Courses & Seminars

Preparing for the Corporate Membership Examination - some notes from the past


1.0 When TIME is of the essence.

1.01 The examination that you are about to take is different from any you may have already taken. For a start it is a test of your competence as an Engineer. In a way it has an objective similar to that of a driving test – when your driving skills are tested the overall objective is to see whether or not you can be set free to drive on your own. The overarching objective of the Part 3 Corporate Membership Examination is to test your skills to see if you can be set free to engineer structures on your own.

1.02 If you have not read the Institutions publication ‘Aims of Structural Design’ you must do this immediately.

ACTION: Obtain a copy of the Institution’s AIMS OF STRUCTURAL DESIGN 2nd Edition (1987)
Read it with a highlighter pen – mark all points that you feel are important and those points that make an impression on you.
Carry this publication every where you go. Read it while you are waiting.
You should read it at least once every week between now and when you go into the exam.
Keep marking it – write in the margins your new impressions.

1.03 If you are under the delusion that you have to produce a set of calculations that completely show the design of a structure you have not read a past question and you have no idea of what is coming. Your delusion will fail you in this examination.

ACTION: Obtain a copy of a past paper – last year’s if possible – and read and mark, with a highlighter, the statement titled: “A Reminder from Your Examiners”.
Note that there is a capital R and capitals ‘Y’ and ‘E’ in the title of this statement. The examiners are making a personal contact with you, before you start the exam; they give to you all the pointers that you need so that you know HOW they are going to mark your examination paper. It is a ‘reminder’ to you, nobody else, but YOU. Take it as a personal reminder.
Read paragraph 3 - it starts “The unusual requirement of the examination…” - and learn it by rote, be able to recite it parrot fashion, but also be fully aware of the message being given to you. (If you are not sure of the message refer back to point 1.01 above.)

1.04 Do you think that you will have seven hours to answer the question of your choice? GIVE YOUR ANSWER HERE: …………………………..

1.05 If you think that you have seven hours to answer the question you are wrong. You will have seven hours from the time you open the paper until you are told to stop seven hours later. Your actual work on the question will be about 6.5 hours. Where do you lose the half-hour? Before you can choose a question you will need to read all the questions. Using your strengths and skills you should choose to attempt that question that is most suitable for you.

1.06 How long will it take you to read a question? That depends on the preparation you have put in to ‘reading the question’ before you go into the exam! Have you noticed the format of ALL questions? It consists of:

(a) A ‘figure’;
(b) Client’s requirements – please realise that you MUST meet the Clients requirements. If it states that the maximum clear height is to be 4.0m you must ensure the maximum clear height is 4.0m;
(c) Imposed Loading – if you are given the imposed loads YOU still have to work out the ‘self-weight’. How quick can you work out the self-weight of a 300mm square beam in concrete, in timber, in masonry? Time yourself by increasing or decreasing the size of the element.
(d) Site Conditions – Draw little sketches if you are having difficulty interpreting the site conditions.
(e) Omit from consideration – This does not mean you forget about the consideration! If the consideration has an effect, say it does, then get on with your design; do not design it in if you have been told to ‘omit’ it.
(f) THE QUESTION.

1.07 You can see there are 7 parts to the question. If each part took 20 seconds to read then each question takes about 2 minutes. If there are six questions then the ‘question reading period’ is 12 minutes. Ideally you want to try and get this time period down to 10 minutes. The next five minute period is crucial – you must choose a question, read it and develop a clear understanding of the question.

1.08 For your chosen question you now need to plan out your answer – there are two plans required - a time plan and an action plan.

1.09 Your time plan should be based on the marking plan given to you by the Examiners. It is shown on the question. Your action plan should be based on your answer.

1.10 The TIME PLAN can be worked out before you go into the exam! Look at a typical Part 3 question. It is always in two parts – PART 1 and PART 2. Notice that each part is capitalised and in ‘bold’ type. This is done so that you can see you have TWO parts to the exam. In the “Notes to Candidates” on the front cover of the Question Paper the first note is normally in capitals and reads: “TO PASS THE EXAMINATION, CANDIDATES MUST SATISFY THE EXAMINERS IN BOTH PARTS OF THE QUESTION ATTEMPTED”. This is so important I will repeat it:

“TO PASS THE EXAMINATION, CANDIDATES MUST SATISFY THE EXAMINERS IN BOTH PARTS OF THE QUESTION ATTEMPTED”.

And just so that you will not forget the screaming advice being given that you must pass both parts of the question, here it is for a third time:

“TO PASS THE EXAMINATION, CANDIDATES MUST SATISFY THE EXAMINERS IN BOTH PARTS OF THE QUESTION ATTEMPTED”.

1.11 As you are under an instruction to pass both parts of the question it is reasonable to assign your time in proportion to the marks being awarded. If the marks are awarded as 40 to PART 1 and 60 to PART 2, then your time allocation becomes:-
PART 1: [6.5 x 60min x 0.4] = 156min, say 150min ie 2.5hours
PART 2: [390 – 150] = 240min ie 4hours

1.12 Did you realise that you need to finish the first part of your question within 2.5hours to earn 40 marks? Put this into a reality vision, if you start the exam at 9.30 am, then at 12.15am you MUST STOP working on PART 1 of your question. You MUST START on PART 2 immediately; give yourself a minute, and at 12.16am start on PART 2. You then have until 1.00pm before a break of 30 minutes.

1.13 Take the break! Feed and water your body, but rest your mind. Do not try and ‘work through’ it does not work.

1.14 Starting at 1.30pm you have a further 3.25 hours to finish PART 2. You MUST STOP working on PART 2 at 4.45pm.

1.15 You have the first part of your TIME PLAN but how do you refine it? Have YOU looked at the format of each PART of the question? Have YOU considered what YOU are being examined on?

1.16 Consider PART 1. It is divided up into two sections, (a) and (b). In section (a) your ability to “prepare a design appraisal” is being examined. The pressure is on because you have to prepare TWO schemes and these must be “distinct” and “viable”.

ACTION: You must obtain a copy of the “Structural Engineer” Volume 84, Number 3, 7 February 2006 and READ and MARK the whole of page 12. This ‘exams update’ titled “Exams – your questions answered” has a section called “3. How ‘distinct’ is distinct?” If you have any doubt in your mind what is meant by ‘distinct’ this section will clear your doubt and help you to understand what is required. READ it every time you attempt a PART 1(a) question between now and the exam.

1.17 Also in PART 1 (a) you have to be able to clearly show “functional framing” “load transfer” and “stability” aspects. I remind you that “A picture is worth a thousand words”. If you have not been practising your sketching you are heading towards a “fail” in the exam.

ACTION: You must purchase a sketch-book, one that fits in your pocket or, for ladies, your handbag. You need a softer pencil than a HB, actually you will need about half a dozen pencils and a pencil sharpener – but not an eraser. Keep the pencil long; do not work with a short and stubby one, with such, working under pressure, your hand will tire quicker. Throughout each day between now and the exam you should spend a cumulative one hour, in blocks of ten minutes, sketching – it can be anything that is inanimate but spend time on connections, visual aspects of structures, practice three dimensional sketching and vanishing points and construction details. With regard to the latter work out the difficult construction details; an inexperienced Engineer can do a typical cross-section through a wall but it is at corners, internal and external, that problems occur on site and it is in these details that an Engineer will show his experience.

ACTION: You must obtain a copy of the article “Air raids, structures and A. R. P. in Barcelona today” by Cyril Helsby, M.I.Struct.E. You will find it is a paper “read before The Institution of Structural Engineers on Tuesday December 20th 1938.” It is found in the “The Structural Engineer” January 1939 pages 2 to 39. In this article you should study Figures 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 17, 18 and some of the accompanying photographs. The latter for obtaining an understanding of collapse of masonry built structures. The sketches made by Helsby are an art form in themselves, they can be even more appreciated when you realise he was there when the bombs were falling and so must have been under some emotional pressure – and you think you are under pressure in your exam!
Underlined figures are a must to study and figure 10 is the ‘touchstone’ to reach. {The paper is in the Institution’s ‘Archive’ section that can be reached from the on-line Structural Engineer.}

1.18 If Helsby had to describe his sketches his presentation would not have had the impact it has. “A picture is worth a thousand words”. If you have to use words to let the Examiner know what you know, you will not succeed in the allotted time. PRACTICE, PRACTICE and more PRACTICE, sketching.

1.19 Have you queried when you should read the questions? If you have read some recent papers you are instructed as to when you can read the questions. Are you going to revise section 1.05 above? You were not expecting this were you? Answers…………………………………………

1.20 The final requirement of PART 1 (a) forces you to make a decision. You have to put forward a cogent argument based on what you have written. Remember that COST may not be the governing choice – constantly ask yourself “Are MY solutions satisfying the Client’s brief?” Obviously if they do not you cannot put forward a cogent argument for your scheme – your inexperience will show. If your schemes are satisfying the Client’s brief then you can consider the general requirements of serviceability, safety, robustness, stability, cost and construction techniques etc.

1.21 How long is PART 1 (a) going to take you? Actually that is not the right question to ask. “How long do you think you have to do PART 1 (a)?” is the more appropriate question!

1.22 PART 1(b) is not as easy as you first think. You have to write a letter. This letter is a response to “IF this happens, WHAT will you advise?”

1.23 When did you last write a letter – without the aid of a computer/typewriter? This part of the question is testing your communication skills. Can you convey to a Client, who has little idea of structural design, your advice in understandable English? It is the Client that has to understand the content of your advice not the Examiner; remember that when you are writing the letter. Ask yourself “Will the Client understand this?” Do not fall into the trap of saying to yourself “The Examiner will know what I mean.” He may, but the question is testing YOUR ability to explain a technical solution in non-technical terms to a Client, NOT the Examiner’s skill of interpretation.

ACTION: You must copy at least two pages of A4 print, each day, as fast as you can. Time yourself. At the end of the writing give your copy to a colleague and ask them if they can read it. If any part is illegible you will probably fail the exam. An Examiner can not mark what cannot be read. You have to be able to write fast and write legibly at the same time. If you are not practising your handwriting then you must BEGIN NOW. You must develop your writing hand before – not in the exam. Your handwriting must be legible. (Write neatly, 100 times: “MY handwriting must be legible.”)

1.24 If you have not had any practice at letter writing, or never been taught how to write a ‘business letter’ you are referred to: “The Oxford Guide to Writing and Speaking – the key to effective communication” by John Seely (OUP 1998). The second chapter is very instructive about how to structure your letter. Seely gives three parts: Introduction, Body and Conclusion.

ACTION: You must set yourself the task of writing a letter every other day. You are to respond to “IF this happens, WHAT will you advise?” So for example, you could set yourself the following:
“The costs are complete for a two storey residential masonry walled, concrete floored structure when the Client requests confirmation that increasing the structure to a four storey structure on the same footprint is only going to double the cost.” {Choose your best and worst ground conditions; disproportionate collapse conditions etc.}
“IF this happens, WHAT will you advise?”
“After completion of the floor slab in a portal framed building it was found that the nearest boundary was 5m instead of the 10m shown on the details. The Client asks what effect is this is going to have on the fire resistance of the structure?”
“IF this happens, WHAT will you advise?”
You must make up another five scenarios for your letters.

1.25 Consider your action plan for PART 1. Your ACTION PLAN: for part (a) you must:
i. prepare a design appraisal
ii. sketching
iii. show two distinct and viable solutions that fulfil all of the Client’s requirements
iv. sketches
v. clearly show ‘functional framing’, load transfers, stability
vi. sketched
vii. decide with reasons which solution, in your opinion, is the best – note that reasons is plural so you need at least two reasons but you should aim for at least five.
You can see that in this section you have at least four elements (three topics and sketching) in each solution and then you have a decision.

1.26 Your ACTION PLAN: for part (b) you must:
i. prepare an introduction – this should succinctly outline the Client’s brief
ii. write legibly
iii. construct the body of the letter. This gives your cogent arguments and responses to the different aspects of the brief. Use paragraphs that logically flow to answer the Client’s matter
iv. write legibly
v. reach a conclusion and you must make sure that any required action(s) are spelt out so that the Client understands the full situation.
You can see that your time has to be divided between the three elements of the letter. The ‘body of the letter’ will need more time than the other two elements.

1.27 It is reasonable to concede that parts (a) and (b) will not attract a 50/50 split of the marks. If you think that (a) attracts 70 to 75% of the marks you need to use about 105mins. (1.75 hours) on this part of the question; 60% is 90 minutes (1.5hours).

1.28 Your TIME PLAN for PART 1 could be as follows:

PART 1 (a): 1.5 hours minimum; 1.75 hours maximum.

PART 1 (b): 1.0 hour maximum; 0.75 hour minimum

A PRACTICAL QUESTION FOR THE CHARTERED MEMBERSHIP EXAMINATION

In 1935 a paper was presented by F S Snow to the Annual Conference of the Institution of Structural Engineers held on the 9th May. It was titled “Modern Methods of Flat Construction”. It is reported in the Structural Engineer, May 1935, pp230 – 245 inclusive. You must read this article and make notes about the article before answering the following question.

Client’s Brief:

The block of flats have been purchased by a Developer who proposes to demolish the superstructure of the Snow Flats and build a new block of Apartments using modern methods of construction. The new footprint must match the old footprint of the building.

Section 1

(a) Prepare a design appraisal with appropriate sketches indicating four distinct and viable solutions for the proposed structure including the foundations. Indicate clearly the functional framing, load transfer and stability aspects of each scheme. Identify the solution you recommend, giving reasons for your choice. (40 marks)

(b) After the foundations have been installed the Developer discovers that the Planners require a further two stories to be added to his proposal. Write a letter to the Developer explaining how the design and construction would be modified to accommodate the change. (10 marks)

Earthquake Seminar PDF