BCSA offers IStructE exam help

The British Constructional Steelwork Association (BCSA) and Steel for Life have commissioned the Steel Construction Institute (SCI) to help engineers taking the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) exam by delivering a series of model answers that present steel solutions for selected questions from previous membership examinations.

Each model answer is contained within a stand-alone publication that includes: a summary of the question; the development of the required solutions; the design calculations for the principal structural elements, along with a commentary and drawings, such as general arrangement plans, sections and elevations.

Other required documentation such as method statements, construction programmes and client letters are also included in the model answers.

SCI Associate Director David Brown said: “The Institution’s examination can appear very demanding, requiring the preliminary design of all the major elements in a structure including foundations.

“Drawings, a method statement, a construction programme and a letter to the client must also be completed in a very limited period, making the whole event very challenging. Usually, there will be some requirement which adds complexity to the schemes.

“These model answers should be a real help in showing how a steel solution can be prepared.”

Candidates for the IStructE exam must demonstrate the validity of the training and experience they have acquired. Examiners must be satisfied that the candidate has conveyed an understanding of structural engineering principles, an ability to initiate and communicate structural design and provide an effective solution to a structural design problem.

The second model answer is to Question 1 from July 2016, which was for a five-storey office building with an underground car park, and is now available at: http://www.steelconstruction.info/Continuing_Professional_Development#Model_answer s_to_IStructE_exam