Many buildings and other structures include structural components that are parts of suspended scaffold and rope descent systems used to gain physical access to elevated areas. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) federal regulations include many provisions related to the design and evaluation of suspended scaffold systems and related items such as equipment tieback and lifeline support anchorages. While many of the relevant OSHA provisions are clear and consistent, several important structural requirements are either unclear, inconsistent with one another, or both. However, the International Building Code (IBC) is very clear on the structural requirements for the design and load testing of façade access support equipment (FASE). The different types of FASE consist of davit and davit bases (Figure 1) and fall arrest anchors (Figure 2). The purpose of the FASE is to support the suspended system, including powered platforms (Figure 3), rope descent systems (RDS) (Figure 4), and lifelines. This article provides specific commentary concerning the OSHA and IBC structural provisions regarding FASE design and load testing and presents proper approaches to load testing of FASE.

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To Top Rail or not to Top Rail

The engineering of guardrails has generally been straightforward ever since they were first addressed in building codes. Even the earliest building codes, like the Uniform Building Code (UBC) and the Building Officials and Code Administrators’ (BOCA) National Building Code, had live load requirements for typical handrail and guardrail scenarios.

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Ways to Ensure Deployed Flood Barriers Work

Imagine spending millions of dollars on flood protection but, when a storm approaches, the deployable flood barriers cannot be installed in time. Learning from experience and adding some common sense helps reduce the risk of improperly deploying flood barriers. Storage, maintenance, and deployment execution are the primary considerations for barrier selection and must be vetted fully during preliminary and final design to reduce operational challenges. Labeling and storing components in a readily accessible position and having deployment plans that are well thought out promote the flood mitigation system’s overall success. Deployment-related risks can be decreased by minimizing the number of components assembled in the field.

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Structural engineering education includes fundamental principles of mechanics of materials and structural analysis that help engineers to understand and design structural members and systems. Occasionally, it is necessary to wander into design considerations outside of the structural realm, such as corrosion protection and serviceability. Still, rarely are structural engineers taught to prioritize constructability as a primary focus of structural design. This consideration often comes with experience as it is learned that the most efficient or elegant structural solution is not always the easiest to construct or (arguably more important) the least expensive. Structural engineers’ limited education on masonry materials and limited exposure to masonry construction processes can magnify installation issues. This article highlights how engineers can avoid some of the most common constructability issues with modern structural masonry.

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A recent webinar on the “10% Rule” included in the 2018 International Existing Building Code (IEBC), attended by the author, discussed an exception in the code’s Section 502.5 that allows existing structural elements to remain unaltered if an addition to that structure results in a less than 10% increase in the element’s demand-to-capacity ratio. After the webinar, there remained the question, where was the companion webinar, the “5% Rule?” The 5% rule, otherwise known as the Prescriptive Compliance Method, is more straightforward and widely used. It is contained in IEBC Section 502.4 and states the following: …

Engineering schools routinely train young engineers in new systems and materials to prepare them to enter the workforce. However, renovations and adaptive reuse of existing buildings are often overlooked or omitted in an already packed undergraduate schedule. The reality of construction today is that there is a high probability that most engineers will, at some point in their careers, work in some capacity on an existing building. Especially in dense urban environments, or in the older parts of the country with a large stock of existing structures, it is often a better use of resources and more respectful of the environment to reuse and adapt an existing building. …

Since 2004, there have been 10 hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean that have each caused over $20 billion in damage. Since the late 1800s, sea levels have risen by 10 inches (250mm) and are expected to continue to rise, according to the National Aeronautics and Scape Administration (NASA). Because of this, Departments of Transportation, transit authorities, and private owners have decided it is necessary to add robustness and reliability to new and existing infrastructure, some of which are over 100 years old. …

The wheels of change turn slowly when it comes to government regulations. For federal highway infrastructure, some of the regulations for new construction have not been modified for decades, but developments in the past two years regarding the adhesive anchor industry are nothing short of a sea change. The most significant development was the issuance of a new technical advisory for bridges and structures by the Federal Highway Administration in January of 2018 (T5140.34). It establishes new guidelines for the installation and inspection of adhesives used in new and existing federal-aid projects. An additional development involves ongoing efforts by the federal government to strengthen the standards used under the Buy American Act. This article explains the recent history of state-by-state regulations in the industry, the review and adoption progress for the new regulations, and the significant impact of the developments on the formulation, specification, and use of anchoring adhesives. …

Design and Construction Considerations

Existing owners often consider repositioning options for their buildings to serve an ever-evolving tenant market, accommodate new building uses, improve pedestrian circulation and accessibility, increase rentable tenant space, and more. Often, these buildings are served by an abutting above-grade parking structure, which can prevent horizontal expansion unless portions of the garage are removed to accommodate the expansion. …

Urban areas are becoming more densely built: consequently, surface space is less available. The United Nations recently projected that 68% of the world’s population would live in urban areas by 2050 (up from 55% at present). Thus, it is expected that cities, counties, and states will increasingly look to underground structures as alternatives to surface infrastructure to address space constraints. The increase in the number and extent of tunneling projects also increases the complexity of urban infrastructure development, necessitating structural and geotechnical or tunneling engineers to collaborate closely to deliver an efficient and practical design while managing impacts on existing structures. …