Floor and stair vibration of steel structures in Dubai: the SCI P354 method the Code names

The question

How is the vibration of a steel or composite floor checked in Dubai?

Short answer

The Dubai Building Code requires the natural frequency of steel floor systems for normal occupancy to be evaluated to AISC Design Guide 11 or SCI P354, for buildings and for villas alike.¹² SCI P354, which is UK guidance, goes further than a frequency limit: no floor, and no element of it, should be below 3 Hz, and the floor's response to walking is then calculated as a response factor and compared with a limit P354 recommends for its use, for example 8 for offices, 4 for shopping malls and 1 for operating theatres; these are P354's values, not limits the Code sets.³⁴⁵ The response depends on the floor's frequency, its vibrating mass and its damping, which ranges from 1.1% for a bare floor to 3% fitted out.⁶ P354 also gives separate criteria for several special uses. It is UK guidance: its limits come from British and international standards the library does not hold, and the Code names P354 as a method without adopting its acceptance values as Dubai requirements.

Source and applicability: The Dubai Building Code names SCI P354 (2009) and AISC Design Guide 11 as methods (F.8.8.1). The values quoted from P354 are UK guidance, not Dubai requirements; no Dubai criterion for any particular use, such as hospitals, has been verified.

A long, light secondary beam gives a low frequency and a lively floor
A flexible primary beam, such as a long cellular or castellated girder, makes the primary-beam mode govern
A walking path across the most responsive part of the bay, at midspan
Resonance: a harmonic of the walking pace close to the floor's frequency, with little damping, as in a bare floor

Reference drawing: a steel-concrete floor bay and its two lowest modes of vibration. The floor's fundamental frequency is the lower of the two. Illustrative only; not to scale.

What the Dubai Building Code requires

In Dubai, the Code's check of floor vibration in buildings requires the natural frequency of steelwork floor systems for normal occupancy to be evaluated in accordance with AISC Design Guide 11 or SCI P354; for concrete, cast-in-place floors designed to the ACI 318-19 minimum thickness and deflection rules are generally found to perform acceptably, except in cases such as long spans and open plans, floors with strict vibration requirements such as precision manufacturing and laboratories, and floors with rhythmic loads or vibrating machinery. Part K makes the same requirement for steelwork floors in villas and townhouses.¹²

Source and applicability: Dubai Building Code 2021 requirement (F.8.8.1; K.8.5.7 for villas): it names the method. It sets no acceptance value.

AISC 360 requires the effect of vibration on the comfort of occupants and the function of the structure to be considered in serviceability design.⁷ The Code also says exercise rooms that produce vibration, such as karate and weightlifting gymnasiums, should be placed at the lower levels of a building or acoustically treated.⁸

Practical consideration

What this means in practice: the Code names two methods and does not set its own acceptance values. SCI P354 is held by this library and explained below; AISC Design Guide 11 is not held. P354 is UK guidance, and its acceptance values come from BS 6472:1992 (since replaced by BS 6472-1:2008), ISO 10137:2007 and, for hospitals, HTM 08-01 (2008), which this library does not hold either. Agree the method and the acceptance criterion for each area of the floor with the client and record them in the basis of design. Stadia and grandstands are outside the Dubai Building Code altogether, so for them P354 is general guidance only.⁹

How floors vibrate under people

SCI P354 recommends design pace frequencies of 1.8 to 2.2 Hz for walking in open areas, from a possible range of 1.5 to 2.5 Hz, and 1.8 Hz in enclosed spaces such as dwellings and operating theatres, where shorter walks mean slower steps.¹⁰

Source and applicability: SCI P354 (2009), UK guidance. The Dubai Building Code names P354 as a method for evaluating steel floors (F.8.8.1), but the values P354 recommends are not themselves Dubai requirements; agree the criterion for each project.

A floor whose fundamental frequency is below a cut-off is a low-frequency floor, which a harmonic of walking can drive into resonance, and both its steady-state and its transient response are checked; above the cut-off only the transient response, a series of heel impacts, is checked. The cut-off is 10 Hz for general floors and open-plan offices, 8 Hz for enclosed spaces such as operating theatres and residences, 12 Hz for staircases and 24 Hz for floors with rhythmic activities.¹¹¹²

For floor vibration, damping is taken as 0.5% of critical for fully welded steel structures such as staircases, 1.1% for bare or lightly furnished floors, 3.0% for fully fitted-out floors in normal use, and 4.5% where partitions are confidently placed across the vibrating members. The mass used should be the unfactored self-weight including superimposed dead loads such as ceilings and services, which are ignored when a bare-state structure is analysed; an allowance for semi-permanent loads may be added only where the designer is confident that such loading is guaranteed to exist in the finished structure, and not for dance or aerobic floors, and P354, citing Hicks et al., recommends that it should not exceed 10% of the nominal imposed load, while ignoring imposed load altogether is a conservative case; the dynamic modulus of concrete may be taken as 38 kN/mm² for normal-weight and 22 kN/mm² for lightweight concrete.⁶¹³

Engineering explanation

Why a floor feels bouncy when people walk, and why frequency alone is not enough: a floor's response to walking depends on three things. Frequency decides whether walking can drive it into resonance; mass decides how hard it is to move; damping decides how quickly each footfall dies away. A light floor at 5 Hz can be lively while a heavy floor at 5 Hz is not. P354 itself notes that the traditional UK check of a 4.0 Hz minimum frequency for each beam does not predict the response.¹⁴ That is why P354 computes the response and compares it with a limit for the use.

Acceptance criteria: the response factor

P354's acceptance criteria compare the floor's frequency-weighted root-mean-square acceleration with a base value of 0.005 m/s² for vertical vibration, and 0.00357 m/s² for horizontal; the ratio is the response factor R. For continuous vibration, the response is considered satisfactory when R does not exceed the multiplying factor for the use of the floor.¹⁵¹⁶

P354 recommends a multiplying factor of 8 for offices, 4 for shopping malls and dealing floors, 32 for lightly used stairs such as those in offices and 24 for heavily used stairs in public buildings and stadia. It also restates the multiplying factors of BS 6472:1992, the edition it references, for a low probability of adverse comment under continuous vibration: 1 for critical working areas such as operating theatres, 2 to 4 by day and 1.4 at night in residential buildings, 4 in offices and 8 in workshops.⁴¹⁷ BS 6472:1992 has since been replaced by BS 6472-1:2008, which the library does not hold, so these are P354's historical reference values, not the current British Standard.

Source and applicability: SCI P354 (2009), restating values from BS 6472:1992, since replaced by BS 6472-1:2008 (not held). UK guidance, not a Dubai requirement. The office, mall, dealing-floor and stair values are P354's own recommendations.

Walking is intermittent, so P354 also allows a vibration dose value (VDV) check where the layout is known: a floor that exceeds its multiplying factor may still be acceptable if people cross it rarely enough. The VDV limits P354 takes from BS 6472 for a low probability of adverse comment in buildings are 0.2 to 0.4 m/s^1.75 over a 16-hour day and 0.13 m/s^1.75 over an 8-hour night.¹⁸¹⁹

Source and applicability: SCI P354 (2009), restating values from BS 6472:1992, since replaced by BS 6472-1:2008 (not held). UK guidance, not a Dubai requirement.

The acceleration is weighted by frequency for human perception: for vertical vibration and discomfort (the Wb curve), the weighting is 1.0 from 5 to 16 Hz and falls outside that band; for vertical vibration where hand control or vision matters (the Wg curve), it is 1.0 from 4 to 8 Hz and 8/f above 8 Hz.²⁰

The simplified method for regular steel-concrete floors

To calculate the natural frequency of a regular steel-concrete composite floor, P354 estimates the fundamental frequency as f0 = 18/√δ, with δ the total deflection in millimetres of slab, secondary beams and primary beams under the self-weight, permanent loads and up to 10% of the imposed load, using gross section properties. Two mode shapes are checked, one governed by the secondary beams and one by the primary beams, and the lower frequency governs.²¹

Minimum frequency: no steel floor, and no single element of it, should have a fundamental frequency below 3 Hz. The modal mass is M = mLeffS, the floor mass per unit area times an effective length and width that depend on the stiffness of the beams and slab, the frequency and the number of bays, up to four in each direction.³²²

For floors between 3 and 10 Hz the weighted acceleration is a = μeμr·0.1Q·Wρ/(2√2·Mζ), where Q is the weight of a person, normally 746 N, ζ the damping ratio, W the frequency weighting, ρ the resonance build-up factor and μe, μr the mode-shape factors at the excitation and response points, which may conservatively be taken as 1 where those points are unknown or a general response for the whole floor is required. Above 10 Hz a transient formula is used instead.²³¹⁵²⁴

Practical consideration

P354 warns that its simplified rules may be non-conservative for cantilevers, where it recommends its general, finite element based procedure instead; and the simplified method was derived for regular floor grids.¹³²⁵ For irregular floors, cantilevered balconies, transfer levels and floors near rhythmic activity, plan on the general method.

Worked illustration: a hypothetical long-span office floor

Practical consideration

This worked illustration was prepared by Finesse Infra Steel Constructions for this guide, and it is hypothetical: it is not a Finesse Infra Steel Constructions project, not a measured floor, not a consultant's submission and not an approved design. Every input is an assumption chosen to show how P354's simplified method works; the steel sections are idealised plate sections rather than catalogue sizes, and strength, deflection, fire and connection design are not checked. The method and its equations are P354's; the inputs and the arithmetic are ours.

Source and applicability: Hypothetical illustration prepared by Finesse Infra Steel Constructions for this guide: assumed inputs, calculated with the SCI P354 (2009) simplified method. It is not a Finesse Infra Steel Constructions project, not measured, not a consultant's submission and not an approved design; P354's acceptance values are UK guidance to agree for each project.

Item	Assumed value	Where it enters P354's method
Use and criterion	Open-plan office; response factor limit 8, P354's recommended multiplying factor for offices; z-axis Wb weighting, the curve P354 assigns to offices	Table 5.3; Table 5.1
Floor grid	Secondary beams spanning 10.5 m at 3.0 m centres; primary beams spanning 6.0 m, each carrying one secondary beam at mid-span; 2 bays along the secondary span and 4 along the primary span	Table 7.1, the arrangement with one beam at mid-span of the primary; Eq. (45) and (46)
Slab	150 mm overall normal-weight concrete on a 60 mm trapezoidal steel deck spanning between the secondary beams, so the deck ribs run at right angles to the secondary beams; the deck sits on the top flanges of downstand beams, the arrangement P354's Eq. (45) and (46) are written for	Table 7.2; 4.1.3; 7.3.1
Steel beams	Idealised welded I-sections, fillets ignored: secondary 500 mm deep with 200 × 16 mm flanges and a 10 mm web (87.0 kg/m, I = 46,040 cm⁴); primary 530 mm deep with 220 × 16 mm flanges and a 10 mm web (94.4 kg/m, I = 56,810 cm⁴). The properties are calculated from these plate sizes, not taken from a catalogue	Gross section properties, 7.1
Moduli	Steel E = 200 kN/mm² (assumed); concrete 38 kN/mm², P354's dynamic value for normal-weight concrete	4.1.3
Loads (unfactored)	Slab and deck 2.95 kN/m², a round assumed value in place of a deck maker's figure; 50 mm screed with tiles 1.20; ceiling and services 0.40; 10% of an assumed 3.0 kN/m² imposed load, 0.30	4.1.2: at most 10% of the imposed load
Damping	Damping 3.0% of critical, fully fitted out, open plan	Table 4.1
Walking	A 20 m straight walkway across the floor; design pace frequencies 1.8 to 2.2 Hz; a 746 N person	Eq. (14) and (16); 7.5

Hypothetical illustration: assumed inputs, chosen for this guide (not a project)

Assumed inputs for a hypothetical floor, chosen by Finesse Infra Steel Constructions for this guide; they are not P354's example and not data from any building. The criterion and weighting follow P354's tables,²⁶⁴ the grid, slab and moduli its simplified method,²¹²⁷³¹³ and the damping, walking and person load its stated values.⁶¹⁰²³ The slab weight and the Table 7.2 slab stiffness stand in for the deck manufacturer's data a real design would use, and a project's imposed load comes from ASCE/SEI 7-16 through the Dubai Building Code, which this library does not hold.

Step	Computed result (ours)	P354 method
Floor mass	Beam self-weight smeared over the floor 0.37 kN/m², so 2.95 + 1.20 + 0.40 + 0.30 + 0.37 = 5.22 kN/m²: m = 5,220/9.81 ≈ 532 kg/m²	4.1.2
Slab stiffness	Is = 0.23 × 150^3.7 ≈ 25.9 × 10⁶ mm⁴/m (2,590 cm⁴/m), in steel units	Table 7.2, 60 mm trapezoidal deck, normal-weight concrete
Composite secondary beam	beff is the smaller of 10.5/4 = 2.625 m and the 3.0 m spacing; only the 90 mm of concrete above the ribs is counted, as the slab spans across the beam (our assumption); modular ratio 200/38 = 5.26: Ib ≈ 161,100 cm⁴	7.1, gross uncracked composite section, beff = L/4 or the spacing
Composite primary beam	beff is the smaller of 6.0/4 = 1.5 m and the 10.5 m spacing, with the same 90 mm: Ip ≈ 170,600 cm⁴. The rib concrete is ignored here too, a simplification	7.1
Secondary-beam mode	δ = 0.21 mm slab (fixed-ended) + 7.70 mm secondary beam (simply supported) = 7.91 mm: f = 18/√7.91 = 6.40 Hz	Eq. (4), Table 7.1
Primary-beam mode	δ = 2.17 mm primary beam + 1.54 mm secondary beam (fixed-ended) + 0.21 mm slab = 3.92 mm: f = 18/√3.92 = 9.09 Hz	Eq. (4), Table 7.1, one secondary beam at mid-span
Fundamental frequency and checks	f0 = 6.40 Hz, the secondary-beam mode. It is above 3 Hz for the floor and for each element on its own (secondary beam 6.5 Hz, primary beam 12.2 Hz), and below the 10 Hz cut-off, so this is a low-frequency floor	7.2; Table 6.1
Modal mass	η = 0.71 (f0 above 6 Hz); Leff = 1.09 × 1.10 × (EIb/(m b f0²))^¼ ≈ 10.0 m (limit 2 × 10.5 = 21 m); S = 0.71 × 1.15³ × (EIs/(m f0²))^¼ ≈ 4.24 m (limit 4 × 6.0 = 24 m); M = 532 × 10.0 × 4.24 ≈ 22,700 kg	Eq. (44) to (46), Table 7.3
Weighting, mode shape and build-up	W = 1.0 (Wb is 1.0 from 5 to 16 Hz); μe = μr = 1, as the walking and response points are not fixed; the slowest design pace, 1.8 Hz, gives the largest build-up: v = 1.22 m/s and ρ = 1 − e^(−2π × 0.03 × 20 × 1.8/1.22) ≈ 0.996	Eq. (22), 7.4, Eq. (16) and (37)
Response	a = 0.1 × 746 × 1.0 × 0.996/(2√2 × 22,700 × 0.03) ≈ 0.0386 m/s²	Eq. (50)
Response factor	R = a/0.005 ≈ 7.7, just within the office factor of 8; with R within the factor, P354 needs no vibration dose value check	Eq. (38), Table 5.3, 6.6

Hypothetical illustration: calculation with P354's simplified method

Our calculation with P354's equations from the assumed inputs above: mass and damping,⁶ the two modes and the minimum-frequency check,²¹²⁷³ modal mass,²² mode shape and response,²⁴²³ pace and build-up,¹⁰¹⁵ weighting and cut-off,²⁰²⁶¹¹ and the criterion and the dose-value rule.⁴²⁸ Values are rounded for display; each step uses unrounded values.

Change from the case above	Result (ours)	Reading
Partitions placed across the secondary beams: damping 4.5%	R ≈ 5.2	Only where the designer is confident the partitions will be there and will cross the vibrating members
Bare floor before fit-out: no screed, ceiling or imposed allowance; damping 1.1%	m ≈ 339 kg/m², f0 ≈ 8.0 Hz, M ≈ 14,400 kg, ρ ≈ 0.87: R ≈ 29. At a vibration dose value of 0.4 m/s^1.75, about 17 crossings of the walkway in 16 hours	Lively until fit-out; P354 notes that adverse comment can arise before a building is fitted out
Deeper secondary beams: an idealised 600 mm section with 220 × 18 mm flanges and an 11 mm web (110.9 kg/m)	f0 ≈ 8.0 Hz, M ≈ 20,500 kg: R ≈ 8.5	Here, with f0 above 6 Hz, a stiffer beam raises the frequency and also lowers the modal mass, so the predicted response does not fall; at lower frequencies the method's slab factor η and the weighting change with frequency, and stiffening can lower it
Wg weighting instead of Wb	No change: both curves are 1.0 at 6.4 Hz	The two curves are both 1.0 only between 5 and 8 Hz; outside that band the choice of curve changes the result

Hypothetical illustration: what changes the answer

Our sensitivity calculations on the same hypothetical floor with the same equations; each row changes only what it names.⁶²³²⁸¹⁸²⁰

Practical consideration

Reading the hypothetical result: the floor meets P354's office factor, but only just, at about 7.7 against 8. A lighter finish, fewer bays or a lower damping value would take it over, so a real design states each assumption, and close to the limit uses P354's general method or agrees the traffic for a vibration dose value check. The bare floor is lively until it is fitted out, which the client should know. And for this floor, with its frequency above 6 Hz, stiffening alone does not lower the predicted response, while damping and mass do; P354's own retrofit advice still includes stiffening the most flexible members, and above the 10 Hz cut-off P354 uses a different, transient formula. The criterion and the traffic are agreed for each project; this illustration accepts no floor.

P354's own worked example, an office floor for which it also reports test results, shows how conservative the simplified method can be: it predicted a response factor of about 9.5, P354's finite element analysis gave about 3.2, and walking tests gave about 2.6 at a 2 Hz pace. There P354 took the damping from the floor's tests, used the Wg weighting to enable comparison with the test results, and judged the floor acceptable for its quiet office through a vibration dose value check.²⁹³⁰³¹

Source and applicability: Results SCI P354 (2009) reports for its own worked example, an office floor (Appendix D.1). A published example and UK guidance, not a Dubai requirement and not a basis for accepting another floor.

Hospital floors

For hospital floors, the vibration criteria in P354, which is UK guidance, add slower pace frequencies of 1.5 to 1.8 Hz for walking near patients and 1.8 Hz in operating theatres, and use as limits the multiplying factors of HTM 08-01 (Acoustics, the 2008 edition P354 references), with the Wg weighting in every case: 1 for operating theatres, precision laboratories and audiometric booths, 2 for wards, 4 for general laboratories and treatment areas, and 8 for offices and consulting rooms. These are UK values; the library has verified no Dubai health-facility vibration criterion.³²⁵³³

Source and applicability: SCI P354 (2009) restating HTM 08-01, Acoustics (2008), UK National Health Service guidance. No Dubai health-facility vibration criterion has been verified; confirm the criterion for each room and item of equipment with the client, the health authority and the equipment manufacturer.

HTM 08-01's VDV limits, as P354 restates them, are 0.2 m/s^1.75 for wards and residential areas by day, 0.4 for general laboratories and offices, and 0.8 for workshops; the VDV method may not be used for operating theatres and precision laboratories, where a single perceptible event could matter. Very sensitive medical equipment needs the manufacturer's criteria and may need isolation.⁵

Practical consideration

HTM 08-01 is a UK National Health Service memorandum. Whether a Dubai health facility's brief adopts it, or another criterion, is for the client and the health authority; this library holds no Dubai health facility vibration criterion.

Gyms, dance floors and grandstands

For floors with dancing, jumping or other synchronised crowd movement, P354, which is UK guidance, follows BS 6399-1 Annex A or the UK National Annex to BS EN 1991-1-1 and gives two alternatives at the ultimate limit state: either the floor has a fundamental frequency of at least 8.4 Hz vertically, three times the highest jumping frequency of 2.8 Hz, and at least 4 Hz horizontally, so that resonant effects need not be evaluated, or the anticipated dynamic crowd load is designed for as an additional imposed load case. The vertical frequency is that of the appropriate mode of the empty structure, and a floor above 8.4 Hz is insensitive to resonance at the ultimate limit state but not necessarily at the serviceability limit state, which is checked separately.³⁴

Source and applicability: SCI P354 (2009), following UK loading standards (BS 6399-1 Annex A, UK National Annex to BS EN 1991-1-1). UK guidance, not a Dubai requirement; in Dubai loads come from ASCE/SEI 7-16, not held here. The 8.4 Hz and 4 Hz frequencies are an ultimate-limit-state alternative, the vertical one for the empty structure, not a serviceability or comfort check.

For serviceability, floors above 24 Hz may be treated as unresponsive to rhythmic activity; below that, P354 estimates the floor accelerations from the first six harmonic components of the activity. A response factor of 120 may be acceptable where the activity takes place, such as a nightclub dance floor, but on grandstands that level was described as disturbing, and P354's grandstand table gives about R = 69 as a reasonable limit for passive spectators.³⁵³²¹⁸

Practical consideration

The 8.4 Hz and 4 Hz alternatives come from UK loading standards, BS 6399-1 and the UK National Annex, not from a Dubai requirement; in Dubai the loads come from ASCE/SEI 7-16, which this library does not hold. Even as UK guidance, 8.4 Hz on the empty structure only means that resonant effects need not be evaluated at the ultimate limit state; it is not a comfort check, so a gym or dance floor that meets it still needs its response in service assessed against the criterion agreed for its use.³⁴

Practical consideration

The Code's own advice is simpler: exercise rooms that produce noise or vibration should be at the lower levels of a building or acoustically treated.⁸ A gym on an upper steel floor next to offices is a case for the general method and for early agreement on criteria.

Source and applicability: Dubai Building Code 2021, B.8.3.1 b): advice (should) to place exercise rooms that produce vibration at the lower levels of a building or to treat them acoustically. The clause sets no vibration criterion. The last sentence is this guide's practical reading, not a Code requirement.

Light steel floors

For light steel joist floors in dwellings, P354 limits the natural frequency to 8 Hz under dead load plus 0.3 kN/m², which is achieved by keeping a single joist's deflection under that load to 5 mm, and limits the deflection of the whole floor under a 1 kN point load to between 1.7 mm for a 3.5 m span and 1.2 mm for a 6.2 m span. Corridors serving apartments should be at least 10 Hz.³⁶³⁷

Source and applicability: SCI P354 (2009), from SCI P301 and measurements on Finnish floors. UK guidance, not a Dubai requirement.

Where a response factor is calculated for a light steel floor, P354 suggests a limit of 16 for continuous vibration, from measurements on 103 light steel residential floors in Finland.¹⁶

Car parks

For the vibration of steel-framed car park floors, P354 keeps a minimum frequency of 3 Hz for each floor panel including its supporting beams, and, for human-induced vibration, a response-factor limit of 65 for bare floors of normal steel-framed solutions, with 1.1% damping and no imposed load; it gives no recommendation for a full car park, judging design for the empty case sufficient. Impacts from vehicles running over uneven surfaces, speed bumps and expansion joints are a separate source of excitation: P354 gives no numerical limit for them; it notes that careful location of joints and speed bumps, with good detailing and workmanship, can reduce the response, and refers to the Corus guide Steel-framed car parks, which this library does not hold.³⁸

Source and applicability: SCI P354 (2009), citing the Corus guide Steel-framed car parks (not held). UK guidance, not a Dubai requirement. The response-factor limit of 65 is for human-induced vibration of the bare floor; P354 sets no limit for vehicle impacts.

Stairs

Staircases are lightly damped, at 0.5% of critical for fully welded steel stairs, and are treated as low-frequency up to 12 Hz; P354 recommends response-factor limits of 32 for lightly used stairs and 24 for heavily used ones.⁶¹¹⁴ The stair guide explains how a stair carries load and where it fails.

Fixing a floor that bounces too much

An existing floor that is too bouncy can be fixed by stiffening it or adding damping, but seldom by adding mass: P354 finds that extra mass is usually not an effective retrofit, because it lowers the frequency as well as the response. Stiffening works best on the most flexible members, for example by adding columns to shorten spans or plating the bottom flanges. Damping can be raised by placing partitions across the vibrating members, by tuned mass dampers, typically 2% to 5% of the modal mass for each mode tuned, or by special damping materials; testing is generally needed to confirm the effect.³⁹⁴⁰

Practical consideration

A change of use, such as removing partitions or bringing in aerobics, can turn a comfortable floor into a lively one. P354 advises engineers to warn clients of this, so the floor's response should be reassessed before such a change is approved.⁴¹

Vibration items to state in the basis of design

The method for each floor area: SCI P354 or AISC Design Guide 11 (DBC F.8.8.1), simplified or general
Acceptance criterion for each use, and who agreed it
Mass basis: permanent loads and the share of imposed load counted (P354: at most 10%)
Damping assumed for the floor as it will be used, and for the bare floor before fit-out
Weighting curve used, and why
Walking paths, corridors and any rhythmic or sensitive areas marked on the plans
Stairs, cantilevers, footbridges and floors next to gyms, checked separately

A working list for a junior engineer. It is not an approval checklist.

Scope and limits

Practical consideration

Written from the 2021 Dubai Building Code, ANSI/AISC 360-16 and SCI P354 (2009) as checked on 26 September 2026; later amendments were not audited. AISC Design Guide 11, BS 6472 (P354 references the 1992 edition; BS 6472-1:2008 is current), ISO 10137, BS 6841, HTM 08-01, BS 6399-1 and ASCE/SEI 7-16 are named but not held; values attributed to them are as P354 restates them, from the editions it references. P354's values are guidance the Code names as a method, not Dubai requirements in their own right. No other emirate's code is held.

Questions this guide answers

What does the Dubai Building Code require for the vibration of steel floors?
What response factor is acceptable for an office floor, a shopping mall or a stair?
How is the natural frequency and response of a steel-concrete floor estimated?
What vibration criteria apply to hospital floors and operating theatres?
Can a gym or dance floor go on a steel floor, and what frequency does it need?
What vibration criteria apply to light steel joist floors?
Do steel-framed car park floors need a vibration check?
How can an existing floor that bounces too much be improved?

Source notes

Numbered notes point to the exact section and physical PDF page. Page numbers are the PDF viewer’s page, which can differ from the number printed on the page. Sources checked 26 September 2026. These notes support the statements; they are not a substitute for reading the current document for a project.

Dubai Building Code, 2021 Edition. Government of Dubai; official copy hosted by Dubai Development Authority. Part F, F.8.8 Vibration, F.8.8.1 Steelwork and F.8.8.2 Concrete (printed page F47), PDF page 373. Open the publisher PDF at page 373 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩
Dubai Building Code, 2021 Edition. Government of Dubai; official copy hosted by Dubai Development Authority. Part K, K.8.5.7 Vibration, a) Steelwork (printed page K79), PDF page 749. Open the publisher PDF at page 749 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Sections 7.2 Minimum floor frequency, 7.3 Modal mass, Eq. (44), and 7.3.1, Eq. (45) (printed page 49), PDF page 61. Open the publisher PDF at page 61 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Tables 5.2 and 5.3 Multiplying factors, and 5.3.3 Intermittent vibrations (printed page 31), PDF page 43. Open the publisher PDF at page 43 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 8.2.2 Table 8.1 HTM 08-01 multiplying factors, Table 8.2 VDV limits and sensitive equipment (printed page 59), PDF page 71. Open the publisher PDF at page 71 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩ ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 4.1.1 Damping and Table 4.1, and 4.1.2 Floor loading (printed page 20), PDF page 32. Open the publisher PDF at page 32 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
Specification for Structural Steel Buildings (ANSI/AISC 360-16), ANSI/AISC 360-16, July 7, 2016. American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). Chapter L, L4 Vibration, printed page 16.1-166. Publisher page (opens in a new tab) ↩
Dubai Building Code, 2021 Edition. Government of Dubai; official copy hosted by Dubai Development Authority. Part B, B.8.3.1 Gymnasiums, exercise rooms and fitness centres, a) and b) (printed page B87), PDF page 107. Open the publisher PDF at page 107 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩
Dubai Building Code, 2021 Edition. Government of Dubai; official copy hosted by Dubai Development Authority. Part A, A.5.1 General, continuation: structures to which the DBC does not apply (printed page A10), PDF page 12. Open the publisher PDF at page 12 (opens in a new tab) ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 3.1.1 Walking activities, pace frequencies, Eq. (14) to (16) (printed page 14), PDF page 26. Open the publisher PDF at page 26 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩ ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 6.3 Response analysis and Table 6.1 Low to high frequency cut-off (printed page 38), PDF page 50. Open the publisher PDF at page 50 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩ ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 6.3.3 Transient response of floors (printed page 39), PDF page 51. Open the publisher PDF at page 51 (opens in a new tab) ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 4.1.2 continued, 4.1.3 Dynamic modulus of elasticity for concrete and 4.1.4 Structural and floor configurations (printed page 21), PDF page 33. Open the publisher PDF at page 33 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩ ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 1.2 Traditional approaches to design and 1.3 Scope of this guide (printed page 2), PDF page 14. Open the publisher PDF at page 14 (opens in a new tab) ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 6.5.2 Resonance build-up factor, Eq. (37), and 6.5.3 Response factor evaluation, Eq. (38) (printed page 43), PDF page 55. Open the publisher PDF at page 55 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩ ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 8.3.2 continued: frequency weighting, response factor and acceptability criteria (printed page 64), PDF page 76. Open the publisher PDF at page 76 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 9 References, items 2 (ISO 10137, 2007) and 3 (BS 6472:1992) (printed page 67), PDF page 79. Open the publisher PDF at page 79 (opens in a new tab) ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Table 5.4 Vibration dose value limits, 5.3.4 Rhythmic activities and stadia and Table 5.5 (printed page 32), PDF page 44. Open the publisher PDF at page 44 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩ ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 7.6 Acceptance criteria, frequency weighting, response factor and vibration dose values (printed page 54), PDF page 66. Open the publisher PDF at page 66 (opens in a new tab) ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 5.2.2 Frequency weighting, Figure 5.3 and Eq. (21) to (23) (printed page 28), PDF page 40. Open the publisher PDF at page 40 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩ ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 7.1 Fundamental frequency, Eq. (4) and Table 7.1 (printed page 47), PDF page 59. Open the publisher PDF at page 59 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩ ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 7.3.1 continued, Eq. (46) and Table 7.3 Frequency factor (printed page 50), PDF page 62. Open the publisher PDF at page 62 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 7.5 Response acceleration, Eq. (50) and (51) (printed page 53), PDF page 65. Open the publisher PDF at page 65 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 7.4 Mode shape factor (printed page 52), PDF page 64. Open the publisher PDF at page 64 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 7 Simplified assessment for steel floors, introduction and 7.1 (printed page 46), PDF page 58. Open the publisher PDF at page 58 (opens in a new tab) ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 5.2.2 Frequency weighting, Table 5.1 Weighting factors appropriate for floor design (printed page 27), PDF page 39. Open the publisher PDF at page 39 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 7.1 continued: Ib, Is and Ip defined, and Table 7.2 Approximate dynamic second moment of area for composite slabs (printed page 48), PDF page 60. Open the publisher PDF at page 60 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 6.6 Vibration dose values (VDVs), Eq. (40) and (41) (printed page 44), PDF page 56. Open the publisher PDF at page 56 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Appendix D.1 worked example, sheet 6: floor response and response factor (printed page 103), PDF page 115. Open the publisher PDF at page 115 (opens in a new tab) ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Appendix D.1 worked example, sheet 7: vibration dose value and finite element comparison (printed page 104), PDF page 116. Open the publisher PDF at page 116 (opens in a new tab) ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Appendix D.1 worked example, sheet 8: test results (printed page 105), PDF page 117. Open the publisher PDF at page 117 (opens in a new tab) ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 8.1.3 continued, 8.2 Hospital floors, 8.2.1 Design parameters and 8.2.2 (printed page 58), PDF page 70. Open the publisher PDF at page 70 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 9 References, item 29 (HTM 08-01: Acoustics, 2008) (printed page 69), PDF page 81. Open the publisher PDF at page 81 (opens in a new tab) ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 8.1 Floors subject to rhythmic activities, 8.1.1 and 8.1.2 (printed page 56), PDF page 68. Open the publisher PDF at page 68 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 8.1.2 continued and 8.1.3 Floor response (printed page 57), PDF page 69. Open the publisher PDF at page 69 (opens in a new tab) ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 8.3 Light steel floors and 8.3.1 Stiffness and frequency criteria (printed page 60), PDF page 72. Open the publisher PDF at page 72 (opens in a new tab) ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Tables 8.3 and 8.4, and 8.3.2 Response factor analysis (printed page 61), PDF page 73. Open the publisher PDF at page 73 (opens in a new tab) ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Table 8.5 Adjusted VDV values and 8.4 Car parks (printed page 65), PDF page 77. Open the publisher PDF at page 77 (opens in a new tab) ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Appendix B.1.3 continued and B.2 Retrofit and remedial measures, B.2.1 to B.2.3 (printed page 81), PDF page 93. Open the publisher PDF at page 93 (opens in a new tab) ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Appendix B.2.3 continued (tuned mass dampers, damping materials) and B.3 (printed page 82), PDF page 94. Open the publisher PDF at page 94 (opens in a new tab) ↩
Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Appendix B.1 Evaluation of floor vibration problems, B.1.1 to B.1.3 (printed page 80), PDF page 92. Open the publisher PDF at page 92 (opens in a new tab) ↩

What the Dubai Building Code requires

How floors vibrate under people

Acceptance criteria: the response factor

The simplified method for regular steel-concrete floors

Worked illustration: a hypothetical long-span office floor

Hospital floors

Gyms, dance floors and grandstands

Light steel floors

Car parks

Stairs

Fixing a floor that bounces too much

Vibration items to state in the basis of design

Scope and limits

Questions this guide answers

Source notes

Related

Other guides

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