Getting started

Welcome to SES (Structural Engineering Simplified) — web-based tools for real structural workflows: gravity load take-down, tributary areas, FEM reactions, column design, and more.

1. Create a project

From the Dashboard, choose Projects → New project. A project groups the floors, geometry, and analyses for one building.

2. Draw a floor

Open the Gravity tool and use the canvas to place:

• Slabs — the load-bearing areas
• Beams, walls, and columns — the supports
• Loads — dead and live, applied as area, line, or point loads

Snapping, layers, undo/redo, and selection all work as you'd expect from a CAD-style canvas.

3. Run an analysis

With a floor drawn, run:

• Tributary analysis — distributes slab loads to supports by tributary area
• FEM reactions — a finite-element plate solve for support reactions, with DEAD/LIVE splitting and member self-weight
• Load run-down — accumulates reactions down the building

Results render directly on the canvas and in summary tables.

Next steps

• Read Key concepts for the modelling vocabulary.
• See the Gravity analysis guide for the tributary vs FEM workflows.
• Have a question? Browse Discussions or check the FAQ.