Structural Engineering Firms

Simply put, the job of structural engineering firms is to make sure that man-made structures don't fall down. Buildings, bridges, tunnels, dams and even large machines like cranes need to be carefully designed to bear the loads to which they are subject. Because of the intricacies of each particular subfield, engineers often specialize in either bridge engineering or engineering for buildings. There are other specialties for pipes, dams, tunnels, and other types of construction.

Structural engineering firms plan structures from the ground up. The type of soil under a building is as important as the materials that go into the construction. The load-bearing capacity of all the steel, concrete, wood, or other materials have to be calculated exactly. Structural engineers have to know how the various elements of the structure will work together, so that no unsuspected weakness will develop as time goes on. The final construction has to stand up to wind, heat, cold, moisture, and even disasters such as earthquakes and flooding.

What Do Structural Engineering Firms Do?
Buildings bear two types of weight, the "live loads" (people and furniture) and the "dead loads" (weight of the structure itself). Structural engineering firms have to make buildings and all other weight-bearing structures safe for the people who will use them. In addition to preventing collapse, they have to make the buildings comfortable. Too much sway or vibration would make a building a difficult one in which to work or live.

Although most engineers design with the best of intent and to the best of their abilities, buildings do collapse. When this happens, structural engineering firms are brought in to investigate the failure. They need to learn exactly what happened to prevent the same thing from ever happening again. The firm hired for investigation doesn't necessarily have to be the same firm that built the structure. To learn more about structural engineering and its applications, contact The KPA Group at www.thekpagroup.com to learn more.