Site Specific Engineering

Overview

This process may bring back memories of high school maths, but thankfully, ShedSafe, SMS, and our engineers take care of the technical work for you. All you need to understand are the components that influence the calculations and how to follow the correct steps in SMS.

Previously, determining windspeed was an inaccurate and complicated task. SteelX simplified this by automating it virtually and passing the process to ShedSafe to manage for the broader industry’s benefit. With SteelX's guidance, ShedSafe continues to develop this tool.

As a salesperson, all you need to do is navigate to the Design Criteria tab in SMS and follow these steps:

Step-by-step instructions

To perform a Site Check in SMS:

1. Check the site address

2. Locate where the building will be constructed

3. Position it on the map

4. Correctly orientate the building

5. Click AutoCalc to obtain the design windspeed

6. Answer the 4 client confirmation questions

7. Click Save & Close

👉 Once complete, your windspeed and snowload will automatically be applied to the job.

Why this is important

When designing a shed, several site-specific factors must be considered to ensure structural safety and compliance. These factors affect engineering, span, bay sizes, bracing, fixings, and ultimately, whether SMS will allow the shed design to proceed.

Exceeding these engineering limits will result in an error message, and SMS will not generate a price until the design has been revised.

Key factors considered in site-specific engineering

These factors are applied in 8 cardinal directions:

• Regional Windspeed (Vr):
  Varies based on the importance level selected in SMS

• Terrain Category (TC):
  Described as TC 1, 2, 2.5, 3, and 4, this affects height multipliers

• Shielding Factor (Ms):

  • Must be a structure taller than the shed to be valid

  • Trees and shrubs do not count as shielding

• Wind Direction Multiplier (Md):

  • Based on wind region and cardinal direction

• Topographic Factor (Mt):

  • Accounts for elevation (hills, valleys, coastlines, etc.)

  • Higher locations = higher windspeed

• Distance from Coastline:

  • Affects wind speed and corrosion considerations

🛈 Snowload and Earthquake factors are assessed separately.

The impacts on shed design

Site-specific engineering directly influences:

• Maximum height and width

• Bay sizing and opening sizes

• Bracing and fixings

• Whether SMS can calculate a price

SMS will notify you if any engineering limitations are exceeded and will prompt adjustments.

Tips & best practices

• Always pin the correct site address

• Ensure the building orientation matches the customer's plan

• Be aware of shielding myths—trees and bushes don’t count!

• If unsure, contact engineering or use the Request Engineering – Site Check form