The Impact of CIMSteel on the Design Process

Within the CIMsteel project, design has been defined as ‘The creation of the information necessary for manufacturing to begin’. Thus a wide range of tasks has been undertaken with the general aim of improving the quality of that design information. Table l lists the specific tasks, each intended to address at least one of the following objectives:
- anticipating the introduction of EC3 and EC4 as the principal reference sources of design information for steel and composite construction.
- recognising that several aspects of more detailed structural design were not fully covered by current provisions
- improving the awareness of designers as to the consequences of their decisions on the downstream construction processes
- utilising up-to-date methods for the creation and transfer of the design information
- recognising the growing importance of IT as the medium to facilitate the undertaking of these tasks

D.G. Brown and Professor D.A. Nethercot