Early bearing advice provides the key to successful civil engineering projects

By using its expertise and experience as early as possible in the design stages of large engineering projects, a bearing supplier can help the architect to select the most appropriate, cost effective bearing solution.

The design of bearings for large structures and buildings such as sports stadiums, bridges, dams, flood gates, train station roofs and airports, is critical and must not be treated as an afterthought by architects and designers. Typically these bearings have to support several hundred tonnes in weight and be able to cope with often harsh operating environments, including extreme heat, freezing temperatures, sandstorms and aggressive saltwater. In certain applications, the bearings may also need to be earthquake-proof.

It is important that designers engage with the bearing supplier as early in their design process as possible, so that the design of the bearing can be optimised for the application, saving time and money and usually resulting in a more cost effective overall design of a building or structure.