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Reading the engineering report

The calc package is built to be verified, not trusted. This page explains each part and what your licensed engineer does with it.

The header: one code edition set

Every design run is locked to a single, named set of code editions — e.g. IBC 2021 + ASCE 7-16 + AISC 360-16. Provisions from different editions are never mixed in one run. The criteria block lists every input — wind speed, exposure category, ground snow load, seismic parameters, importance factors — and each one can be overridden by your engineer before re-running.

Load calculations

Wind, snow, and seismic demands computed per ASCE 7-16 for your building's actual geometry and site. Nothing arrives as a bare number: every value shows the section it came from.

Member checks

AISC 360-16 strength checks for the sized members, reported as demand-over-capacity ratios. A member the engine could not verify is never silently substituted — it is flagged instead.

Calculation traces — the "no black boxes" rule

Every computed value in the package carries a trace: the inputs that went in, the formula used, the code citation (standard, edition, section or equation number), intermediate values, and the result. Your engineer checks the work instead of redoing it — that is the entire point.

Review flags

Anything outside the engine's validated envelope produces an explicit flag rather than a silent assumption. Flags come in three levels:

• Info — something worth knowing; no action implied.
• Warning — an input or result deserves a closer look.
• Engineer review required — a condition (partial enclosure, large openings, high seismic, missing table data, and others) the engine will not decide on its own. These never disappear on their own and are printed with the package.

Handing it to your engineer

Export the calc package as a PDF and send it with the drawing set. A typical review is: confirm the criteria block matches the site, spot-check traces, work the flagged items, and stamp or revise. The package is an accelerant for that work — never a substitute for it.

This software provides preliminary engineering calculations and design assistance only. Final design responsibility remains with the licensed professional engineer of record, who is responsible for verifying all inputs, assumptions, code criteria, load paths, connections, foundations, and final design documents.