K.K Mitra, Vice President, Lloyd Insulations (India) Ltd briefed on the Design
codes that govern the design procedures and calculations of pre engineered building.
Frame members (hot rolled or built-up) are in accordance with AISC (American Institute of Steel
Construction) Specifications for the design, fabrication and erection of structural steel.
Light gauge cold-formed members are designed in accordance with AISI (American Iron and Steel
Institute) Specification for the design of light gauge cold formed steel structural members.
IS: 8750 – 1987 : Code of practice for design loads of buildings & structures.
IS: 800 – 1984 : Code of practice for general construction in steel.
IS: 801-1975 : Code of practice for use of Cold formed light gauge Steel Structural Members in
general building Construction
Design software
The steel industry now offers custom-designed metal buildings to fulfil the
particular needs of each project. And with the advent of advanced software, the design possibilities have
become almost limitless in PEB structure design. For example, StruMBS from AceCad Software was
developed to address the need for pre-engineered building manufacturers to have access to an all
encompassing design, fabrication and construction software solution. Sanjey Gandhi, Sr. Design Engineer,
Exin Engineering Services, Ahmedabad, elaborates, “The StruMBS software delivers seamless interaction
between pre-engineered building design and detailing software (MBS), 3D real time project visualization and
project tracking (StruWalker) and the most comprehensive Management Information System for steelwork
fabricators (StruM.I.S). “
Likewise, Bentley’s STAAD Pro is one of the popular structural engineering software products for 3D model
generation, analysis and multi-material design. It has an intuitive, user-friendly, visualization tools, powerful
analysis and design facilities and seamless integration to several other modelling and design software
products. Staad pro meets the requirements of ISO 9001 certification and has building codes for most of the
countries and the general purpose software for integrated structural analysis and design. Zeppelin Mobile
Systems India Ltd is one of the companies using STAADPRO software for design and analysis of PEB. As
per the company, the software can easily calculate the live load, dead load, seismic load and wind load and
has been approved by various government departments and also by MBMA (Metal Building Manufacturer’s
Association).
Alternatively, some companies prefer using proprietary software which follow standard codes regulating
Indian building industry rather than international software options that are designed mostly as per American
standards. For instance, Zamil Industries, parent company of Zamil Steel Buildings India Pvt Ltd employs in-
house developed software including INTLEST (Intelligent Building Estimator) AGOSED (Automatic
Generator of Shop and Erection Drawings), ASFAD (Advanced Structural Frame Analysis and Design) and
EZ-Build.
Another of the software ‘MBS’ (Metal Building Software) offers complete
design and detailing of pre-engineered metal buildings (PEB). It does the design with choice of over 30 US
and international building codes and details the building according to customized detailing methods. MBS
also help create an accurate bill of materials and cost and develops a complete set of customized erection
drawings and detailed shop drawings along with 3D view. Manish Garg, President, PEB Division, Everest
Industries Ltd, says, “As the available versions of design soft ware for pre engineered buildings design were
not according to Indian codes, Everest Industries customized the software by Metal Building Software Inc.
(MBS), USA to develop a version that suited Indian geographical conditions. The Everest-MBS is now used
for designing all pre engineered steel buildings, which reduces design time significantly and eliminates error.”
For the similar reason, international software like AutoCAD Structural Detailing, built on the familiar
AutoCAD platform, too offers templates that comply with detailing practices in a multitude of countries
ensuring automatic adherence to local detailing methods and appropriate elements or material schedules.
Moreover, with direct links between AutoCAD Structural Detailing and Autodesk® Revit Structure software,
structural information within the building information model (BIM) can be extended from design directly to
fabrication.
Pre-engineered Advantages
Pre-engineered metal building concept has formed a unique position in the construction industry in view of it
being ideally suited to the needs of modern engineering and for providing economically viable large
enclosures with thermal and acoustical features. Some of the inherent advantages include:
Ability to span long distances: Structural trusses require substantial design and fabricating time in
comparison to PEB gabled structures than can span 100 ft or more in a cost-effective manner. The well-fitting
pre-engineered components are assembled by few construction workmen. Faster erection means less-
expensive field labour.
Cost efficiency: As each structural member is designed for near-total efficiency, it minimizes material
wastage. Less labour and less material translate into lower cost of up to 10 to 20% compared to conventional
building systems.
Flexibility of expansion: Metal buildings are relatively easy to expand by lengthening which involves
disassembling bolted connections and installing an additional clear-spanning frame. The removed end wall
framing can often be reused in the new location. Matching roof and wall panels are then added to complete
the expanded building envelope.
Low maintenance: A typical metal building system with pre-finished metal panels and standing seam roof is
easy to maintain. Metal surfaces are easy to clean and the modern metal finishes offer a superb resistance
against corrosion, fading and discoloration.
Single-source responsibility: The fact that a single party is responsible for the entire building envelope is
among the main benefits of metal building systems. The building owner or the construction manager does not
have to keep track of many different suppliers or worry about one of them failing in the middle of
construction. This convenience is a major selling point of the systems.
References: Design Concept of Pre Engineered Buildings by: Syed Firoz, Sarath Chandra Kumar. B, S.
Kanakambara Rao / International Journal of Engineering Research & Application (IJERA)