People often confuse the terms civil vs structural engineering because many people think both are basically civil engineering. Both fields are closely related, but still different. They work together on a project, but on different aspects. We will explore these further in this article. Civil engineers deal with the design and planning of the structure. While the focus of structural engineers is specifically on the framework of the project, and seeing if it has the required strength and stability. Both are engineers; do not confuse them with manual labour. These engineers lead the work and keep an eye on the progress.
For anyone who is planning a construction project, you are suggested to get Construction Estimating Services for cost estimation. The project can be a road construction, or it can be small, like building a house. Every construction project should be planned with an estimate of the total budget required for the project. Once the budget is known and available, you can start the construction without any worries. This article is about the two types of engineers, so let’s see how they are different.
Civil Engineers Explained:
Civil engineers are the designers of projects like roads and dams. Before starting a project such as making an airport, they focus on the environmental factors or the situation of the area where the project is to be made. Some basic roles of civil engineers are:
- They work from offices and go on-site occasionally to keep a check on the work.
- They are a medium of communication between architects and structural engineers.
- They plan and design large-scale projects.
- They deal with contractors and manage construction teams.
- They do feasibility studies.
- They conduct site analysis.
- They make sure that the projects align with the safety of the environment.
Structural Engineers Explained:
Structural engineers are the designers of the framework. They make sure that the building is strong enough to hold itself and withstand the natural forces it has to face. Natural forces such as wind or earthquakes. They make calculations that decide how the weight of the building will be overall distributed. Some basic tasks that are performed by structural engineers are as follows:
- They analyse the weight distribution on different parts of the structure to make sure it is balanced and safe for use.
- They design the framework.
- They choose the material for the process.
- They collaborate with architects on various points where both need to discuss.
When construction projects like such start where a structural framework is to be made, people often get help from Structural Estimating Services. They help you calculate the cost of materials that will be used in construction and the labour cost, depending on the scale of work. The basic reason why anyone who is involved in any sort of construction project should use an estimating service is accuracy. Accuracy is important in knowing the cost of material, and in knowing the cost of labour, etc.
Importance of Both in Construction:
Every single entity that is present on site is extremely important for the construction. It is a responsibility of every construction worker to do their job with utmost sincerity because every single person who is ever going to use that building, their safety is the responsibility of the workers. This shows how important their job is.
A civil engineer is responsible for designing the layouts and approving them, while a structural engineer approves the design if he believes that the design is accurate in terms of structure. He makes sure that this structure can withstand all the situations that a building has to go through. For example, the building should be able to stay unharmed in case of any natural disaster like an earthquake, or the weight in the building should be divided evenly. So both of the entities have their own jobs to do, which are extremely important, so we cannot say that this one is more important or this one is less important.
Conclusion:
The debate of civil versus structural engineering does not make sense to some extent. And the reason is that there is not a single person working in construction who is not essential. A worker first starts as a civil engineer, and later they can specialise in structures. It is similar to medical science where people do MBBS first and they specialise in some field, such as cardiology, later on. So, do you think that a Doctor who did MBBS can replace or do the work of a cardiologist? That does not make sense. This is a perfect example to explain how people who are specialised in certain fields are required on-site.