Civil Engineering and ConstructionStructural Engineering for Non Structural Engineers
Plant teams regularly ask a building to carry something it was never meant for: a new tank on a mezzanine, solar panels on an old roof, a core cut through a slab for a pipe. This course gives mechanical, electrical, process and project staff enough structural intuition to recognise when such a change needs proper engineering input and to brief it well. Using physical demonstrations and sketches rather than heavy mathematics, delegates explore how loads travel to the ground, why beams bend and columns buckle, what tension, compression and stability mean in steel, timber, masonry and concrete, and how wind and vibrating machinery affect equipment supports. Later sessions cover reading structural drawings, warning signs that something is overloaded, and the questions to put to a consulting engineer. Delegates leave able to hold an informed conversation about structural risk.
Course objectives
- Explain how loads travel from roofs and floors through beams and columns to the foundations
- Describe bending, shear, tension, compression and buckling in plain physical terms
- Recognise how steel, timber, masonry and concrete behave differently under load
- Identify plant changes such as new equipment, openings and roof additions that require structural review
- Read general arrangement and member schedules on structural drawings
- Recognise visible signs of overload, movement and distress in buildings and supports
- Prepare a clear brief and set of questions for a consulting structural engineer
Who should attend
- Mechanical and electrical engineers in plants and facilities
- Process and production engineers planning equipment changes
- Project and facilities managers
- Architects and architectural technologists
- Maintenance planners and plant superintendents
Course outline
- 01Why structures stand up: load paths
- 02Forces in members: bending, shear and axial load
- 03Stability, bracing and buckling
- 04How common building materials behave
- 05Wind, vibration and equipment supports
- 06Reading structural drawings
- 07Openings, new loads and plant modifications
- 08Warning signs and when to call an engineer
Scheduled sessions
| Dates | Venue | Format | Price | Register |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 to 20 November 2026 | Online | Online | R8,500 per delegate | |
| 7 to 11 December 2026 | Nairobi, Kenya | Classroom | USD 1,325 per delegate | |
| 8 to 12 February 2027 | Kigali, Rwanda | Classroom | USD 1,325 per delegate | |
| 22 to 26 February 2027 | Johannesburg, South Africa | Classroom | R19,950 per delegate | |
| 8 to 12 March 2027 | Pretoria, South Africa | Classroom | R19,950 per delegate |
Structural Engineering for Non Structural Engineers
From R8,500