IFESS: a computer tool to aid structural engineers at the conceptual design stage

The conceptual stage of building design is where the most important decisions are made, for example, in determining the choice of structural elements such as floors. However, decisions made at this stage, particularly those involving costs and speeds, are often based on subjective judgement, rules of thumb and familiarity. This paper reports on the development of a computer spreadsheet tool that employs a more objective and systematic procedure in selecting concrete floors at the conceptual design stage, in which costs and speeds are quantitatively evaluated using, respectively, the method of elemental estimating and a simple bar chart technique, but in conjunction with a specially developed “lead-in index”method. The results of the evaluation are then tabulated and systematically ranked to facilitate selection of the best floor system. The tool would thus assist engineers to make a more well-informed and rapid choice of floor systems at the early design stage