Building Design 30 PDH Discount Package

This online engineering PDH course introduces the concept of applying modern principles of soil mechanics to the ancient construction methods of earth home building. This course makes a brief citation of the history of earth homes, summarizes a broad study of current earth home construction methods and introduces recommended best practices for planning and constructing earth homes.

One of the oldest known partially standing earth block structures with walls is the tomb of King Khasekhemwy in Egypt which dates to about 2900 BC. Remains of Syrian "Beehive" houses built of mud blocks have been dated to about 3,700 BC. Currently, earth block homes are still constructed in many parts of the world. While much of earth home construction is done in developing countries, green building accounts for some earth home construction. Application of modern principles and simple testing methods can increase the quality and performance of earth homes and improve the efficiency of their construction.

Research and testing by the Texas A&M Research Foundation, at College Station, TX, was used to quantify and develop simple testing methods to improve quality and efficiency of earth home construction methods.  The research included gathering information of earth home construction from a wide range climates and ages of structures from around the world. The research and improved methods were adopted by the US Peace Corps as their handbook for teaching and constructing earth homes in developing countries.

The techniques and methodologies described in this course document may be useful to improve the efficiency and methods of earth home construction. The significance of the methods of home construction introduced here is that they are some of the oldest known methods of building permanent dwellings and are some of the most cost effective methods of construction of permanent dwellings.

This 10 PDH online course is intended for use by civil, structural or geotechnical engineers, design professionals, construction personnel and others involved in the planning, design and construction of earth homes.

This online engineering PDH course provides an introduction to roofing systems. It provides guidance on how to specify roofing systems used on commercial, industrial, institutional and residential buildings. It describes the different types of roofing systems for steep- and low-slope roofs, considerations when selecting a system, re-roofing and re-covering issues, and design considerations. It explains how to incorporate appropriate engineering details into working drawings on a wide variety of projects. It also presents important maintenance considerations.

This 4 PDH online course is intended for engineers and construction professionals who are seeking an understanding of the basic types of roofing systems that can be used on commercial, industrial, institutional and residential building projects.

This online engineering PDH course addresses explosive blast and CBR concerns from terrorist attacks, highlighting mitigation measures that may be applied to building elements, including architectural, structural, and building envelope systems. These measures are designed to minimize the loss of life through deterrence and detection, as well as strengthening of the building against a variety of terrorist tactics.

After the site design considerations to enhance protection have been taken into account (as applicable), additional building design measures, such as hardening, must be considered to protect building occupants. The primary focus of this course is the protection of buildings where the occupants are the primary asset.

This 4 PDH online course is applicable to engineers, planners, architects, landscape designers, construction and operations personnel, security and law enforcement agents, as well as consultants and contractors to gain a better understanding in determining which asset protection measures are appropriate and cost-effective for incorporation into the building design against potential terrorist attacks.

This online engineering PDH course provides an overview of performance-based design process.  Performance-based design is the process or methodology used by design professionals to create buildings that protect functionality and the continued availability of services. Building performance is an indicator of how well a structure supports the defined needs of its users. Although this material is written for schools, it is applicable to all buildings.

This 1 PDH online course is applicable to structural engineers, design professionals, construction contractors, building owners and other technical personnel who are interested in gaining a better understanding of performance-based design.

This online engineering PDH course provides fundamental knowledge and understanding of Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) systems in buildings.  

People in urban settings spend between 80 and 90% of their time in indoor spaces both during work and during leisure time. The aesthetics, efficiency, economy, comfort, safety and of modern buildings require close collaboration across multiple disciplines.

With the emerging trend of high-rise buildings and emphasis on sustainability, the MEP systems are becoming increasingly complex and occupying larger portions of building project work. The MEP design no more relates only to the visible elements such as lights, radiators, convectors, registers, outlet grilles, or ducts - which are the end nodes of the systems - but also to the infrastructure that supplies those elements. 

Although the primary responsibility of delivering high quality building projects rests with the lead architect, the knowledge and expertise of the MEP engineers play a very important role in supporting the architect’s vision.

This 6 PDH online course is intended primarily for mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineers as well as architects involved in the design and installation of MEP systems for buildings.

This online engineering PDH course will discuss the assessment process, asset value assessment, threat/hazard assessment, vulner­ability assessment, risk assessment, and risk management. It also presents the Building Vulnerability Assessment Checklist to support the assessment process.

Mitigating the threat of terrorist attacks against high occupancy buildings is a challenging task. It is dif­ficult to predict how, why, and when terrorists may attack. Many factors must be considered in creating a safe building environment.

This course presents several methodolo­gies for architects and engineers to quantify risk and to identify the best and most cost-effective terrorism mitigation measures to achieve a desired level of protection of buildings against terrorist attacks. These methodologies can be used for new buildings during the design process, as well as for existing buildings under­going renovation.

This 5 PDH online course is applicable to engineers, planners, architects, landscape designers, construction and operations personnel, security and law enforcement agents, as well as consultants and contractors to gain a better understanding in assessing building vulnerability to potential terrorist attacks.