Costing for the special issue

Particulars	2000 copies Amount (INR)
Printing 2000 copies of a full four colour magazine of with 4 title pages on 300 gsm matt art card with matt lamination and 64 inside pages on 130 gsm art paper.	95,000
Postage Cost	50,000
Review, Editing & Designing Cost	75,000
Other administrative expenses like electricity, telephone, marketing expenses etc. Including incidentals	25,000
TOTAL	2,45,000

Launch of special issue titled "Developments in Earthquake Engineering in India"

Under the aegis of Indian Association of Structural Engineers, its Structural Engineering Digest team in Gujarat will be launching a special issue titled "Developments in Earthquake Engineering in India" in the first week of December 2012.

The issue will focus on developments in the Structural Engineering field in the Indian subcontinent, and would like to invite technical articles, technical notes, recent developments/innovation/activities and projects, letters, and other articles of interest on the above field.

Important dates
Expression for joining the team : April 2012
Submission of synopsis: March 2012
Submission of articles: May 2012
Review of articles: Aug. 2012
Initimation to authors about publishing of articles: Oct. 2012
Print date: Dec. 2012

The issue will be distributed across India. At present we are looking for sponsorships and collaborations from leading institutions and companies.

Please contact chandra@quakeschool.org for any queries

Technical Discussion on “Proof Checking/ Third party Audit of Structural Design” on 30.06.2011, New Delhi, India

Proof Checking or third party audit of structural design is in practice to ensure correctness of design. Many government departments and development authorities have made it mandatory for granting permission for construction. Being in the profession of structural engineering we have our own experiences. Some of us might be working as proof consultants as well. But…

Are we clear about the concept and scope of proof checking?

Do we have some guidelines for proof checking /vetting of structural design?

Do all stakeholders namely structural designers, proof consultant, owner/client are clear about their role and responsibilities?

What are various methods and models of proof checking?

There are many more such issues. In view of the above Indian Association of Structural Engineers has organized a technical discussion on this topic as per details given below:

Day: Thursday, 30^th June 2011

Time: 5.00 PM

Duration: around 90 minutes

Venue: CDC Lecture Room

Core 4 B, 2^nd Floor, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi 110003

Clause on Construction failure in IS 875-Part5

Building collapses are attention grabbers. Recent building collapses, in China, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad, were in news, we all felt this, and shouted hoarse. These collapsed buildings were under construction. Most such collapses recently in news, at least I have found, were under construction. This is bad.

In my opinion I would like to recall IS 875-Part 5 which is a code, please note just a 'code', a probable prescribed way of conduct in this country, stating this in its clause 5.1. Can a code get simpler?

I am breaking and rewriting clause 5.1. below which is a few sentences. Please comment or add if you can.

5.

STRUCTURAL SAFETY DURING CONSTRUCTION

5.1.

All loads required to be carried by the structures or any part of it, due to storage or positioning of construction materials and erection equipment including all loads due to operation of such equipment, shall be considered as erection loads.

Proper provision shall be made, including temporary bracings to take care of all stresses due to erection loads.

The structure as a whole and all parts of structure in conjunction with the temporary bracings shall be capable of sustaining these erection loads without exceeding the permissible specified in respective codes of practice.

Dead load, wind load and such parts of imposed load as would be imposed on the structure during the period of erection shall be taken as acting together with erection loads.

***

Building Collapse in China

There is an increased reporting in news about building collapses. After the collapse in Ahmedabad, India, a news mentions of a building collapse somewhere in China.

It appears that this building also was construction.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/three-killed-in-china-building-collapse/743529/

What are the technical nature of these collapses? Are these to become a common phenomenon?

Comments and write-ups invited.

Building collapse at Saudagar ni Pol, Kalupur, Ahmedabad

A five story building collapsed in Ahmedabad resulting in deaths and injuries. And newspapers are filled with reports. There is a buzz around in town as well. Try Google for news and updates.

It is apparent that blame is on everyone.

Some technical reporting would surely help in understanding what went wrong that the building had to collapse. Purely technical. One can concentrate on completely technical parameters and give a neutral view.

Would any member like to take this up?

A general communication

We are looking for the next issue to be rolled out in both web and print mediums soon. I hope the web hosting issue is solved until then, and 1000 copies are rolled out in print. Both mediums have their own advantages and disadvantages which are understood and utilized, and one can look forward to both.

We have prepared a small budget of 2(Two) Lakh Rupees, which is nothing compared to the sheer energy, time, heart, and your names we are putting into this work.

I would like to give you a simplified view to the digest. Pages will be covered in following broad categories:

1. Font and Back Cover
2. Editorial and Association communication
3. Technical papers
4. Other articles such as technical notes, book reviews, and other light-weight material
5. Advertisements, announcements, news, Professional development

Any comments are welcome. Please look to contribute, either in ink or from the pocket.