A well-trained engineer can confidently produce a
technically correct structural design. But conveying such an idea to others
through drawings, reports and supporting documents takes a different level of
patience and attention to detail.
𝘈 𝘚𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵
𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴
𝘜𝘴
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦
𝘵𝘰
𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬
Gridlines, levels and member labels are more than drafting
details. Consider them road signs that point us to our destinations. When
someone mentions the beam at Grid 3/A-B, everybody knows exactly which beam
they are referring to.
These references are equally important in design as they are
in presentation. Imagine ignoring the gridlines and mistakenly designing the
Grid 3 beam using the loading conditions for Grid 4. The butterfly effect takes
over and, in the worst case, what has been analysed may no longer represent
what is actually being built.
At the end of the day, people are no longer making progress
checking whether the structure is safe. They are probably wasting time
double-checking the correct member and its corresponding calculations.
𝘕𝘰 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴
𝘵𝘰
𝘎𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳
𝘵𝘩𝘦
𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦
𝘐𝘴
𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨
Will the problem be solved once we establish a consistent
reference and coordinate system?
Imagine reading a structural layout plan, only to find that
the Type C3 column at Grid D/4 on the typical floor plan disappears below a
certain level. At the same time, the column schedule shows that the same column
continues from the rooftop to the foundation.
Is the column intended to stop at that level? If so, what
should we do with the column schedule?
Or is the column intended to continue as shown in the
schedule? If so, what happened to it on the layout plan?
Now let’s make it worse: the structural plan requires a
column at a certain location, but when superimposed onto the architectural
plan, that location falls in the middle of a corridor.
𝘚𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯
𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴
𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵
𝘢𝘴
𝘔𝘶𝘤𝘩
𝘞𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵
Engineering reports tell the audience about our engineering
reasoning. Calculations demonstrate that the design is sound and capable of
withstanding technical scrutiny. Drawings guide contractors in turning the idea
into reality.
This is why clarity, completeness, consistency and
traceability matter alongside a technically sound design. If the engineer
himself gets confused when reading the drawings and reports, imagine someone
reading them for the first time.
𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦
𝘒𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦
𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰
𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳
𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭
𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸
Our Engineer’s Cheat Sheet – Authority Review & Common
Rejection Traps these issues into a practical one-page reference for use before
issuing a structural submission. Keep it beside your drawings when carrying out
your final review.
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