The EPSOM platform
Our own engineering platform: one model, analysed, designed, detailed and drawn, with every number traceable to its clause and its input.
Today it models and analyses 2D and 3D frames (linear static, first order) and designs reinforced concrete beams, columns, solid slabs, stairs and pad and strip footings to BS 8110-1:1997, then produces the bar schedule, the drawing set and the calculation reports from the same model. It does not yet do second-order, dynamic or seismic analysis, steel design, Eurocode design, rafts, piles or retaining walls, and it says so on every report.
What it does today
- Model authoring in plan and 3D: nodes, frame and truss members, materials, parametric sections, supports (restrained, free or sprung), end connections (rigid, pinned or semi-rigid), grids, storeys, slabs, footings and stairs.
- Linear static analysis of 2D and 3D frames: axial, shear, bending and torsion; reactions; displacements; member deflections; load cases and linear combinations; preflight validation and equilibrium checks on every run.
- Reinforced concrete design to BS 8110-1:1997: beams (flexure, shear, deflection, bar spacing), columns (effective height, slenderness, biaxial bending by strain compatibility, links), solid slabs (one-way and two-way), stair flights, pad and strip footings.
- Detailing to BS 8666: anchorage and laps, bar marks and the bar bending schedule; a drawing set (foundation layout, general arrangements, beam elevations, column schedule, slab reinforcement plans, stair section) as PDF and DXF.
- Reports: a calculation report and a design calculation report that print every step with its clause, every check with demand, capacity and verdict, the provisions used and the limitations; machine-readable results with the solver version and the input hash.
- Coordination: project members and roles, model-linked issues and comments, review requests and recorded reviews.
What it does not do yet
- Shear deformation (Timoshenko), second-order (P-Δ, P-δ) analysis, plate and shell elements, diaphragms, modal, response-spectrum and time-history analysis, and wind or seismic load generation: loads are engineer-specified.
- Steel member design and connections; Eurocode (KS EN 1992) design; rafts, piles, retaining walls and water-retaining structures.
- IFC import and export and BIM interoperability; curtailment optimisation, cranked bars, couplers and 3D rebar.
How it is validated
- Every analysis and design capability is benchmarked against analytical solutions, element and system checks and an independent solver, and the benchmark ledger runs on every change.
- A capability is marked reviewed only after a qualified structural engineer has independently reviewed it and the review is recorded; until then it is marked validation pending on the platform and in every report it produces.
- Analysis and concrete design are benchmarked and awaiting that independent review. Detailing, drawings, reports and coordination are implemented and usable, and are not yet covered by a numerical ledger.
- Every output is bound to an immutable revision of the model and carries the input hash, so a report can be reproduced and checked years later.
Who it is for
- Our own engineers, for every project the firm designs.
- Engineers who want a transparent analysis and design record rather than a black box, and who will review the output as the responsible engineer.
- Clients and reviewers, who receive reports that show their working.
The platform is a tool. A registered structural engineer remains responsible for every design it is used for, and every report says so.
Sign in on the firm's host.
The platform runs at app.epsom.co.ke/engineering. Accounts are issued by the firm; ask us if you work with us and need one.