Pre-Engineered Metal Building: Structure & Features – Complete BIM Strategy

Pre-engineered metal buildings are the new-age replacements for traditional buildings.

The construction of these structures now involves the use of advanced Building Information Modeling (BIM) software and Computer-aided design software like AutoCAD, for precision during fabrication and enhanced ease during installation.

These are coming into trend because of their low construction cost, time, and low labor requirement. Manufacturing companies deliver the pre-engineered components at the site with no welding or cutting required.

These buildings have found enormous use in the industrial sectors. Here, the construction of warehouses or steel structures on the site delays projects, while pre-engineered metal buildings make progress faster.

What is a Pre-engineered Metal Building (PEMB)?

The origin of pre-engineered metal buildings dates back to the 1930s, where it found uses in airplane hangars and grain storage.

These structures are preferred now for their versatility and are perfectly suited for different settings. Offices, warehouses, retail space, metal garage, and especially manufacturing plants, are now heavily using these to cut costs and time.

A coast to coast network is a wide spread network of authorized builders, which also includes PEMB builders.

What do PEMBs include?

Pre-engineered metal buildings include these primary components: primary framing (steel for the roof and walls), secondary framing, metal cladding, and insulated metal panels for walls and roofs.

The secondary framing consists of the supporting structures, which are of steel and aluminium. The metal cladding is fit to the secondary framing, forming the roof and wall envelope. This separates the internal environment from the external conditions.

Customization options for pre-engineered metal buildings include various roof styles, garage doors, and paint colors.

PEMB Vs Traditional Metal Building - A Comparison

Pre-engineered buildings are manufactured structures that are assembled on-site. They are manufactured in specialized factories, with high precision and advanced BIM-driven techniques. PEMBs are constructed in factories based on a standard modular approach, where every structure category is the same. This is the reason these structures buy less construction time and reduce labor costs.

In contrast, traditional metal buildings require on-site construction with raw materials. There is a procurement of those raw materials, the time for construction, and higher labor costs. Compared to the standard modular approach in PEMBs, these buildings offer greater design flexibility and customization options.

PEMBs offer construction that is significantly faster, with timelines reduced by 20% to 50% compared to traditional methods.

A brief comparison table:

Aspect	Pre-Engineered Metal Building	Traditional Metal Building
Design approach	Engineered using a standard modular approach	Custom-designed on-site
Time	Minimal time required as designs are pre-validated	Longer time due to the traditional approach
Fabrication	Precisely fabricated in specialized factories	Often done on-site
Cost efficiency	More economical	Labor costs add to more upfront costs
Quality	High quality due to controlled factory environment	Quality is variable and depends on site conditions

Features of a Pre-engineered Metal Building

PEBMs consist of several features, which contribute to the effectiveness and efficiency of these modern construction elements.

Factory-engineered Structural System

These buildings are engineered using standard engineering processes. The process includes designing these buildings, analyzing to see if the client's requirements are met, and even optimizing for cost-cutting and installation ease.

Integrated Building Package

PEMBs are a single system coordinated to work together in sync, with both lovable and static parts. They are delivered in modules that, when assembled, act as a single system.

The system includes the following models that are assembled on-site:

• Primary and secondary steel
• Roof and wall metal cladding
• Bracing systems, metal carports
• Fasteners and accessories

Lightweight but high strength

The exciting fact is that PEMBs are not designed to bear load on the mass.

Rather, the precision and engineering proficiency lie in the geometry and profiling of the building project. For example, tapered sections reduce the dead load, the foundation is made such that foundation loads are lower, spans are clearer and economical, which uses less concrete, and this makes the process energy efficient.

The geometry is optimized through advanced systems, which ensures that there is more steel where the stresses are high and less steel where they are low.

This reduces and almost eliminates material wastage with today’s advanced digital tools. In traditional ways, a high amount of waste is generated.

Flexible Architectural and Functional Design

PEMBs are custom-engineered because of operational requirements.

Everything is designed with a modular framing logic, which makes the architecture and functional planning flexible. The advantage of these is wide clear spans, which enable uninterrupted production lines, high-density racking systems, and free logistics movement.

Since there are no internal columns in these structures, which enhances flexibility and future reconfiguration scopes, essential for industrial and logistics facilities.

Pre-engineered structures always have a functional aim when designed. Most of these structures can carry partial or full-floor mezzanines, light to heavy-duty overhead cranes, etc.

They are built with the impact factors considered into the primary frame design. This advanced level of engineering allows for more flexible and functional building features.

Scalability and Future Expansion

Since pre-engineered metal buildings are modular, they have, for example, end bays.

These are designed such that there can be future extensions performed, and additional spans can be added with minimal disruption.

The thought of expansion is a prethought, where the structural logic from the initial stage. In case the expansion is required, the end wall sheeting can be removed, and even additional frames and purlins can be bolted in place, without minimal disruption.

BIM Compatibility

Today’s pre-engineered metal buildings define digital-ready systems.

The design, detailing, and fabrication are done such that they naturally align with BIM-based project delivery. These systems are modeled parametrically with consistent naming and number logic.

This allows BIM specialists to perform early-stage MEP coordination, which enables clash resolution in the model itself and not on-site. Also, the steel used in PEMBs is recyclable, which makes the structures environmentally sustainable.

Cons of Pre-engineered Metal Building

While these buildings have several benefits, from reduced construction time and costs to scalability, flexibility, and BIM compatibility, they have cons. And these are:

Higher Upfront Costs

Organizations need to understand one thing: that standard PEMBs are not that costly.

However, if there are customizations, it can lead to high costs for a new building. Since the structures come prefabricated, the modification of components (not expansion here), to meet specific design requirements. For instance, in the case of a steel warehouse, modifications after assembling will lead to higher costs.

The initial cost savings, for example, of standard prefab steel building kits often end up offsetting here, which is a huge drawback in terms of cost-effectiveness.

Condensation Issues

When metal surfaces come in contact with the humid air, the water vapor trapped quickly condenses.

Metal buildings have this issue, as metal surfaces cool down rapidly, and the moisture on them, if not taken care of, can reduce the longevity of the building. It can cause the formation of mold and even structural damage over time, for example, in garage doors.

Now, people often get confused between steel and metal pre-engineered buildings. While they are the same and used interchangeably, from a technical perspective, they are different.

Pre-Engineered Steel and Metal Buildings: Are they really different?

The pre-engineered metal buildings are the industry-standard term, and the 'steel' version is common but is not precise.

The reason is, a pre-engineered ‘metal’ building means a complete factory-designed, prefabricated building system. It consists of rigid steel frames, metal sheets for cladding, and bolts for connections.

However, steel is a type of metal used in the primary structure of PEMBs. And the final structure includes a lot of things that do not get covered. Calling those steel structures only refers to the structure and not the system as a whole.

When the Difference Matters

While the difference between these two feels academic, the precision matters during the technical specification formations.

There is no scope for interchangeability here; specifications serve as instructions for the fabricators. A single term will define the scope boundaries, material responsibility, fabrication limits, and performance criteria.

Also, while drafting contracts, the concern is about the meaning and not the common terms. For example, if the terms are ambiguous, there will be no accountability, and inevitable disputes will arise.

Then, while preparing drawings that would be examined by authorities, terminologies need to be strictly defined under classifications and codes.

Final Thoughts

Pre-engineered metal buildings are the custom solutions in modern construction to reduce project costs and construction time. While there are several benefits of these, some limitations still make it unsuitable for certain conditions. These pre-fabricated systems are metal building kits that are assembled on the job site and made functional.

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