It’s very disappointing
to see the lack of awareness by the general public about the engineering in
general. I have read many discussions on LinkedIn and seen many Youtube videos,
which shows how people don’t really understand who engineers are – in
particular structural engineers.
Well! Like everyone
else I will not give you a bookish definition of structural engineering. But
today I am going to tell you what I enjoy doing and who exactly I am. People
like to dream big! But what is the fun if that dream is not changed into
reality – that is what I do. Someone dreamt big … as big as Palm Island in
Dubai, Great Wall in China, Wembley Stadium in England, Acropolis in
Greece, Empire state building in USA, Burj Al Arab in UAE, Kansai International
Airport, Eiffel Tower in France, Ice Hotel in Sweden and then someone took the
challenge and turned them into reality.
All that is built
around you – your house, the place you work at, all that amazing locations
where you go for holidays --- bridges, roads, dams and every possible thing
that you can think of were once just a thought. You see standing the most
amazing iconic structures around the world – and yet you still don’t know the
heroes behind them. Such a Shame!!!
I, a structural engineer
shape the built environment. For any built structure, Architects designs to do
make it pleasing for eye, unique, which fulfills the requirements and relaxes
the environment – internally and externally – so we can say an architect makes
sure a building is aesthetically pleasing, good for purpose and kind to
environment whereas how it will be built or whether its possible to construct
or if its not how to make it possible is where a I, structural engineer come
in. I enjoy challenging myself, I take responsibility, I like excitement and
innovation, what I do is very technical but also creative. I have excellent
problem solving and mathematical skills and I need all these to make sure you
have a high quality environment to live in.
I collaborate with many people on regular basis – meet new people and
discuss about different projects to collate all information required to make
sure what is needed is achieved – I work very close with architects, mechanical
engineers, electrical engineers, fire engineers, façade engineers and many
others in a construction design team, I study plans of the project, understand
requirements of the client (owner/person investing money), discuss the
possibility and probability of the project, and work hard to produce structural design.
Starting from basic
sketches showing ideas of how the building frame resist applied forces acting
on it – from the weight of the material, additional load from the permanent
furniture or variable loads that will be applied on it - this depends on the type of structure.
Remember, no two buildings are same – they have different challenges due to
different constraints and requirements all are met when producing a design and
developing it into a set of drawings that are used to construct on site.
Imagine if a bridge was designed using criteria for a house (like a house) –
will it be able to stand under that load of you car or large vehicles? No not
at all. And also against the Mother Nature, pressure from wind and storms,
which can topple the building over just like a stack of cards, if not designed
properly. I make sure through testing and prove using numerical calculations –
not one or two sets but many many sets. It is even more fun with the latest
Building Information modeling (BIM) techniques where the whole idea is
developed in 3-dimensional format, not only improving the design quality of
structures making sure they are even more safe and environmental friendly with
less costs.
Then I put together a
list of things in form of a specification
making sure high standard material is used suitable for the job, adaptable with
its surroundings. All is put together in form of detailed drawings that shows
each an every thing that is to be built
on site with high safety.
I – design, construct, repair,
conserve and convert. Yes, I am a proud structural engineer.
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