Importance of column-free engineering to maximizing space
Beams are an eye-sore, obstruct traffic flow, take up space and limit the potential of your warehousing, storage or working space…
In North America, we tend to take space for granted because have so much of it. However, extra space is good for business. Having an organized storage or office area without beams, columns and other obstacles interrupting space make the environment safer, healthier, more productive and generally more enjoyable to work in.
Let’s look at the actual space for a moment. A bigger building doesn’t necessarily mean a more effective and efficient use of space. Even if you escape the confines of older turn-of-the-century brick buildings with huge structural supporting walls that create a maze of small rooms, many traditional building methods still require internal columns and beams that can potentially cause hazardous and obstructive obstacles around which to work.
Whether you have a warehouse, manufacturing facility, open-concept office or retail centre, those columns and beams in the way create significant workflow challenges and create an eyesore that is impossible to remove. In fact, some building concepts are impossible using interior supporting columns: imagine a sports field house, a swimming pool or airplane hangar with an array of supporting beams in the way.
The intelligent alternative is modern steel buildings with open-bay engineering to create clear spans of 30 to 80 feet and building widths from 60 to 300 feet or more. Buildings can be as long as is needed. Think of all the possibilities when you have wide open, unobstructed space.
As existing warehousing and storage buildings become rarer in large urban centers, like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, it becomes a smarter decision to build a little further outside the core and save money while improving the performance of your organization. The benefits are obvious.
Steel building engineering is cost effective
Both in terms of construction and ongoing operational costs, pre-engineered steel buildings create large open spaces that maximize both human and process productivity. In terms of construction, clear span spaces created by steel structures are a less expensive by using less material, requiring much lower labour costs, using less concrete and creating far less waste. Aside from the savings in construction time, a rigid-frame system with standing seam or screw-down solutions costs less to allow more usable space within your building footprint. From a maintenance and operational perspective, open spaces create more productive environments and happier employees, allow more invigorating sunlight and are visually more impressive.
For cost-effective, energy-efficient designs and high-performance wall and roof systems, Summit Steel Building’s solutions provide a long-term, cost-effective solution for any industry or purpose. Steel engineering and intelligent design are ideal when you’re considering expanding production needs. Please contact us online, by email at info@summitsteelbuildings.com or at 877-417-8335 so we can discuss our versatile and cost-effective ways implement your long-term building solution that can be executed quickly.
About the author
Frank Melo has a construction civil engineering technology and business background with over 25 years of experience as a business owner and contractor. He was born and educated in London, Ontario and now divides his time between projects primarily in Ontario and British Columbia. He can be contacted at Summit Steel Buildings at (778) 951-4766 or by email at frank.melo@summitsteelbuildings.com or through LinkedIn.
