Delaware Structural and Ethics 24 PDH Discount Package 1

This online engineering PDH course provides guidance on retrofitting existing residential structures to resist or mitigate the consequences of natural hazards in the coastal environment.

The natural hazards that are addressed are wildfires, seismic events, floods and high winds. Specific retrofitting methods and implementation are discussed briefly, and resources with more in-depth information are provided. For retrofitting to mitigate high winds, the new three-tiered wind retrofit program that is provided in FEMA P-804, Wind Retrofit Guide for Residential Buildings (FEMA 2010c), is discussed. The program includes systematic and programmatic guidance.

This online engineering PDH course provides the design professional with sufficient background and examples for effectively designing a residential building proposed to be constructed in a coastal hazard area. The designer will find that engineering judgment will need to be applied to a range of issues which will arise during the design of a coastal residential building. This course describes the design process which involves the following:

• Determining design loads
• Determining the building’s foundation, structural frame, and envelope
• Determining the connections between individual elements
• Determining the elevation, placement, and support for utilities
• Selecting the appropriate materials

In this course, the recommended design method is Allowable Stress Design (ASD), so there are factors of safety (FS) built into the development of the material stresses and the forces at the connections. This design method has been chosen for this manual because ASD continues to be the predominant design method in light-frame, residential, wood construction.

This online engineering PDH course provides guidance on designing foundations, including selecting the appropriate materials, in coastal areas.

Design considerations for foundations in coastal environments are in many ways similar to those in inland areas. Like all foundations, coastal foundations must support gravity loads, resist uplift and lateral loads, and maintain lateral and vertical load path continuity from the elevated building to the soils below. Foundations in coastal areas are different in that they must generally resist higher winds, function in a corrosive environment, and withstand the environmental aspects that are unique to coastal areas, such as storm surges, rapidly moving floodwaters, wave action, and scour and erosion. These aspects can make coastal flooding more damaging than inland flooding.

This online engineering PDH course provides guidance on the design of the building envelope in the coastal environment. The building envelope comprises exterior doors, windows, skylights, exterior wall coverings, soffits, roof systems and attic vents. In buildings elevated on open foundations, the floor is also considered a partof the envelope.

High wind is the predominant natural hazards in the coastal environment that can cause damage to the building envelope.Other natural hazards also exist in some localities. These may include wind-driven rain, salt-laden air, seismic events, hail and wildfire. The vulnerabilities of the building envelope to these hazards are discussed in this course, and recommendations on mitigating them are provided.

This online engineering PDH course discusses constructing buildings, including foundation, framing, building envelop, and electrical and mechanical equipment, in coastal areas. Individual sections cover construction items that will probably require the most care or attention on the part of the builder in order for the design intent to be achieved. Builders may find that the permitting and inspection procedures in coastal areas are more involved than those in inland areas. Not only must all Federal, state, and local Coastal Zone Management and other regulatory requirements be met, the design plans and specifications may need to be sealed by a design professional.

Construction of residential buildings in coastal zones presents challenges to the builder not usually found in more inland locations. For all coastal residential buildings, these challenges may include the following:

• Connection details require additional inspections
• The need for careful surveying to place the building within property line setbacks and above The Design Flood Elevation (DFE)
• The additional care required to ensure that all elements of the building will withstand the large forces associated with high wind speeds and coastal flooding
• The additional care that must be taken in constructing a building envelope that will withstand the intrusion of air and moisture under the effects of high wind speeds
• The difficulty of providing durable exterior construction in a moist, sometimes salt-laden, environment
• The requirement to protect and, usually, place utilities above the DFE

In constructing coastal residential buildings on elevated pile foundations, builders face additional challenges:

• The difficulty of constructing a driven pile foundation to accepted construction plan tolerances
• The difficulty of building on an elevated post-and-beam foundation, compared to building on continuous wall foundations

This 4 PDH online course is applicable to structural engineers, design and construction personnel, and other technical professionals who are involved in coastal construction projects.

This online engineering PDH course introduces basic design and construction methods for single-story residential wood decks.

This course is based on a construction guide published by the American Wood Council, and the given design provisions meet or exceed minimum requirements of the International Code Council's International Residential Code. Specific design guidance, much of it in the form of convenient tables and charts, is provided for all deck components.

This 3 PDH online course is intended for civil and structural engineers as well as construction professionals, and would also be of particular interest to engineers serving as building officials in the military or in government agencies concerned with residential construction practices.

This online engineering PDH course presents the laws of professional responsibility governing the practice of engineering in the State of Delaware, as well as the Delaware engineering code of ethics as follows:

• Delaware Professional Engineers' Act: Title 24, Chapter 28
• Delaware Engineering Code of Ethics

Engineering ethics is (1) the study of moral issues and decisions confronting individuals and organizations involved in engineering and (2) the study of related questions about moral conduct, character, ideals and relationships of peoples and organizations involved in technological development (Martin and Schinzinger, Ethics in Engineering).

This 2 PDH online course is applicable to Professional Engineers licensed in the State of Delaware and who are required to demonstrate continuing professional competency in engineering ethics as a condition of their license renewal.

Every licensee is required to obtain the equivalent of 12 PDHs per year (or 24 PDHs obtained anytime during the renewal period). Of the 24 PDHs earned during the biennial renewal period: no less than 2 PDH and no more than 6 PDH shall be related to professional ethics, and no more than 9 PDH shall be related to business or project management. The balance shall be related to the licensee’s area of technical practice.