City Government of Addis Ababa
Construction Design, Building &
Consultation Enterprise
Structural Design Work Standard
August 2025
DESIGN TIME ESTIMATION FOR DIFFERENT BUILDINGS
It is required to estimate the time that will require for completing the structural design of
different buildings considering different cases.
To estimate the time required for structural design of buildings we have to see the procedures
that are made for designing of buildings and other structures.
Procedure of Structural Design
Introduction
The primary objective of structural analysis and design is to produce a structure capable of
resisting all applied loads without failure during its intended life. If improperly designed,
elements of a structure would fail causing serious consequences such as large expenses or
ultimately losses in lives which cannot be compared with any cost. Once the architectural
engineer sets the function and layout of the structure, the role of the structural engineer begins
which can be summarized in the following steps to develop safe, functional and economic
structures.
1. Design Code, Standards & Design Criteria
Knowing the design codes and design criteria that we will use at the start of our task is a must in
Structural Design. This is the basis and guidelines for designing a proposed project. Design code
to use in our design depends on the location of the project. Generally, the structural design
criteria adopted for the project is based upon the principle of the codes and standards.
References, supplementary codes, and local codes are also considered when required.
The most common design codes adopted by most countries are according to international codes
and standards like the IS code, British Standards, Euro Codes, American Codes, and Ethiopian
building code ES EN 2015. Each code has its sections intended according to its uses.
2: Conceptual design
An initial step a structural engineer will take is to review the drawings produced by the
architect/building designer. The engineer will look at the various types of units on a larger
multifamily project or the variety of room uses in a larger single family home or commercial
structure to have an idea of the various uses of a structure. In this stage, initial design of the
building elements (e.g. Slabs, beams, columns etc.) is performed based on code
recommendations.
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It starts with selecting the appropriate columns’ locations and orientation in such a way that
they do not interfere with the architectural drawings. For example, you do not want a column to
be in the middle of a room or something like that. Also, one should consider that at least 30% of
the total number of columns to be in either x- or y- directions to give adequate earthquake
resistance of the building.
After that, the type of structural system is selected. For instance, the slab might be chosen to be
solid slab, hollow block or flat slab etc. Accordingly, the locations of beams are determined.
Conceptual Design includes
Review Arch drawings
o Unit types
o Bearing walls stack?
Location requirements
o Soil report
o Exposure Category
o Wind Load
o Seismic Load
Initial design of building elements
o Roof, wall & floor layout per Arch drawings
o Footings & Slabs
o Bearing walls, Beams & Columns
3. Load Considerations and Calculation
After identifying the codes that we are going to use in the design, the next thing to consider is the
load considerations and calculations. The load considerations are depending on the type of
occupancy of the project. For example, the dead load (DL) that usually composed of the self-
weight of the member or a structure, the super-imposed dead load (SDL) that comprises of the
floor finishes and the weight of the partitions, and the live loads (LL) that constitutes the
movable loads that the structure may carry. Depending on how tall the project is, a wind load and
seismic load shall also be considered accordingly. These load consideration is being specified on
the design code and standards. In the case of the Ethiopian building code, ES EN 2015 can be
referred to.
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The load combinations that we are going to use are also being considered. The standard load
combinations according to Ultimate Limit State (ULS) and Working or Service Limit State
(SLS) are used. The ULS and SLS are being specified and available also in the codes.
4. Structural Modeling and Manual Design
Once the proposed framing has been finalized, we will verify the adequacy of it through
structural modeling. Using available structural software in the market, structural modeling can be
easily done. Using 3-dimensional modeling, structural software likes ETABS, SAP 2000 and etc.
It is convenient for the designer to extract the design forces needed in the design of structural
members such as the design of beams, slab, columns and the design of footings. The designer
can also perform other necessary checks accordingly. A spreadsheet of member design can also
be used.
Determining the internal forces of each element
After finishing the initial design, the exact dimensions of each building element shall be
determined. First, an analysis model is created for the building with its initial dimensions as
determined from STEP 1 on analysis software such as ETABS/SAP 2000.
All the loads that act on the structure have to be defined in the model such as dead loads, live load
from the model; the internal forces [Normal Force, Shear Force, and Bending Moments] on each
element are calculated.
Analysis model created (SAP 2000, CSI ETABS, CSI SAVF, Prota Structure etc.) by
assigning loads like:
o Dead loads
o Live loads
o Wind loads
o Seismic loads
Internal forces to be checked
o Axial forces
o Bending moments
o Shear force
o Drag force
o Combined forces
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5. Iterative design
Now you have the straining actions on the elements based on the initial sizing and simply, you
can use them to design according to the relevant code. The design process became so easy by
using some spreadsheets or any other software that facilitates the design.
Next, the analysis model should be modified to the new dimensions obtained from the previous
design and the analysis is re-run. Internal forces are obtained and design is made again based on
the new forces.
This iterative process is repeated until the element design is the same in two following iterations.
Structural modeling provides the design forces needed to design structural members. Hence,
design forces are readily available whenever to need it. Structural modeling already provides the
loads for member design, therefore, the structural engineer ought to design the reinforcement
beams according to these loads.
Additionally, checking the slab design, punching reinforcement, as well as checking the design
of vertical members such as shear walls and columns for buckling is imperative. More
importantly, SLS load combinations should be considered when designing the extracted forces or
column loads that the footing will carry.
Iterative Design
Design to code
Redesign Analysis model
Incorporate more accurate load paths
Final Designs
6. Foundation design
After the final dimensions of members are found, the foundation system type can be selected
taking in consideration, the bearing capacity of the soil and the loading coming from the
structure (column reactions) are used to design foundation.
7. Detailing
In this step, the structural plans are created. After completing all the above procedures, it is
necessary to represent the structure in structural drawings. The structural drawings are done by
the structural draftsman. The draftsman receives a draft of the design and structural schedule of
the framings and uses this draft to produce the structural drawings. Notably, it is necessary that
the structural engineer supervises these drawings; this is to ensure the drawings account for every
structuraldetail.
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Structural design work flow
Based on the above procedure and flow chart it is tried to estimate the time that will take to
complete the design of different buildings once every requirements (inputs) for the structural
design are mate i.e. AR drawings, soil reports, surveying data etc.
The estimation is based on
The experience of the designers
The complexity of the structure
The type of analysis made
The urgency of the work
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Estimated time for completion of structural design of different buildings
Category of Bldg./Structure G+0-B+G+0 B+G+1-B+G+3 B+G+3-B+G+5 B+G+5-B+G+10 B+G+10-B+G+15 B+G+15-B+G+20
[Link] Activities/works Estimated time for completion of ST. Design (Days)
1 Initiation
2 Understanding and checking AR drawings and all
soil data is available. 0.5 1 1 3 3 4
3 Identifying the type of structural system
4 Performing Load calculation 0.5 2 2 3 3 4
5 Modeling
6 Load assignment
1 3 4 4 6 8
7 Analysis
8 Post analysis checks
9 Designing
1 2 2 3 4 5
10 Post design check
11 Detailing 0.5 3 5 6 8 10
12 Checking detail drawing. 0.5 2 3 3 3 3
13 Preparing analysis and design reports
0.5 1 2 2 3 3
14 Submission all design data
15 Revising and if required. 0.5 1 1 2 3 3
Total 5 15 20 26 33 40
N.B:-The estimation is made by assuming the minimum time required to complete a medium complex structure.
