Section
Civil & Structural
Soil investigation, foundations for equipment and pipe racks, concrete grades, rebar, structural steel and paving.
- Topics
- 6
- Standards covered
- 20
Beginner
No prior knowledge assumed
Foundations — how the soil report decides what you build
Safe bearing capacity, shallow versus deep foundations, why vibrating equipment needs a different design, and what the civil engineer needs from the other disciplines.
Concrete and reinforcement — why the mix is the easy part
What concrete grade actually means, why the water-cement ratio decides almost everything, what cover is protecting, and why curing is the most neglected step on site.
Structural steel — sections, connections and why it must be fireproofed
How to read a steel section designation, what makes each shape good at its job, bolted versus welded connections, and why unprotected steel fails in a hydrocarbon fire in about ten minutes.
Plant layout, paving and drainage — decisions you cannot undo later
What a plot plan is actually deciding, why paving and slopes matter more than they look, and why a plant has four separate drainage systems that must never meet.
Intermediate
Builds on the basics
Underground services and excavation — the part of the plant nobody can see
What is buried under a plant and how it is protected, why trench collapse is the hazard that kills, and why backfill compaction decides whether a road is still level in ten years.
Inspecting and repairing structures — the other forty years
Construction is a small part of a plant's life. What degrades, why the worst mechanisms are the hidden ones, how risk-based inspection decides where to look, and why structures quietly become overloaded.