STEEL CONSTRUCTION – What’s Happening?

Some people like to use the term “Black Monday” – unfortunately it sums up the situation today. Sooo quiet its kindna scary. I wonder how the other industries are doing. Feel free to comment.

I read in the newspapers today about people demonstrating against the price hikes. I am sure a lot of people are hurting. Personally I think demonstrating does not really help. However, it’s an avenue for people to express their feelings. Keeping everything inside is not healthy. Can only hope things get better soon.

So instead of staring at the wall (its pretty boring after a while), I thought of doing the following :

SCAFFOLDING – Check for Vertical & Lateral Stability.

Got an enquiry on the above, it seems the consultant for some project wants a report and supporting calculations for the usage of scaffolding in their project. Still waiting for detailed information.

This is not something we do a lot. In fact, the only one we did, was a couple months ago for a building at Genting Highlands.

Basically, need to know how high, the intended usage etc. and then we can work out the cross braces, lateral attachments to ensure lateral stability. Also probably have to do an analysis of Wind Load on the stacked scaffolding. (wind load on the surface of the scaffolding members)

Finally, another analysis of vertical loads (Imposed and Dead loads) on the scaffolding, no. of workers’, member self-weight and so on.

I have to check my previous reports, on the installation procedures, quality control and the safety guidelines for scaffolding. Seriously, this is important, as a lot of mishaps occur because of no proper procedures or because workers did not follow guidelines.

Any advice, questions or comments is much appreciated.

Need to find my previous report (easier said than done as I am a highly disorganized person). Any one interested in a copy of this report when completed.?

ENGINEERING SOFTWARE UPGRADE

Will try and force myself to continue with my software upgrade tonight. I supposed I could add more member sizes to my database.

Need to think of ways to increase productivity – Produce more for the same amount of time!

Till next time, Happy Engineering & take care

Upgrade Engineering Sreadsheet

Hope everyone managed a good Father’s Day Weekend. Even during tough times, it’s the company that counts. This reminds me of the cartoon in the Star newspaper on Sunday, where a little girl trying to cheer her father by buying a small bottle of Petroleum for Father’s Day. I think it is funny but a sad reflection of the present situation.

I am also happy and a bit surprised that a Government MP has asked for the Government to make public Petronas’s account. That would be great because I truly do not understand all these talk about Petronas not being able to continue paying for the subsidies. As I see it, as the price of petrol rises, so does Petronas’ profit. What extra or increased expenses are they incurring? The petroleum is the people’s asset and they have a right to know.

UPGRADE SOFTWARE

To survive the tough times ahead, its’ probably a good time to increase my business productivity (and also because I don’t have much work to do). For example, for the same amount of time, I can produce more and faster (calculations).

I managed to improve some of my engineering spreadsheets. I have a certain spreadsheet that calculates nodal points (x, y & z), for trusses etc. I have added to this program, so that it can now also able to calculate the Uniformly Distributed Loads (UDL) which is to be applied to the trusses.

Have also managed to add another page on “reactions” of the trusses based on the following 3 load combinations : 1.4DL+1.6LL. , 1.4WL+1.0DL and 1.0LL.

An average set of calculations consist of 32 pages. The above upgrade will add another 6 pages to the calculations.

Boring, isn’t it? (ha! ha! I am sure my wife will agree).

Hope tomorrow brings new and better things.

Steel Construction Industry at a Stand Still

Spent the day moping about the office ( I am sure my wife will agree that it is better than moping about at home).

I applaud the Pahang MB and excos for suggesting a 30% cut in their Entertainment Allowance. Personally, I feel it shows initiative, and definitely more sincerity than the paltry 10% by the Malaysian national leaders. From the readers’ letters to the newspaper, it looks like a lot of people feel that way too.

I am not an economist but I do believe that subsidies are not good in the long term but I do think the price hike was too sudden and too steep. Any economists out there who there who are willing to enlighten me on this?

I did try to do some marketing. I called some of my clients to enquire whether there was any work for me. Their answers were virtually similar – just finishing existing jobs, no new jobs at the moment. Most sounded quite moody but that’s understandable, it’s a tough and worrying time for most people.

ECONOMIC TSUNAMI

Personally, I think the most damaging aspect of the 41% increase in fuel, has created an unstable business environment that virtually prevent business from proceeding. For example, the cost of material, transport cost, etc is so uncertain that it practically impossible to do a costing for any project. A client of mine has described the cost of material is nowadays like the stock market, the prices change everyday. Until that is settled, all we can do is wait (and pray – for those who are religiously inclined).

STEEL ROOF TRUSSES

A pleasant surprise, I just got a call and looks like I got a small project. Basically my client (a contractor) have proposed steel roof trusses (made up of RHS & SHS) for a bungalow. The owner and the architect is agreeable to the contractor’s proposal but require the contractor to provide Engineering calculations to prove that the trusses are structurally adequate. There’s where I come in, to provide the necessary calculations. This is not much work but my first new project since the price hike!

Actually I have just completed another truss job last week. A 40m long truss is attached to 2 columns, to provide lateral stability. As there is a large opening in the building, the client’s consultant is worried about the effects of wind uplift on the existing steel roof rafters. He suggest that a steel column to be connected between the rafter and the 40m truss. The intention being, the uplift forces on the rafter to be transferred to the new truss. My job is to determine whether the truss can cater for this uplift force and if it is able to, also design the connections for the members. The analysis has been done and submitted and waiting for their comments (and hopefully my payment – ha! ha!) Actually getting paid, is one of the most difficult part of my work.

Hope everybody enjoy their weekend. Keeping fingers crossed that next week will be better.

Construction Industry is Down

The Malaysian construction industry seems to have grinded to a halt! Looks like, the steep fuel price hike by the Government have sent the economy in the coma. I am no economist but I truly think the hike was at the wrong time and just too high. Wouldn’t a gradual increase be better?

No use being depressed, as this will take a toll on one’s health (trust me) and its’ definitely not the right time to add hospital expenses to my dwindling income. So cheer up and smile. In fact I asked a friend recently, why he was smiling. His answer, “The smile is holding back the tears”. So now I have a stupid crooked smile plastered across my face!

I read somewhere to always look for the good or positive aspects for any situation. So what can we do? For me, I have made up the followings things to do :

1) Improve Engineering software – As a structural steel engineer I have lots of spread sheet software that I have written over the years. Now is the ideal time to improve on it. For example, add details or sketches, so that the output is more comprehensive (actually, hope it looks more impressive ha! ha!).

2) Improve Marketing. A major part of my job is looking at drawings and seeing whether I can reduce the cost of steel/building. Based on 20 years in this line, I can safely say that. the cost of over 90% of steel buildings/structures can be reduced, anything from 5% to 40%. This is specially applicable the present, as soaring material cost, have driven most projects above their budget. Unfortunately, I am not very good at marketing my services (which accounts for my old beat up car).

3) Be kind (Non Engineering). Although I did not feel like eating anything tonight, I still went out to the coffee shop and ordered a bowl of noodles. May not be much, but the old lady selling the noodles seem quite happy to see me, maybe because most of her customers seemed to have disappeared since the price hike.

So that’s what I planned to do. Any other ideas or comments will be much appreciated. Bye for now and take care.

Structural Steel Building Collapse

I have not written anything in my blog for quite a while. Not being a good writer plus a dry topic makes a deadly combination! Ha ha. Well, greetings to all my Muslim friends and readers and a “Selamat Hari Raya”.

I read in the newspaper a couple of weeks ago about a Steel Building collapse in Perak. (Steel roof truss with I-beam Columns). This is another ‘black-eye’ to the Malaysian building industry. This only add to the woes plaguing the industry with collapsing ceilings, cost over-runs etc. This is definitely not a “Malaysia Boleh” moment.

Anyway, having experienced this kind of incident in the past…..this is something that I wish nobody has to go through. It is terrible for the owner, the consultants and the contractors. An investigation has to be carried out to determine the cause of failure. It could be a design, fabrication or an erection error. In the meantime, there will be a lot of finger pointing and sleepless nights for those involved.

I believe one of the way to minimize these kind of incidents are through the preparation of Method Statements. Method statements are prepared by the contractors and basically outline the steps they intend to store, fabricate, transport and erect the structure. This is submitted to the consultant who have to approve the document before any work is carried out. I believe more and more consultants nowadays require this.

Most contractors think this only incurs extra paperwork and cost. They are wrong! Method Statements in fact can help them save cost and maximize their profits. With an approved Method Statement, it provides a guideline to his staff of what needs to be done. It avoids misunderstanding and delays which costs much more.

It is also good for the consultants, as it provides them with a guideline for them to ensure that the work done is according to the statement. When things are done right, everybody benefits !

I’ll be happy to provide a sample of a Method Statement that I did previously for one of my clients. Its free! Just email me at ccslim@gmail.com. Or better still, if somebody would like to engage my services to prepare one. Ha Ha. My rates are low!

PARLIAMENT HOUSE – Consider Alternatives & Cost Savings Solutions

Hi Everbody! Sorry for the lapse in posting. I have been away outstation tending to some work problems. Not to worry, I won't bore you with that.

However, it got me thinking that there are always solutions, the problem is, that most people are reluctant to think and come up with alternatives. Hence, I did manage to write an article on the Water Seepage at Paliament House. The article is as follows :

PARLIAMENT HOUSE – Consider Alternatives & Cost Savings Solutions

As a structural engineer working in the local construction industry, I read with interest the articles on water leakage at Parliament House. From past readers’ comments, I understand their disappointment over cost-over runs, leaking pipes, falling ceilings in new buildings constructed at millions of Ringgit of the tax payers money. Undoubtedly, all these reflect badly on those who work in this industry.

However, instead of just criticizing, those who can, should propose possible solutions to these problems. For example the leakage at Parliament House, from the photos in the newspapers, seem to indicate the roof is basically a concrete flat roof. One of the most common problems associated with flat roofs is ponding. Ponding refers to when water collects in pools of water on the roof. Any cracks on the surface will result in water seepage via capillary action into the building. I assumed, based on the newspaper report, that this is the main cause of the water seepage into the building.

The straight forward or common solution, is to hack the concrete roof and replace the entire water proofing system and its protective layers and then concrete back the roof. This I humbly believe is both very expensive and time consuming.

Making the assumption that if we can keep the flat roof dry and free of water, we will not have this water seepage problem. Based on this, a new roof supported by steel trusses can be installed over the present roof, keeping the old roof dry and eliminating the water leakage problem. Due to the versatility of steel, an architect can be brought in to ensure that the new roof blends or even enhances the existing structure.

This could be a more economical solution. The money saved, could be put to better use by the Government, on things that can directly benefit the people. I am also sure, that there are more effective and better solutions and I urge especially those in the industry to offer their solutions to the Government for them to consider.

From: steelmsia.blogspot.com

Name: Christopher Lim Chee Seng

Address : No. 11A, Jalan Pusat BCH 1 / 2, Bandar Country Homes, 48000 Rawang,

Selangor Darul Ehsan

Telephone No. : 03-6733 8306

H/P No.: 012-3701187

TGIF

Thank God its Friday! I am sure that everybody out there looks forward to the weekend where they can get some time to spend with their families. More so, I think, for those in the construction sector.

It’s a fact that the local construction sector has not been doing very well for the last few years. I have a number of clients closed down and I also have a number who venture overseas to survive these tough times. To look on the bright side, maybe we should take this as in incentive to contribute and make this industry more efficient, more cost effective to compete with those overseas. As usual, I will be happy to read your comments on this.

Here’s hoping everyone is safe from leaking pipes and falling ceiling. On that note, have a happy & restful weekend!