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Guide · Building frames

Structural calculations and shop drawings: what each one does

Dubai, UAESources checked 23 September 2026Technical review pending

Sources, edition and review status 4 source documents
Applies to
Dubai, UAE
Covers
Building frames · Design basis · Drawings · Connections · Erection
Based on
Dubai Building Code 2021 Edition, Part F; Trakhees steel-framing checklist (2019); Dubai Municipality safety guide; SCI P358 cited for a general principle only
Source check
Source check with an independent AI review of the findings (23 September 2026). Numbers, tables and exceptions were read from the source pages. No independent human engineering or legal review yet.
Status
Technical review pending. Later amendments not exhaustively audited.

How this library uses sources · Source notes for this guide

The question

What is the difference between a structural calculation report and steel shop drawings, and why does a project usually need both?

Short answer

They answer different questions. A calculation report states the adopted codes and design basis1 and checks strength together with deflection, movement and vibration.2 Shop drawings turn the reviewed design into the parts, assemblies, dimensions and erection information the workshop and site team build from; one Trakhees checklist, for example, lists consultant-approved shop drawings based on the authority-approved drawings.3 In practice they are sequential on most projects, connection design is where they meet, and neither replaces the other or is an authority approval.

What a calculation report establishes

Under Part F of the Dubai Building Code, the engineer states in calculations, drawings, specifications and basis-of-design reports which codes and standards the design is based on, by document number, title, version and units.1

For structural steel, Part F bases design on AISC 360 and the standards it references, with AISC 341 for seismic design, ASTM material standards and AWS welding standards. The engineer is responsible for making the material specification compatible with the design basis, including detailing requirements and ductility.4

Loads are defined under ASCE/SEI 7-16 and Part F. The engineer determines superimposed dead loads and supports those assumptions with calculations. Part F says loading plan drawings showing the load provision should be submitted for approval, that assumptions are validated against the systems installed, and that late changes are not made without new approval.5

Strength is only one item. Part F’s minimum basis of design also lists deflection control, building movement due to wind and seismic actions, movement joints, vibration and fatigue.2

What shop drawings do

Practical consideration

Shop drawings are fabrication and erection documents. They carry exact geometry, assembly and part marks, hole positions, weld and bolt information, finish and erection marks. They are produced from design information that has already been checked, and they are not the place to decide whether a member is strong enough.

Trakhees’ steel-framing inspection checklist shows the order in practice. Its documentation items include drawings approved by the Civil Engineering Department, steel structure shop drawings approved by the consultant on the basis of those approved drawings, bolt and stud test certificates, and welding test certificates.3

Practical consideration

That checklist is a 2019 document for Trakhees jurisdiction, and other authorities organise inspections differently. It is cited here to illustrate the relationship between approved design and shop drawings, not as a universal list.

Where the two meet: connections

A connection drawn as a pin also has to behave like one. SCI P358, UK guidance for Eurocode 3, describes a nominally pinned joint as one that transmits the internal forces without significant moments, accepts the resulting rotations, provides the directional restraint assumed in member design, and has sufficient tying resistance for structural integrity.6

Practical consideration

P358 is cited for the principle that the detail must match the assumption in the analysis. Part F names AISC 360 as the design basis for structural steel, so Eurocode guidance is not evidence that a Eurocode design basis is accepted for a Dubai project.4

Practical consideration

The practical question for every project is who designs the connections. Where the consultant designs them, the detailer follows that design. Where connection design is delegated to the fabricator, it becomes calculation scope, and its results drive the detail.

  1. Design basisAdopted codes and editions, loads, materials and performance criteria.
  2. Calculation reportMembers, connections, bases and anchors, reactions and serviceability checks.
  3. Design reviewConsultant or engineer of record review under their own appointment.
  4. Shop drawingsAssemblies, single parts, anchor plans and erection drawings from the reviewed design.
  5. Erection planSequence, temporary supports, equipment and risk assessment before steel goes up.
A typical sequence. Connection design sits across the first four steps, depending on who is appointed to do it.

After the drawings: erection

Dubai Municipality’s construction safety guide asks the contractor, before erecting any steel structure, to prepare a detailed steel erection plan covering risk assessment, temporary supports, erection equipment and sequence, and to submit it to the engineering office for approval. It also requires confirmation that supporting concrete has attained sufficient strength for erection loads.7

What to send for each

  • For calculations: architectural layout and sections, intended use and loads, location and exposure, information on the host structure, and the adopted codes and specification
  • For shop drawings: the reviewed design drawings or calculation output, who is responsible for connection design, finish or galvanizing specification, site dimensions, and any erection constraints
  • For both: revision status, so the drawings and the calculation refer to the same design

A working list for requesting either service. It is not an authority submission list.

Scope and limits

Practical consideration

Finesse Infra Steel Constructions provides structural calculation reports for the agreed steelwork scope. Authority submission and obtaining approvals are outside that service. Review and any stamp belong to the project’s appointed consultant, and approval belongs to the relevant authority.

Questions this guide answers

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 23 September 2026. These notes support the statements; they are not a substitute for reading the current document for a project.

  1. Dubai Building Code, 2021 Edition. Government of Dubai; official copy hosted by Dubai Development Authority. Part F, F.4.1 Application (printed page F11), PDF page 337. Open the publisher PDF at page 337 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩

  2. Dubai Building Code, 2021 Edition. Government of Dubai; official copy hosted by Dubai Development Authority. Part F, F.8.1 Design basis (printed page F44), PDF page 370. Open the publisher PDF at page 370 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩

  3. Checklists for Structural Inspections, Collection listed February 2023; each checklist cited by page (for example steel structures framing TRK-CED-IC-CF01r, Rev. 01, and TRK-CED-IC-CF01ab, Rev. 00, both August 2019). Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC), Trakhees. Structural works inspection for steel structures framing, TRK-CED-IC-CF01r, section 1 Documentation, items 3, 4, 6 and 7, PDF page 54. Open the publisher PDF at page 54 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩

  4. Dubai Building Code, 2021 Edition. Government of Dubai; official copy hosted by Dubai Development Authority. Part F, F.6.5.1 Design basis and F.6.5.2 Steel grades, right-hand column (printed page F29), PDF page 355. Open the publisher PDF at page 355 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩

  5. Dubai Building Code, 2021 Edition. Government of Dubai; official copy hosted by Dubai Development Authority. Part F, F.7.1 to F.7.4 Loads and superimposed dead loads (printed page F33), PDF page 359. Open the publisher PDF at page 359 (opens in a new tab) ↩

  6. Joints in Steel Construction: Simple Joints to Eurocode 3 (SCI P358), 2014 reprint. Steel Construction Institute and British Constructional Steelwork Association. Section 1.2 Joint considerations, joint classification (printed page 1), PDF page 11. Open the publisher PDF at page 11 (opens in a new tab) ↩

  7. Safety Guide for Construction Works in the Emirate of Dubai, Publisher page dated 15 July 2026; no numbered edition on the cover. Dubai Municipality. Chapter 11 Steel erection, 11.1 General requirements, items 1 and 2, PDF page 108. Open the publisher PDF at page 108 (opens in a new tab) ↩