Structural Engineering

The law requires from building owners to conduct regular structural inspections by a competent person.As part of the OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT 85 OF 1993, and CONSTRUCTION REGULATIONS, 2014, Clause 11, part 2 states:

An owner of a structure must ensure that-

• Inspections of that structure are carried out periodically by competent persons in order to render the structure safe for continued use;
• That the inspections contemplated in paragraph (a) are carried out at least once every six months for the first two years, and thereafter yearly;
• The structure is maintained in such a manner that it remains safe for continued use;
• The records of inspections and maintenance are kept and made available on request to an inspector;”

A competent person is defined as-

• “A person who has in respect of the work or task to be performed the required knowledge, training, experience and, where applicable, qualifications specific to that work or task: Provided that where appropriate qualifications and training are registered in terms of the provisions of the National Qualifications Framework Act,2000 (Act 67 of 2000), those qualifications and that training must be regarded as the required qualifications and training; and
• Is familiar with the Act and with the applicable regulations made under the Act.”

SiVEST has a team of Professionally Registered (Pr.Eng.) Structural Engineers who fulfil this requirement and can carry out these inspections to help you discharge your obligations in terms of the Act.

SiVEST Structural Engineering team has carried out these inspections for a variety of clients in the Public and Private Sectors for industrial, commercial, health, educational and residential buildings. Client references are available on request.

Structural Engineering is a small but critical part of the engineering for a rooftop solar project. It can make or break the feasibility of the project, or have significant effects on the system size and cost of racking.

During the past 5 years, SiVEST has conducted more than 160 roof studies for a range of clients in various sectors. Our aim is to supply the client with an objective report that covers the condition of the sheeting and substructure, as well as the structure’s ability to support the additional load.

Our methodology includes the following steps, however, these differ from building to building:

• Site assessment to record the condition of the structure and sheeting, types of materials, structural member sizes and roof geometry.
• Capacity calculations based on information gathered during the site investigation.
• Report regarding the findings, recommendation and photo records.

Our reporting will not only portray the amount of acceptable additional load, but should a roof has limited capacity, SiVEST will make recommendations to spread the load over certain areas, or suggest remedial works in order to increase the structure’s capacity.

SiVEST has a team of Professionally Registered (Pr.Eng.) Structural Engineers who fulfil this requirement, and can carry out these inspections to assist our clients to get a clear understanding regarding the condition and capacity of roof structures and cover. Our team has carried out these studies for a variety of clients in the Public and Private Sectors for industrial, commercial, health, educational and residential buildings.