most issues like this that I come across can be checked early in design in under ten minutes, something that gets drilled into me every time I don't check something.
So, how much consideration do you give to such things?
Roughly %50 of my time is spent doing construction engineering (which probably means >%80 of my projects). As we do construction engineering and frequently have contractors as clients in design build projects, constructability is stressed as very important.
Many of the designs that cross my desk as a construction engineering project would get me a stern talking to from the boss if I tried to send them out to a client as a design, due to construction issues.
I see minor issues like easily avoided underhand field welds all of the time. It can be done, but it's a pain. The larger issues aren't quite as frequent, but things like pre-stressed girders which need post-tensioning on the top flange just to get them to site, circular concrete columns that are not a standard tube size and girders that cannot be erected singly still show up too often. Most issues like this that I come across can be checked early in design in under ten minutes, something that gets drilled into me every time I don't check something.
So, how much consideration do you give to such things?