Introduction – A comparison of technical and practical aspects

In South Africa hot-rolled steelwork is pri- marily designed using the SANS 10162-1:2005 code, The Structural Use of Steel – Part 1: Limit-state design of hot-rolled steelwork(SANS 2005), of which the first edition was published in 1993. The code is based on the Canadian steelwork design code, CSA S16, which has the same approach to design as that of the USA. Historically South Africa used to follow the British standards in terms of steelwork design, such as BS 5950 (BS 1995). However, recently the code for the design of cold-formed steelwork in this country, SANS 10162-2 (SANS 2011), has been updated, and is now based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard AS/NZ 4600:2005 (AS/NZS 2005).

It can thus be seen that South Africa draws upon a diverse range of codes. Compiling a design code requires vast resources, and it has been more expedient to adopt or adapt the work of other countries.

The development of the Eurocodes was initiated in 1975, whereby “the objective of the programme was the elimination of technical obstacles to trade and the harmonisation of technical specifications” for the European construction industry (Eurocode Foreword).