Industrial Structural Engineering Services
High-pressure, quick turnaround, and don’t you dare come in over-budget.
You need a partner that can help you tackle those tough projects, maintain productions schedules, and make you look good in the process. At SAI, we get that. We get that you need a solution that meets code, uses minimal materials, utilizes common fabrication techniques, ships easily, and erects quickly. Our team has been delivering that for nearly three decades. Unique solutions for your unique problems by our uniquely qualified team of structural engineers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you design industrial mezzanines, or can you provide load ratings for existing ones?
Yes. We provide structural engineering and design for industrial mezzanines, including mezzanine structures intended to support equipment, storage, and occupied use. We design mezzanines to meet applicable building code requirements and the specific loads for your operation. We can also analyze the mezzanine to give it a load rating.
Do you design equipment platforms for robots and machinery?
Yes. We design custom equipment platforms for industrial equipment, including robotic equipment. Each platform is engineered for the actual equipment loads and forces, based on how the equipment will be supported, anchored, and used in service.
Can you design overhead crane runways and crane support structures?
Yes. We engineer crane support systems, including overhead crane runways, crane runway beams, gantry crane support framing, and related building modifications. We do not design the crane itself; we design and verify the structure that supports it. We can evaluate existing buildings for new crane loads and design reinforcing or an independent crane-support structure as needed.
Can you design for the removal of columns to open up space in a manufacturing facility?
Yes. We frequently engineer column removal projects to create open floor space for manufacturing processes, equipment layout changes, and workflow improvements. Column removal requires structural analysis and a new load path; we design solutions such as trusses or alternate framing to safely support the roof and floor loads.
Do you design press pit foundations?
Yes. We provide structural design for press pit foundations, including below-grade pits used for industrial presses. Designs are developed to support press loading requirements and to integrate with the surrounding building structure.
Do you design machine foundations?
Yes. We design machine foundations for industrial machinery. Common examples include foundations for robots, roll formers, stamping machines, coil-cutting machines, and CNC tables. Each foundation is engineered for the equipment’s operating demands and loading conditions.
Can you provide load ratings for existing racks or equipment tables?
Yes. We provide structural load ratings for existing racks and equipment tables that are not labeled. This is commonly requested for OSHA compliance, safety programs, and facility documentation. We can also evaluate an existing rack or equipment table when its use changes or when heavier equipment loads are being considered to determine whether it can safely support the proposed loads.
Do you design under-the-hook lifting devices (spreader bars and custom lifting rigs)?
Yes. We analyze existing and design new under-the-hook lifting devices such as spreader bars, lifting beams, and custom lifting rigs. These devices are engineered for the specific loads and lifting conditions of the intended lift and are not based on generic catalog assumptions.
Do you design industrial pits and trenches for equipment, conveyors, and utilities?
Yes. We design pits and trenches in industrial facilities to support equipment access, conveyor systems, utilities, and process requirements. Structural design is tailored to the facility conditions and the intended function of the pit or trench. We also design structural lids, covers, and access plates for pits and trenches, including covers intended to support foot traffic, forklifts, and other industrial vehicle loads where required.
Do you provide engineering for means and methods, shoring, and temporary bracing?
Yes. We provide engineering support for contractor means and methods, including temporary structures, shoring designs, temporary earth retention systems, scaffolding-related structural design, shoring posts, and wall bracing. Typical applications include supporting a roof during column removal, supporting a floor during beam replacement, shoring concrete floors during pours and erection, creating new openings in existing masonry, and bracing concrete tilt panels and precast concrete wall panels.
Do you design industrial stairs, ladders, and ship’s ladders?
Do you design industrial stairs, ladders, and ship’s ladders?
Yes. We provide structural engineering and design for industrial access systems, including stairs, fixed ladders, and ship’s ladders used in manufacturing and industrial facilities engineered to meet applicable building code and safety requirements, including the International Building Code (IBC) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) criteria, as applicable.
Do you engineer and seal structural connections?
Yes, we do, but we do not offer steel detailing or fabrication detailing services. We provide structural engineering for connections, but we do not offer structural detailing services. We frequently work with clients and third-party detailing firms who prepare shop drawings and connection details using industry-standard detailing software such as SDS2 and Tekla Structures.
In these arrangements, the detailing firm develops the connection details and incorporates our design criteria into their drawings. Once complete, we review the connection calculations and drawings, interpret the calculation packages generated by the detailing software, and provide engineering review. When the connections are revised to the satisfaction of one of our licensed professional engineers, we can seal the calculations and associated drawings as the engineer of record for the connection design.
In cases where detailing software is not capable of adequately designing a required connection, or where project conditions fall outside the software’s limitations, we will engineer the connection directly and provide the necessary calculations and design details for incorporation into the project documents.
Can you analyze an existing roof or floor to determine whether new process equipment or piping can be installed?
Yes. We regularly provide structural engineering support for process changes and retrofits in existing industrial and manufacturing facilities. This often includes evaluating whether existing roofs, floors, or framing systems can safely support new process equipment, piping, or utilities.
When new piping or equipment is added, we analyze the existing structure to determine its load‑carrying capacity and how the new loads interact with the original design. If the existing structure is adequate, we document that capacity. If it is not, we design the necessary structural modifications or reinforcements to safely support the new loads.
Our services often include designing custom structural supports, such as pipe trapezes, pipe racks, equipment frames, and supplemental steel framing. These supports are engineered specifically for the applied loads, geometry, and constraints of the existing building.
This type of work is frequently required when manufacturing processes are modified, expanded, or reconfigured, and when new piping systems, utilities, or equipment are introduced into facilities that were not originally designed for those loads.