With the demise of the traditional apprenticeship programs the opportunities for aspiring structural detailers has become somewhat limited. The apprenticeship programs offered an ideal environment for training, offering guidance from experienced colleagues and supervisors and exposure to the fabrication workshops and on-site erection teams, so the apprentice detailer learnt not only HOW to draw, but WHAT to draw and how it should be presented.
There are of course numerous training and education opportunities available, but they are not always consistent and vary widely in their curricula and focus. Some are little more than CAD training, while others do focus on structural steel but they often deviate from what is considered Best Practice.
Another cause for concern, is that there is very little reference material available for the detailer – some of which is excellent, but a lot is often fragmented, incomplete, or not relevant to your search.
Here at structuraldetailer.com our mission is to try and get as much of this information out there as possible, which will hopefully be of benefit to both aspiring and professional detailers alike. Our focus is what is considered to be Best Practice and to define the structural detailer’s role in the industry.
More than that, we will show you how to Integrate these principles into the latest 3D CAD technology using Parabuild where you will be able to apply the principles of 3D modelling and the automatic generation of General Arrangement Drawings, Workshop Details, Bills of Material and CNC NC files for automated workshops.
The Authors
The technical editor, Malcolm Kiernan has over 40 years experience in the steel construction industry, working on a multitude of projects around the world in the industrial, commercial and residential sectors.
After graduating from Brixton College in London he went on to begin a career in the steel construction industry working up from draftsman to design engineer for numerous projects including: the Moab Khotsong mining project. At the time, the largest and most innovative Greenfields mining project in the world.
Responsibilities included: Managing the design office, supervision of concept and detailed design, liaison with contractors, sub-contractors and third party consultants.