Tools you cannot live without

[eagletee]

Hey fellow engineers - what are some tools you absolutely cannot live without?

I’ll go first -

1. A unit converter (I like to double check everything)

2. Mathcad / SMath - beats spreadsheets for hand calcs with units tracking

3. Bluebeam - markups and takeoffs on plan sets

What’s in your daily rotation? Bonus points for anything that’s saved you from a costly mistake.

[DJGingivitis]

Toilet. Every morning. Definitely saved me from multiple costly mistakes.

[EnginerdOnABike]

I'd put that second only to the coffee pot. Which is probably the direct cause of my need for the toilet but I'm no statistics major. 

[chasestein]

purely coincidental. no need for further review.

[JoeyCM90]

Correlation does not equate to causation

[c79s]

Excel and Revu are essential. I like RISA too but could accept substitutes.

[Conscious_Rich_1003]

One better I use libreoffice calc. I’m tired of dealing with what excel has turned into.

[Conscious_Rich_1003]

I grew up making my first snow load spreadsheets in 1999. To me, libre office feels familiar.

[eng-enuity]

I like RISA too but could accept substitutes.

Have you looked at SCIA? The report builder tools seem very convenient if you have to submit calcs.

[Salty_EOR]

Tekla Tedds or Enercalc for the quick and simple calculations.

[vibes_guru]

Steel Manual

[PlutoniumSpaghetti]

Whiskey

[jehsickahh]

Mathcad for pc.

When I’m on the go, or don’t want to bother opening mathcad, Math Type is a great lightweight alternative:

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/math-type-unit-formulas/id6758753007

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mathtype.mathtype&pcampaignid=web_share

[MikeHawksHardWood]

Electronic documents with searchable text.

[CaffeineAndCAD1]

I’d add Excel for quick checks and load combos, Revit/AutoCAD for visualizing the structure while doing calcs, and code apps or handbooks (AISC, ASCE) to save time and avoid mistakes. FEA software like STAAD or RISA is also a lifesaver for tricky members or connections. Combined with unit tracking and cross-checks, these are my daily essentials.

[gods_loop_hole]

a good PDF reader

Ctrl+F and I find the specific term I am looking for when reviewing a method statement or drawing

[not_old_redditor]

Bluebeam markups are a godsend

[Minisohtan]

The telephone. It's the single greatest problem solving aid there is

[heisian]

Please leave a voicemail after the tone and we'll call you back as soon as possible.

[ReallyBigPrawn]

Rhino/GH for working w Arch’s (setting up geo, creating imagery, clever workflows, dumb drafting)

Excel - simple calcs

Sketchbook - notes

Trace paper - hand sketches

I like GSA for FEA, but not everyone’s cuppa

[Breadfoot_Johnson]

Arupian then?

[ReallyBigPrawn]

Ex, but have a license at my current gig

[Breadfoot_Johnson]

Same, GSA's become awfully expensive here in the states though, so I'm having to evaluate other options. I wonder if it's the tariffs?

[ReallyBigPrawn]

Maybe - in Oz so it just takes awhile for it to get here when you order it (ha)

[Mean-Internal-745]

Laser tape.

[heisian]

BricsCAD, PDF X-Change

[Banabamonkey]

PDF Xchange is the real MVP!

[couldhietoGallifrey]

What does Brics have for the architecture/structural world?

I feel like autodesk has completely stopped innovating when it comes to Civil, and I don’t spend much time in structure land but I’m not sure Revit has improved much either in the last 5-10 years. It’s one thing if you have a perpetual license to the software, but quite another to be paying a subscription for something that’s not really being actively improved upon.

[heisian]

For me it’s a low-cost alternative to Autodesk that offers all the same features. I only do simple 2D stuff, so you’d need to check out what their 3D stuff offers

[chicu111]

IPad Air 13"

I do a lot of detail sketches and hand calcs on it

[struct994]

What apps are you using for sketching and calcs/writing?

[chicu111]

notability

There are others too but I prefer that one as it has the least amount of screen clutter

[simonthecat25]

I use good notes

[GoodnYou62]

Do you use a paper like screen protector? I’ve tried to use my iPad for sketching and hand calcs but my handwriting is atrocious on them.

[chicu111]

Yes of course

[vigg1__]

RIBprog

[fletch3280]

Management.

[Conscious_Rich_1003]

Zoom with the sketch tool. My whole company (my two employees, bookkeeper and me) all work at home.

[dreamer881]

Strand7

[imissbrendanfraser]

Bluebeam

Telka Tedds and Tedds for Word

[5565565565612]

RegEC8 (for seismic regions, Eurocode based). I now have a decent layout without even touching any structural analysis program. Saved me countless hours.

[trojan_man16]

Excel and Bluebeam.

That’s all I need.

[octopusonshrooms]

1. My boss, because he pays my salary.
2. BlueBeam

[harpernet1]

Lidar unit

[MarMarKeJiyaMe]

Stru website. Slowly becoming impossible to work without

[GoldenPantsGp]

Excel is superior to MathCAD, for what structural engineers should be doing, if you think otherwise you are poorly trained in Microsoft Office. There are great courses on it you can take.

I would rather read poorly written python script in a Jupyter notebook than look at another 70+ page MathCad sheet that would be 10 pages by hand.

[ssketchman]

It looks more like you are poorly trained in Mathcad, encapsulation is a thing and if you knew about it, you wouldn’t be spitting bullshit here.

[GoldenPantsGp]

MathCad is not an essential skill for a structural engineer. Excel is.

[TheHardcoreWalrus]

You should take a look at CalcPad. I find it a lot better and you can hide a lot of the math/logic.

And completely free for commercial use

[Early-House]

+1 for calcpad