Application of IT to Technology Transfer

Members will no doubt be aware that, some while ago, an Institution ‘CDM Task Group’ was formed to examine ways in which information and advice on the CDM Regulations could be disseminated to members. To gauge the needs of members in this respect, workshops have been held by several local branches of the Institution, and the results of these are currently being assessed; it is envisaged that areas of concern, as expressed by those present at the workshops, will be addressed through the pages of The Structural Engineer in the near future. In the meanwhile, however, some of the most frequently expressed areas of concern are addressed below. M.J. Stokes

Increasingly, structural engineers are required to work in virtual construction project teams which are not collocated. In many cases, these transient project teams (which collaborate for relatively short periods in the design and construction of a facility) are geographically distributed in locations which span several continents and time zones. In these situations, information and communications technologies have an important role to play. This paper reviews the newer and emergent information and communications technologies which structural engineers need to appropriate as they seek to operate in the evolving cyberspace. C.J. Anumba and A. Duke

Various arrangements of braced steel I-beam assemblies (without rigid decking) occur at the construction stuges of composite bridges and in many permanent structures. Design difficulty relating to the preservation of stability and dimensional tolerance (avoiding overstress) for these structures has been experienced and witnessed. This paper identifies appropriate methods for checking the adequacy of typical steelwork arrangements. E. Jeffers