Highlights from the NASCC: The Steel Conference

I had the great pleasure of attending the NASCC:  The Steel Conference, hosted by AISC, in San Antonio, Texas this week. If you have an opportunity to attend this conference in the future, I highly recommend doing so.  It draws attendees from all segments of steel construction (e.g. designers, fabricators, erectors, and educators) and is a great networking and learning experience.  I'm excited to share with you some of my takeaways from this year's conference:

1. New AISC Manual - The 2016 AISC Steel Construction Manual will be released in Summer 2017, which means that if you've already taken steel design, some of what you learned is already becoming obsolete.  But, the good news is that most of the changes are essentially new nomenclature to more clearly express the same design concepts or revised equations to remove conservatism.  I think this is a prime example of the importance of continuing education.  Conferences, seminars, and webinars will help you stay up to date.  Information about all of the changes to the Manual will be available on www.steelstuff.com.  A new design example companion including design tables (some of which are being removed from the manual its self will be available on the AISC website at www.aisc.org/designresources.  Some of the changes discussed at the conference include:
1. The K factor for column stability has been removed.  Instead, the effective length will simply be represented by Lc rather than KL.
2. Changes to the procedure for checking b/t in compression design to better represent actual performance.
3. Chapter G has been fully revised.
4. Bolt classifications have been updated to reflect new ASTM designations.  The familiar A325 bolt is now a grade within A3125 bolts.
5. The standard hole size is now specified as 1/8" oversized relative to the bolt size rather than 1/16".  Fabricators may still use 1/16", but as a designer, you should design for the worst case (i.e. the larger hole causes the smallest net member section).
6. The new Manual will introduce what is being referred to as the "Super Table", which will provide tensile and flexural member strength together in one convenient table to expedite combined loading design.
7. And perhaps most notably, the new cover will be "steel blue".
2. Perspective on seismic design and graduate school - One of the exhibitors at the conference was a structural engineering firm from the midwest.  We struck up a conversation talking mostly about his firm and the type of work they do.  While the majority of their work is typical structural design for architects, approximately 20% of their work is specifically seismic connection design. As it turns out, east of the Rockies, where seismic is not as prevalent, and therefore is less familiar to most engineers (many do not take seismic analysis or design in undergrad), the structural engineer for a project computes the forces acting on each connection, but does not actually detail the connections.  Instead, the contractor hires a separate structural engineering firm with expertise in seismic connections.  What does this mean to you?  It means your experience in seismic design, which you will do a lot of here in California, may make you highly marketable if you choose to relocate eastward.  But perhaps of more importance, I asked whether his firm was looking to hire individuals with a B.S. or M.S.  His response?  "We are not opposed to hiring truly outstanding individuals with a B.S. [unlike some large firms who outright disregard applicants with only a B.S.], but there are so many applicants with M.S. degrees that we don't typically bother hiring someone with a B.S."  For those of you wishing to pursue a career in structural engineering, a M.S. degree is increasingly becoming the expectation of employers.  While you can still obtain positions at smaller design firms with a B.S. degree, you will undoubtedly be working along side engineers with a M.S. degree, who, as a result, will likely have an advantage over you in terms of their understanding of structural analysis and advancement.  Therefore, I implore you strongly consider investing in your future by attending graduate school.  
3. AISC Special Achievement Award - Of much personal importance to me, my PhD advisor, Amit Kanvinde, was awarded the AISC Special Achievement Award for his research including physical testing and analytical analysis of steel moment frame PJP column splices and base plates (as well as previous work), which have impacted AISC design provisions.  I was fortunate to play a role in the analytical portion of the PJP column splice study during my PhD program (See my post from 3/1/17).