cm exam personal reflections

| Personal Reflections | Chartered Members | 5

Chartered Membership - Personal Reflections Graham Wood Prize Winner 2009 - Mark Hamer“Awarded to Mark Hamer, age 29, of Skelmersdale, who submitted a design solution of the highest standard, designed primarily in structural steelwork. Mark, a Technical Director for Sanderson Watts Associates based in Wigan, has been involved in a wide range of commercial and nuclear building projects with contract values ranging from £1/4M to £250M.”

General reflectionsThe Institution’s CM exam is one of the toughest exams I have undertaken. Clearly it’s designed to test your ability as a structural designer which incorporates natural creativity, technical competence, drawing ability and written communication skills, but most of all it’s a test of your experience and your exam technique. I cannot stress enough the importance of good preparation to develop a suitable exam technique which will give you the platform to demonstrate your ability as an engineer and will ultimately be the key to your success.

Exam preparationThe following items made up the bulk of my preparation of the CM examination.• AttendanceofanInstitutionCMexaminationpreparationcourse• Collated‘personal’structuraldesignreferencefile• Reviewedexamguidancenotesandpersonalreflections• Completedpastpapersunderexamconditions(essential!)anddiscusseddesign solutions with senior colleagues.

The key to passing the exam is the work you put in before the exam. I believe there is no substituteforpractisingpastpaperswhenitcomestorefiningyourexamtechnique.Icompletedfivepastpapersunderexamconditionsinthethreemonthspriortotheexam.Section1oneweekend,Section2thenext,inbetweenthefootballofcourse.ThesewerethehardmileswhichI believe were the key to my success.

IalsocollatedapersonalbuildingdesignreferencefilecontainingallthematerialwhichIthoughtwouldcomeinusefulontheday.TherealityisIonlyrecallopeningthisfileoranyotherreferencebookafewtimesontheday,butinpreparingthisfileithadservedtorefreshmymindonmanydesignprocedures,typicaldetailsetc.Thetemptationistosimplycopyotherprepfilesentirely.Iwould urge you collate your own, as this is a key part of your preparation.

I’m convinced that if your preparation is good and complete, the exam day should take care of itself.Remember-failtoprepare,preparetofail!

The ExamIbelievethatincompletingSection1well,youaremorethanhalfwaythere.Makeamessofitandtherewon’tbethetimetogobackandcorrectyourmistakes.Section2shouldthenbejustificationofthemorning’swork.Soitisimperativethatyouread,pauseandconsider,beforeselecting the question.

3 Golden RulesStick to the plan–Developatimetablewhichyouarecomfortablewith.Remember,onemarkeveryfour minutes, so don’t get bogged down and stick to the timetable.

Provide two distinct schemes–Idefineddistinctasbeing-differentprimarymaterials,geometry,loadpaths, stability systems and substructure solutions.

Stability! Stability! Stability!-Providingasafeandeconomicdesignsolutionisthenameofthegame.Providestabilitystatementsaccompaniedbyloadingandforcediagramsclearlyhighlightinghowboth vertical and lateral stability is achieved for each distinct scheme.

Finally, I would to advise anyone sitting the exam not to stress too much. You’ve got the right experience(yourportfolioprovesthat)andyourpreparationiscomplete.Allyoucandonowistryyourbest.Andremember,wearestructuralengineersbecauseweenjoydesigningbuildings,sorelax, take it easy, if possible enjoy the experience, and take from it as much as you can.

Good luck!


Chartered Membership - Personal Reflections AE Wynn Prize Winner 2009 - William Wong “Awarded to William WONG Wan-Kei, age 28, of Hong Kong who submitted a solution of the highest standard designed primarily in structural concrete. William, a structural engineer for Arup, has been involved in a wide range of buildings projects, including the Macau Venetian Parcel 5 and 6 Hotel Resort Development project in Macau.“

Thesevenhour-longCMexaminationisdefinitelythetoughestandlongestexamIhaveeverdone. Doing a week’s work in a single day is really exhausting and stressful. The best thing todoafterwalkingoutoftheexaminationhallistostopthinkingabouttheexamandrelax!Unfortunately for me, I met three other colleagues and we started discussing the work we had done.Asweweretalking,weallfoundthatwehadmademistakesandwestartedworryingthatwewouldn’tpasstheexam.Luckilyweallsatisfiedtheexaminersandpassedtheexamatthefirstattempt.IwillbesogladtohavemyEasterholidaybacknextyear!

IstartedmypreparationworkrightafterJanuaryandthefirstthingIdidwastopreparemyfolders.ImanagedtocollectareferencefilefrommycolleagueswhohadrecentlypassedtheexamandIspentcoupleofweekendsgoingthroughthenotes,tidyingthemup,andfiguringoutwhat sort of questions I might be asked in the exam. I would say being well prepared is a key to pass this exam, and here are some of my tips for future candidates.

Reference folderAsmanyprevioussuccessorshavesaid,mostofthenotesbroughtintotheexamwillnotbeused(butrathertheycometorescuewhensomethingyouarenottoofamiliarwithcomesupinthequestion).So,tominimisethetimelookingthroughinformationinthebigboxfolder,Ieventually prepared two folders: a small folder containing all the useful information/design charts/ keypoints/lettertemplates/checklistswhichIknewIwoulddefinitelyuseintheexam;andabigbox folder with all the other notes/ work reference/ sketches etc.

Past paper, exam CD and report I attempted a lot of past papers. My approach was to pick two to three past papers and copy the answer, familiarise myself with the format and the workload before doing the paper under exam conditions. Try to do as many questions as possible under exam conditions because this really helps you to build up the speed and technique you need for the exam. I also suggest reading the examination report because they tell you what the examiners are looking for, and why people fail in this exam.

The exam CD also contains a lot of useful information. I learnt a lot by reading their suggested solutions, especially how to present the schemes and sketches in a presentable format.

Work and talk with othersIwouldsayformingastudygroup(twotothreepeople)isaveryeffectivewaytostudyforthisexam as you can learn a lot from each other. I worked with one of my friends and we did a lot of mock exams together. We marked each other’s work and discussed the answer afterwards. I foundmyselflearningalotthroughthediscussionsandfortunatelybothofuspassedtheexam!I also discussed the question with my seniors and people who had recently passed, asking for their comments on my answers.

Sofortherealexam,hereismyadvice:

Read the questionMakeuseofthefirst15minutestoreadthequestion.Choosetheoneyoufeelconfidentwithasyouwon’thavetimetochangeit.Alltheinformationwritteninthequestionisusefulanditmeans something, so make sure you cover these points in your answer or else you will miss the client’s requirements. My approach is to highlight all the information and put it down in the design appraisal.


Distinct schemeAsIlearntfromtheseminar,oneoftheeasiestwaystoprovidetwodistinctschemesistochoosedifferentmaterialforthebuilding.IthereforeproposedRCvsSteelstructureasmytwodistinctschemes,andIchoosetheRCschemeforthedetaildesign.Checkcarefullywiththedesignappraisal so that both of your schemes can satisfy the client’s requirements.

Good handwriting, sketches and drawingDecent handwriting will give the examiners a good impression, so make sure your hand writing canbeeasilyread.Secondly,usemoresketchestoshowtheschemesandloadtransfer.Thisnot only helps the examiner to understand the scheme better, but it saves time not having to write it word for word.For the drawing, think carefully of the scale you are going to use and what you are going to draw. Donotdraweverythingonafloorplan,savesometimeforthecriticalelements,suchastransfer/hanger structures.

Stick to the timescale, finish every partMytimetablewastofinishbothschemes,theletter,andpartofthecalculationinthemorningsection, and complete the calculation, drawings and method statement/program in the afternoon. Youshouldprepareyourowntimetable.Stickwithitandmakesureyouattempteverypartofthequestion.

Check the workLeaveyourself15minutestocheckthework.Checkbothschemestoensureitcanfulfilltheclient’s requirements, such as minimum headroom, column spacing, column free zone etc. Make useofthislast15minutes.

Finally,gocelebrateandrelaxaftertheexam,andtrynottodiscussit!

Good luck to you all!


Chartered Membership - Personal Reflections Cass Hayward Prize Winner 2009 - Cheung Hang Shan

My preparation:SettingadetailedrevisiontimetableisthemostimportantstepforyoutogetthroughPart3oftheexamination.Somecandidatesarereluctanttosetatimetableforthemselvesinthebeginning, and claim that no matter how carefully the timetable is prepared, they would fail to follow it.

Infact,settingatimetableisnotaimedatforcingyoutofollowittotheletter.Rather,itisachance for you to understand your situation more clearly, including your available study time, the area required to be studied, and the relevant material that needs to be prepared. Therefore, it is more important for you to list out all the related items, and decide your own time arrangements for each item.

Basically, you could divide your exam preparation into three parts:

1 Collecting materialYou may not familiar with the format and scope of the examination. Therefore, in the beginning, you should try your best to collect all kinds of related material, as well as seek advice from your seniors. The following are some examples:a) Referencematerialaboutbridgeconstruction(e.g.differentstructuralformsofbridge, designcriteriaofbridges,functionsofbearingandmovementjoint,etc)b) Pastpapersandexaminers’reports(collectatleast10yearsofpastpapers,orover20 yearsispreferable)c) Referenceanswersdonebypastcandidates(rememberthattheseanswersmaynotbe correct.TheyareNOTmodelanswers!)d) Referencefilepreparedbypastcandidates

2 Background preparationAftercollectingthematerial,youneededtohaveabriefunderstandingofthematerialandthenorganise it. The background preparation should include:a) Revisebackgroundknowledge You should do the revision before you study the past papers. It will refresh your mind andhelpyoutogetintotheexaminationpapersmorequicklyafterwards.Somecandidates do the reverse and soon found that they wasted a lot of time struggling on different and unfamiliar technical problems.b) Analysepastpapersandexaminers’reports To familiarise yourself with the scope and format of examination questions, it is worth studying past examination questions in detail. I spent several weeks summarising different key points of the past papers. Together with the examiners’ reports, you will soon clearly understand what the questions were asking, and what kind of answer the examiners are looking for.c) Studyreferenceanswersdonebypastcandidates Asmentionedbefore,theanswersdonebypastcandidatesarecertainlynotthemodel answer. You should compare the answers with the examiners’ reports and identify which reference answers are useful.

3 PractisingIn my opinion, I would suggest concentrating on one part of a question until you feel completely confident.Forexample,youcouldspendthreeweekspractisingPart1(a)ofaquestionfromdifferent years until you are happy about working out most of the solutions of different structural forms of bridge.

Atthesametime,youcouldstartpreparingyourownreferencefile.Trytomakethereferencefilesimpletouse.Finally,youcouldchooseseveralyears’questionstoworkon.

Thewholepreparationprocessisnotaone-wayprocess.Youshouldnotimaginethepreparationprocess is as simple as: collect material background preparation practising.


Somegapsinknowledgewillbefoundafterpractisingthepastpapers.Youshouldpreparetorestartyourbackgroundpreparationworkandadjustthereferencefilefrequently.Thefollowingdiagram shows how the actual preparation works:

Tips for answering the questions:

1 Part 1 (a) • Part1(a)isalwaysthemostimportantpartofyouranswer.Someinformationmustbe illustrated clearly to the examiners, such as load path and stability. • Dimensionisimportant.Tryyourbesttoestimatethebasicdimensionofthebridge, such as the total span, depth of section and foundation size, etc. Numbers always attract theexaminersandmakethembelievethatyouareconfidentofyoursolution.• Sub-structureisimportant.Itisobviousthatmostcandidateswouldconcentrateonthe superstructuredesign.Infact,themostdifficultpartofthequestionisusuallyaboutthe designofsub-structureandfoundation.Trytostudymorespecialtypesofsub-structure, suchasL-shaperetainingwallabutment,pipepilewallabutmentandmini-piles,etc.2 Part 1 (b)Usually, you are writing to answer questions from your client. Therefore, you should concentrate on the views of the client and express your willingness to solve the problem. In addition, translate the structural impact into the simple changes required, such as “concrete volume is required to be increase xxx, and the cost will be increased for xxx”.

Collecting material

Revisebasicknowledge of different

kind of bridge

AnalysepastpapersandExaminers’Reports

StudyreferenceanswerdonebyPastcandidates

Preparingyourownreferencefile

PractisingPastpapers(bysectionsofquestion)

PractisingPastpapers(byyears)

Background

Preparation

Practicing

d

n

3 Part 2 (c) There are so many hints from the examiners’ report for this part. You must remember not to repeatthemostcommonmistakes.Forexample,sub-structuredesignisasimportantasthesuper-structuredesign.Youshouldspendthesameamountoftimeonbothofthem.4 Part 2 (d)Plan,elevationandsectionarethekeypartsofyourdrawings.Trytostudymoretypicalbridgedrawingstofindoutwhichcomponentsmustbeshown.Moreover,agoodqualitytypical detail, such as bearing detail and connection detail would help you to gain more marks.5 Part 2 (e)Inmyopinion,Part2(e)answerisoneofthebestchancesforyoutoshowyourabilitytotheexaminers. This is because most of the candidates use up all their time to work on other parts andusuallydon’tperformwellonPart2(e).Ifyoucanpresentabettersolution,itwillgivetheexaminers a very good impression.

Toconclude,Part3isacombinationofshowingyourprofessionalknowledgeandyourexaminationskills.TryyourbesttostartpreparationearlyandGOODLUCK!



Chartered Membership - Personal Reflections AE Wynn Prize Winner 2008 - Chris TownsendAwarded to Chris Townsend, age 29, of London who submitted a solution of the highest standard designed primarily in structural concrete. Chris, a senior structural engineer for Arup, has been involved in a wide range of buildings projects, including an Art College in Chelsea, the refurbishment of the London Coliseum and a Foster-designed winery in Spain.

Walkingoutoftheexam,myoverridingemotionwasofreliefthatitwasallfinallyover.Unabletochange anything, I resolved not to think about it again. The last thing that I wanted to do was to havetowriteanythingaboutit!Unfortunately,itwasnottobe,sohereIam‘reflecting’ontheday.IthinkthatinaslightlyperversewayIactuallyenjoyedsittingtheexam.Afterthreemonthsofeveningcoursesandlunchtimemeetingsandworkingthroughpastpapers,Iwasdefinitelygladthat the end was in sight, and that I was only a few hours from having my life back.Thereisahugeamountofadvicearoundonhowyoumightpreparefortheexam.Ratherthanre-iterateallofthisadvice,I’vetriedtothinkaboutwhatIdidwiththeadvice,andwhichkeythingsIfeelhelpedmethemost.Pleasetakeitallwithapinchofsalt-everyoneIknowprepareddifferently, and in many ways the exam is about playing to your strengths.

Make a reference fileLikeeveryoneelse,Icollatedareferencefileof‘everything’thatIthoughtImightbeasked.Ialsohada12-pagesummaryofthefile,withkeypoints,checklists,andreferencestotherestofmyfile,whichIreferredtoconstantlyduringtheexam.

Do past papersIlookedatalotofpastpapers,somefor10minutes,someforafull7½hourmockexam.Doingquestions helped me to understand what might come up, but doing a practice paper under exam conditions taught me far more about sitting the exam, and was an essential part of my preparation. In the end, I did three mock papers.

Talk to peopleI talked to anyone who might be able to help, both other candidates and more experienced engineers.IdiscussedthequestionsI’ddone(andtheonesIcouldn’tdo!),reviewedwhatwas(andwasn’t!)inmyfile,andaskedabouttheareasIknewthatIwasweakin.

Prepare a timetable There are plenty around, but I wrote my own after doing a couple of practice papers. By then, I knew that I could answer the written parts of the question much more quickly than the calculationsandthedrawings,soIputallofthewrittenparts(1A&1B,2E)intothemorning,andleft the calculations and drawings for the afternoon, even though this didn’t split the marks evenly.

Understand the questionAbitofacliché,buteverythinginthequestionisimportantandcannotbeignored.Intheexam,Ilistedeachpieceofinformationonthefirstpage,andnotedthepossibleimplications.

Remember the design appraisalWhenIfirstlookedatquestions,Ispentalongtimeconcentratingonmytwo‘distinct’solutions,andoftenstruggled.EventuallyIdecidedthatthebestwayformetodothiswastoconcentrateonthe‘designappraisal’partofthequestion,beforelookingforsolutions.

I listed everything relevant to the question, and discussed each point in turn. By the end of this, I found that I had two possible solutions for most problems, and generally pros and cons for each as well. This made the two solutions, and the choice of scheme, relatively straightforward.

In spite of all the preparation that I did, once I was in the exam I found myself wishing that I had another three months to prepare. However, I carried on, and I got stuck into the problem at hand, and before I knew it time was up and all the hard work was summarised on the few sheets of paperinfrontofme.Fortunatelythiswassufficienttoconvincetheexaminerstopassme,andI’mnowveryhappytobebothaMemberoftheInstitutionandaCharteredEngineer.


Chartered Membership - Personal Reflections AE Wynn Prize Winner 2007 - John WickhamAwarded to Mr. John Wickham of Royceton, Dublin who submitted a solution of the highest standard designed primarily in structural concrete.

Friday13April2007wasthedauntingdateofthisstressfulexaminationbutIdecidedtofullypreparemyselftomakeitthroughthistime.Iwasconfidentthatmytechnicalskillswerealreadywellqualifiedtomakemepassthisexamination;butwhatIneededwasthenecessaryexaminationtechniqueandthetimecontroltotackletheproblem.AsmostoftheHongKongcandidates would agree, the design appraisal is the most challenging part of the question which demandsahighlevelofengineeringcompetenceandsoundpresentation,sufficientpreparationworkisamusttotacklethispartofthequestionwithconfidence.

A‘structure’oftheanswerformatthatwouldbebotheffectiveandpresentableshouldbedesigned.Ithenidentifiedthegistofthequestionandfilteredoffthoseexcessivewritingsthatwouldcostyoualotoftimebutonlygainyouafewmarks.PersonallyIwouldclearlylistoutthemain points and the client’s requirements at the beginning of the questions and provide brief solution to them. This gives an overall idea of what you have to plan to do subsequently. I would use‘freehand’sketcheswithannotationtoconveymyideastotheexaminersintheschematicsection. This saves you more time than using rulers. Collaterally, a good freehand sketch will showyourconfidenceinyourdesignpresentation.

IdidsometrialrunsontheexaminationandIwouldthenletmyseniorscommentonmyfinishedwork. This is weighed as the most essential part of my exam preparation, as he or she can tell youyourweaknessesandthingsyoumissedinyourpaper.Ifinditismostadvantageoustoallowahalfhour‘thinking’timebeforeyouwriteanythingdownonpaper.Thisisatime-pressingexamination but a half hour delay of starting to write will certainly not cost you a failure. Instead, you can organise your writings in a more legible and presentable way to the examiners.

Let yourself relax the day before the exam. It is important to retrieve some freshness and energy tofacethisday-longchallenge.Finally,wordsofgoodlucktoallthosesittingtheexaminationin2008!


Chartered Membership - Personal Reflections HK Cheng Award Prize Winner 2007 - Choy Hon KeeThe HK Cheng Award was given to Mr Choy Hon Kee, the candidate with the highest marks who sat the examination at a Hong Kong Centre.

Friday13April2007wasthedauntingdateofthisstressfulexaminationbutIdecidedtofullypreparemyselftomakeitthroughthistime.Iwasconfidentthatmytechnicalskillswerealreadywellqualifiedtomakemepassthisexamination;butwhatIneededwasthenecessaryexamination technique and the time control to tackle the problem.

AsmostoftheHongKongcandidateswouldagree,thedesignappraisalisthemostchallenging part of the question which demands a high level of engineering competence and soundpresentation,sufficientpreparationworkisamusttotacklethispartofthequestionwithconfidence.

A‘structure’oftheanswerformatthatwouldbebotheffectiveandpresentableshouldbedesigned.Ithenidentifiedthegistofthequestionandfilteredoffthoseexcessivewritingsthatwouldcostyoualotoftimebutonlygainyouafewmarks.PersonallyIwouldclearlylistoutthemain points and the client’s requirements at the beginning of the questions and provide brief solution to them. This gives an overall idea of what you have to plan to do subsequently. I would use‘freehand’sketcheswithannotationtoconveymyideastotheexaminersintheschematicsection. This saves you more time than using rulers. Collaterally, a good freehand sketch will showyourconfidenceinyourdesignpresentation.

IdidsometrialrunsontheexaminationandIwouldthenletmyseniorscommentonmyfinishedwork. This is weighed as the most essential part of my exam preparation, as he or she can tell youyourweaknessesandthingsyoumissedinyourpaper.Ifinditismostadvantageoustoallowahalfhour‘thinking’timebeforeyouwriteanythingdownonpaper.Thisisatime-pressingexamination but a half hour delay of starting to write will certainly not cost you a failure. Instead, you can organize your writings in a more legible and presentable way to the examiners.

Let yourself relax the day before the exam. It is important to retrieve some freshness and energy tofacethisday-longchallenge.Finally,wordsofgoodlucktoallthosesittingtheexaminationin2008!


Chartered Membership - Personal Reflections Graham Wood Prize Winner 2007 - Andrew FairminerAwarded to Mr Andrew Fairminer of Addlestone, Surrey who submitted a solution of the highest standard designed primarily in structural concrete.

IattendedanIStructEonedayseminarinLondonwhichwasmostinformativeandformedthebasis of my exam technique. It cannot be emphasised enough that approximately 4 minutes = one mark. You must have a time structure appropriate to the marks for each part of the question. Iproportionedalittleadditionaltimeintotheschemestagetoenable‘thinkingtime’andenableme to assess all the various aspects of the question. This reduced the allowable time in the second part of the question but by then you should have the solution clear in your mind and for me the drawing and method statement can be completed slightly quicker. That’s not to say it’s easy because there is a lot of information to get on the paper, details and notes may be forgotten and a mistake on the drawing may earn you a failure.

I believe the emphasis of the exam is to produce a stable robust structure to show your knowledgeofhowtoresistlateralandverticalloads.Outofthe8questionsinthepaperIpersonally looked at the steel or concrete questions which may have given me the choice of 3 out ofthe8.AttheoutsetIwouldbelookingtoseethecomplexityofthesequestionsandwhethertwodistinctschemescouldbeeasilyidentified,ifnotIwoulddiscardthequestionandwhittlethechoicetoone.Rememberthereisonly15minutestoassessthequestionsratherthanhoursyoumayhaveintheoffice.

Asamaturestudentwith30yearsexperiencewithintheindustrymyapproachtotheexamandproblemsencounteredwereslightlydifferenttothatofayoungerstudent.AsaProjectEngineer,my working role involves scheme design, attending meetings with other consultants and checkingworkpriortoissue.WiththisinmindIhadtorevisesomeofthemorefinerdetailsofdesign in both concrete and steel to remind myself of design which I do not use on a daily basis.

One of the problems that I did not anticipate was the hand writing of text for the two schemes. In the age of the computer I found that I could not write at least two pages of text quickly and legibly and had to practise until the cramp had subsided.

Many candidates including myself take an inordinate amount of books and information into the exam.Ihaveprobablyneverused90%ofthatinformationbutyouneverknowand1or2marksgained from quickly looking something up could be invaluable.

Finally this is an exhausting exam, I made sure that I had plenty of food and drink to keep the brain active all the way to the end. You need to be alert all through the exam to keep to the timetable to give yourself a chance of passing.


Chartered Membership - Personal Reflections - Cass Hayward Prize Winner 2006 - Steven JenkinsAwarded to the candidate who offers a solution of the highest standard for the bridge question. Attaining Chartered Membership of the Institution of Structural Engineers can be an important step in the career of a professional structural engineer and is an internationally recognised benchmark.

ThePart3examinationisregardedasoneofthetoughestintheindustryandpassingisanimmensely rewarding experience. The seven hour exam tests broad abilities of the candidate to conceive and evaluate designs, calculate structural proportions and effectively communicate their designintentinwritingandbysketchinganddrawing.It’sagruellingdayattheofficebutyoushould not be unduly daunted by the task ahead.

Inthispaper,Ireflectonmypreparationfortheexam.ItisamixtureofwhatIreallydidandinretrospect, some of the additional things I could have prepared better. Whilst preparation will be a personal matter, I hope this may be of some use to future candidates.

Success in the ExamPassingtheexamisabenchmarkofabilityhoweverfailuredoesnotalwaysimplytheoppositetobetrueandmanycompetentengineersareunsuccessfulintheirfirstattempt.Theexaminers’reports make interesting reading and a pattern emerges of reasons why candidates are not successful.Amongthetopicsthatcomeupeveryyearare;

1.Poorexamtechniqueandtimemanagementresultinginsectionsbeingmissedorrushed2.Notansweringormodifyingthequestion3.Problemswithstability

The good news is that a bit of preparation can help avoid these major pitfalls. In the candidates’ favour, the exam format has changed little over the years. It is possible to have a clear picture of the stages involved and how to structure the day to give you the best chance of passing. Time allocation is therefore just a matter of familiarity and practice.

Itissufficetosaythatitmaybeagoodinvestmenttoreadthequestionoveranumberoftimes.Iattempted the bridge question and found in each exam there is often one key technical problem toaddress.Thismightbedifficultsoilconditions,constructingunderwater,aconstructionsequence problem and so on and in general it is likely to be a subject in which you have no specificexperience.Iexpecttheotherquestionsaresimilarandthisisanopportunitytodemonstrate your skills by dealing with the problem head on.

My feeling was that the examiners are particularly interested in an intuitive feel for the structure, its stability, and behaviour and in exercising engineering judgement. In describing the two scheme proposals you have the opportunity to demonstrate these skills and to that end I allocated significanttimeintheexamdescribingtheglobalbehaviour,loadpathsandsoon.

Initial InvestigationFirst off I began investigating what was involved in taking the examination to see what I had let myself in for. In the December before the exam I read through a few past papers and the examiners reports, took some advice from colleagues who had recently passed or failed, read someofthenumerousadvicenotesandstartedtolayoutthecontentsofmyreferencefiles.

My conclusion was that the exam was going to be tough but that with adequate preparation I couldbeconfidentofhavingagoodattempt.Ifounditusefultogetafeelforthestyleofexamearlyonbutonlygraduallyrampeduptheintensityofmypreparation.Startingearlygavemeabetteropportunitytousemydailyworktogetmyfilestogether,practicedrawingandsoon.


My Exam PreparationWe each develop a style of exam preparation that works for us during school and university days. OnethingtoacknowledgeisthatthePart3examisdifferenttoanyotherIhadpreviouslysatandIrealisedIwouldneedtochangethewayIpreparedforit.Examtechniqueplaysabigpartinyour chance of success and the best way to familiarise yourself with the format is to practice with past papers and then review the examiners reports. The approach I used is outlined below.1.Istartedbyquicklyrunningthroughacoupleofpastpapers,answeringthequestionsinbulletpoints then compared what I would have done against the examiners’ comments. This was pretty useful and I quickly saw where I had missed what the examiners were looking for. 2.NextIspentafewhoursatatimecompletingindividualsectionsinonesitting.FromthisIgotused to an answer format, the time to invest and reasonable amount of ground to cover in each section.ThegapsinmyreferencefilestartedtobefilledinandIgotusedtoworkingwithit.3.InthefinalweeksbeforetheexamItestedmytimeandformatplanbysettingupacoupleofmockexams.Myplandidn’tworkouttoowellthefirsttimeandImodifieditbeforeafinalrunthrough in one sitting.

The only thing that will properly prepare you for the exam is a trial run on a question you have not seen before under strict time conditions.

SeveralpeopleIknowjoinedastudygrouptoshareideasandexperiences.Iwasonsecondment during this time and not able to do so but it is something I would otherwise have considered.

Reference FileAfterworkingforafewyearsIhadcollectedareasonableamountofreferencematerialsomymaintaskwastotidythisupintoasinglefileandtoplugtheholesandstripoutexcessmaterial.IspentagreatdealoftimeonthisandintheeventmadelittlereferencetomyfileshowevertheactofpreparingitleftmuchofthematerialfreshinmymindandIhadconfidencethatIwouldn’tbe missing that one gem of information on the day.


Here are the contents I put together to help me with the bridge question.

Section Title Example Contents

1. Exam check list Time plan and bullet point reminders for each section.

2. Rules of thumb Structural forms, typical spans and proportions.

3. One pagers Concept design calculation methods.

4. Datasheets Geotechnics, structures, materials and maths data books.

5. Loading and design Code extracts for load combinations and member design.

6. Foundations Types of piles, methods of ground improvement.

7. Steel composite Scheme design charts, typical details

8. Precast beams Precast beam catalogues and typical abutment details.

9. Supplier datasheets Cables, tendons, bars, bearings, joints, drainage

10. Parapets Typical pedestrian and highway parapet details

11.. Construction Erection methods, equipment, crane sizes and lifting ranges

12. Cost estimate Typical rates

13. Special structures Articles on jacked boxes, moving bridges

Final thoughtsThe points below are pretty obvious however if I was restricted to a few words of advice they wouldbeasfollows;

1.Startpreparingearlyandmakeastudyplanevenifyoudon’tsticktoit2.Seekoutadvicefromcolleaguesandtapintotheirknowledgebank3. Consider joining a study group with peers4.Prepareaconcisereferencefileandgetusedtousingit5.Practise,practise,practiseallelementsoftheexam6. Have a clear idea of how to spend your time on the day7.Attempteverypartoftheexam8.Demonstrateyourintuitiveunderstandingofstructurestotheexaminer9. Take advantage of that key technical problem in the brief and demonstrate your skills by tackling it head on.10.Beconfidentandenjoyadayofhavingcompletecreativefreedom

Good luck!!


Chartered Membership - Personal Reflections Andrews Kent Prize Winner 2005 - Damian RoganAwarded to Damian Rogan, who has worked as a structural engineer in the USA and the UK, who, in the CM exam, offered a solution of the highest standard, designed primarily in structural concrete. He said of his accomplishment, “Becoming a Chartered Structural Engineer is one of the most important benchmarks for our profession. I am delighted that all my hard work has paid off.”

April2005wasmysecondattemptattakingtheCMexam,thoughin2004Ididn’tevenmakeit past the interview. Determined not to suffer disappointment again, I thoroughly prepared for mysecondinterviewandconvincedmyreviewersthatIwaspreparedthistimearound.Aftermakingitthroughmyinterview,Ineededtofindthebestwaytopreparemyself.IreadtheCDcontaining the past papers, picked three or four years and read all of the questions, then read the examiners’ reports for those same years. I read these reports with some shock and a little amusement;timeaftertimetheexaminerswrote,inaratheruncharitabletone,ofengineerswho had completely missed the point of the question or who had failed to address fundamental aspectsofthebuildingsinquestion.Thistaughtmethefirstlessonofsittingtheexam:readthe question.

Itwasclearthatitwouldbeabetteruseofmytimetoreadandre-readthequestionratherthandiveinandspendmytimesolvingcalculations.AsIcontinuedtoreadthequestions,asecondlesson became apparent: prepare for a variety of building types.

I knew I couldn’t be certain that there would be any questions that involved a building type I was deeply familiar with. Furthermore it seemed that many engineers prepared for one type of question-whetheramaterialorparticularbuildingtype-andpreparedonlyforthis.AndwhileI didn’t have he experience to tackle a bridge or offshore question, I would prepare myself for buildings of all shapes and sizes.

On that basis I picked two more years off the CD and went through every problem, listing out what challenges I expected the examiners were looking for me to address. I effectively outlined mysection1answerwithoutanyspecificdiscussionofframingschemesormembersizes.Thisway I tried to understand how I could approach each problem and at least attempt an answer, even if I hadn’t faced a similar problem in my career. Two colleagues and I set ourselves a questioneachweekandpreparedoursection1answertoeach,comparingnotesandtakinghints from each other.

Whenexamdaycame,Inervouslyreadthroughtheexamhopingtofindalong-spanroofor some other structure type I have seen many times in the past. There wasn’t one. In fact, not a single one of the questions was a type I had designed before. Determined not to be discouraged,Istartedbackatthebeginningandre-readeachquestioninmoredetail,writinganoutlineanswerinmyheadforeachbuilding,eventuallyspending30minutesbeforepickingupmy pencil.

I settled on the general question because it was the one for which I could compose an outline answer quickest in my head. Once again, this wasn’t a problem I had come across directly in my experience, but it seemed reasonably straightforward what the examiners wanted me to address in my answer. I created a column on my paper and listed out each structural element -foundations,floors,columns,stability,roof–andeachoftheadditionalchallenges-nearbyrailwayembankment,carparkingbelow,column-freespacerequired,limitedareaswherebracing possible.

I then listed two ways to design each structural element and overcome each challenge in an adjacentcolumn.IthenconvertedthislistintomySection1aanswer,splittingthealternativesintotwoschemesandarrangingthemspecificallyunder‘stability’,‘loadtransfer’and‘functionalframing’headingsanddrawingadiagramforeach;Ialsoexpandedmydiscussionofthechallenges, discussing the pros and cons of each scheme in dealing with these challenges. Wherepossible,ofcourse,Iloadedoneschemewithmypreferredsolutions-onesthatshowed


somedesignflairandcreativethinking.MostofallIwasconsciousthatIhadlimitedtimetoputmy answer on paper so I kept my preferred solution as simple as possible.

Iwon’tsaymuchabouttheSection2calculations,drawingsanddesignprogrammeexceptthat I spent less than half the exam on these. I felt that these would fall into place if I handled theSection1right,andinfacttheydid.Thechallengewastounderstandthequestion,identifytheobstacles,andbreaktheproblemintofamiliartasks.AndwhileIthinkengineersshouldnotunderestimate the importance of technical ability, I would recommend that the best preparation is to read as many past questions, answers and examiners’ reports as possible and get into themindofyourexaminer.InawaythatisthestrengthoftheCMexam-itchallengesyoutoconsiderthewholeoftheproblemanddeliverthesolutionthatisrightforthetask.Andthis,afterall, is exactly what we should be striving to deliver in practice.


Chartered Membership - Personal Reflections HK Cheng Award Winner 2005 - Simon Lee Kin ManThe HK Cheng Award was given to Mr Simon Lee Kin Man, the candidate with the highest marks who sat the examination at a Hong Kong Centre.

WithlessthanfourmonthstogountilthatdauntingAprildayandsittinginthesiteoffice,Iwasengaging myself in a series of recollections over what I had really learned over the past few years.Scheme,detaileddesign,tallbuildings,simplebridges,steelandconcretestructures,foundations, some letter/report writing – appears that I have covered good scope but not sure if insufficientdetailforthe7-hourexam.

Regardedbymostasoneofthetoughestengineeringtestsofbothcompetenceandstaminaand having to crash a week’s work in one day, I decided to go about setting my “plan of attack” Based on advice from past successful candidates and some further thought, I managed to come up with several “tips”, which may be useful for future candidates:

• Bringintotheexamonlyseveralboxfilesofextractednotesandwithyourownclear referencingsystem.Therewillbenotimetoflipthroughbooksinsearchforinformation.• Solidexamtrialrunonpastpapers.Donotoverdo,asexcessivetrialsmightleadto “standard” solutions, which the examiners do not want to see.• Readingthroughtheexaminer’scommentsforpastpaperswillhelpunderstandthegist ofeachquestion.Structuremaynotbethefocusofallquestions–somemayfocuson geotechnics or dynamics.• Paymoreattentiontopartsofthequestionwhichoftenescapethecommoneye–suchas letterwritingandmethodstatement.(Togethertheyaccountfor20marksandcouldwellbe thedifferencebetweenpassandfailure!)• Lessessay-typeandmoretabulated/diagrammatic/bulletpointpresentationwillbemore succinct and easier to comprehend.• Rememberthateachquestioninvolvesastructureservingaspecificpurpose,andyour structureshouldsomehowbefitforpurpose.Adegreeofcommonsenseasanend-user would be extremely useful.• Lastly,assessyourownstrengthsthoroughlyanddrillonyourweakareasinyourrevision.• Examinerswanttoseewell-roundedabilityfitforastructuralengineer–design, communication, drawings, presentation, and common sense.

Finally, I would like to sincerely thank Dr H K Cheng for his generosity and continual support to the profession.


Chartered Membership - Personal Reflections Sir William Atkins Prize Winner 2004 - Martin Tucker“The award is for the candidate in the Chartered Membership examination who offers a solution of the highest standard for the offshore question.”

“Itwaseasytofindtheexaminationcentre,youonlyhadtofollowpeoplecarryingheavysuitcasesorpushingtrolleysbrimmingwithleverarchfilesandtextbookswithyellowstickers.

Attheriskofstatingtheobvious,anyonetakingthisexamshouldpreparewellforit.Thereisnotmuchtimetobacktrackormakesignificantchangesonceyouareawayintoit.Ihadpreparedfor it over the preceding months but, even so, on the morning of the exam I was thinking that I could have found more time and that I should have done more past papers etc. The message is that you can never do too much preparation.

Anyway,mypreparationincluded:

• ObtainingtheExaminationsCD,familiarisingmyselfwiththeadviceandremindernotes,going through past papers and reading the examiners’ reports.• Obtainingacopyofthe‘NotesthataccompanythecourseofpreparationfortheExam’ (DrPeterGardnerandMrDavidLowe)whichIfoundinvaluable.• Attendingeveningpreparationclass,organisedbytheSurreyBranchoftheInstitution.

IfeltreasonablyconfidentthatIwouldbeabletotacklesomepartsofthequestion,suchasthedesign calculations and general arrangement drawings and detailing, based on my experience.

However, I decided that my potential weakness was in presenting two viable alternative solutions. Afrequentcriticismoftheexaminersisthatoftenthealternativeschemeisonlyaminorvariantofthefirstproposal.Sowhenreviewingthepastpapers,IhadconcentratedonhowIwouldapproach this.

Thefollowing‘rules’arenotoriginalbut,havingnowtakentheexam,Iwouldsuggestthatcandidates make sure that they:

•Readthenotestocandidatesandthereminderfromtheexaminersatthebeginningofthe exam paper. You may have read them many times before but it does not take long to remind yourself what the examiners are looking for.• Readthequestioncarefully.Alltheinformationisgivenforareason.Trytomakeuseof,or take into account, every bit of information. Don’t in any way change the brief.• Keep control of the time. This was emphasised to me by just about everyone. I used the following timetable:

a. 9:15Readexampaper-choosequestion.(Rememberyouarenotallowedtomarkthe paperinanyway.)b. 9:30Startc. 9:30-10:00Readquestionagain/highlightmainpoints/prepare2schemesd. 10:00-10:45Writescheme1e. 10:45-11:30Writescheme2f. 11:30-12:00Recommendationg. 12:00-12:30Lettertoclienth. 12:30-13:00Commencedesigncalculationsi. 13:30-14:15Completedesigncalculationsj. 14:15-15:30Drawgeneralarrangementk. 15:30-16:00Drawdetailsl. 16:00-16:45Generalquestionm. 16:45-17:00Checkthroughwork

(ThesetimesaregivenasatypicaltimetableintheNotesbyPeterGardnerandDavidLowe.)


On the day, I was determined to spend adequate time on the last part, the general question. This involved description of the installation of the offshore structure. I thought that I could probably give a reasonably good answer here since I have been working for an installation contractor for the last two years: you have to make the best of any advantages like that.

Allinall,itwasahardworkingday.Although7½hoursseemsalongtime,therewasnotimetospare in my case. I was immersed in the task and later, when my wife mentioned that it had been the warmest, sunniest day of the year so far, I realised that I really hadn’t noticed”.


Chartered Membership - Personal Reflections AE Wynn Prize Winner 2005 - Peter BrunnerAwarded to Peter Brunner, age 29, of Dublin who submitted a solution of the highest standard for the chartered membership concrete question. Peter, a project engineer for the Riverside 2 Complex, has been involved in a wide range of other buildings projects including the King’s Waterfront Arena and Conference Centre in Liverpool. Peter said of his achievement, “I am absolutely delighted to win this prize, especially as it is such a highly esteemed exam. I am now a chartered structural engineer, and have laid the best foundation on which to build my career!”

TheInstitutionofStructuralEngineer’scharteredmembershipexaminationisrenownedforitsdifficulty,fortestingacandidate’stechnicalexpertiseunderintensetimepressure.Itisbecauseof this high standard expected of the membership that the examination is held in such high esteem.Passingthisexamisaverysatisfyingexperience.Youwillknowyouhaveachievedsomething important. The following information is a synopsis of what I found to be some of the most important elements of preparation for the examination, of course this will vary for different peoplebutIhopeitwillbenefitsomeofyouforthecomingyear’sexam.

The successful sitting of an examination of this kind cannot be approached as one might a university examination. It will examine whether you as an engineer have a comprehensive understanding and feeling of structural engineering and are capable of making suitable schematic decisions under great time pressure. It also examines whether you are able to convey these decisions in a precise and legible fashion.

Alotofmypreparationinvolveddiscussionswithcharteredcolleaguesandtheirexperiencesoftheexam.Someonewhohasbeensuccessfulintheexamhasnotdonesobychance,andtheknowledgeandexperiencetheygainedfromdoingsoshouldbetappedinto.Everyonewillhavetheir own little gem of information that will be invaluable to someone facing the daunting task.

My exam preparation was undertaken in a few different stages which I would like to broadly outline as follows:•Portfoliopreparation•Reviewofpastpapersandexaminer’sreport•Examformatandpresentation•Examconditiontrialruns

Portfolio PreparationIn order to be able to access information at speed, you should prepare a portfolio of information. This should include data relating to the different structural forms, materials, and design procedures…etc. It helps here to be organised, you will not have time in the exam to rummage for ascrapofpaperthatholdsthekeytospaceframedesign!Everythingshouldbelabelledandatyourfingertips.

Itishelpfultohavetheinformationcompiledasyouwillaccessit.Yourfirstrequirementoncethequestionhasbeenselectedandthoroughlyreadisinitialconsiderationsandschematics.Preparea list of initial thoughts and considerations that could apply to structural schemes, for example, flotation,suitablebearingstrata,whetherwindwillbeamajordesigncriteria,accessetc.Thestructural schematics, stability systems, foundation options for different ground conditions and loadings could follow this section.

You could then include your more detailed design information for the various structural forms and materials.Thisshouldincludeallthemajordesignchecks,butneednotgointothefinerpointsofdetail.Mostofyouwillprobablyhavetheseportfoliosintheoffice,itmaybeacaseoftidyingthem up and maybe reducing them in size.


Review of past papers and examiner’s reportChoose some past papers and read all the questions for each year. Try and get a feeling for what the examiner is looking for in each question. There are generally some particular points for each questionthatrequireexplicitattention,butneednotbeparticularlydifficulttoaddress.

Highlighting the main points of the question to be addressed and then reading the examiner’s reportshouldsoongetyouintothe‘rhythm’ofwhatmostquestionsarelookingfor.Youwillsoonsee that a lot of the questions down the years are looking for very similar solutions. Train yourself to seek out these crucial design criteria that need to be addressed.

Exam format and presentationThe format of the exam is very similar every year. It is important that a pattern for addressing each part of the question is borne out. Outline the way in which you would like to address each partoftheexamonpaper.Myformatwassuchthatinitialconsiderationswerefirstoutlined,thenpossible solutions were suggested and then the two distinct schemes were shown indicating clearly in sketch format and in writing the stability aspects of both schemes individually. You should convey to the examiner what you are thinking by word and sketch.

Everyyeartheexaminer’sreportcomplainsaboutpoordrawingskillsofthecandidates.Ifyou don’t already know how to draught/sketch, then start practising now. It will take time to teach yourself how to do so in a legible and quick manner. The earlier you start the better. It is importanttogetthispart(asanyotherpart)oftheexamdonequicklyandneatly.

Exam condition trial runsTheonlythingthatcanreallyprepareyoufortheIStructEexamistodoanumberoftrialrunsusing past papers that you have not seen before under the strict time constraints of the actual exam. It will soon focus the mind in regard to how quickly you will be required to address each element of the question. You will need to prepare a timetable for the exam that will allocate time toeachpartofthequestion.Youshouldtrytosticktoitascloseaspossible.Afterafewtrialrunsyou should have trained yourself to automatically move on to the next part of the question as the time elapses. My own opinion is that this part is the most important, if you haven’t spent enough time in preparing before this, a trial run will hit home what you are lacking in. Getting a colleague to review your trials should be valuable feedback.

Afterhavingdoneanumberoftrialruns,Ireviewedmyportfoliomaterialandfilledinsomeblanksandremovedsomeexcessmaterial.Afterthat,itwasacaseofreadingoverpastpapersagainand reviewing on each question what the examiner is looking for, and providing viable solutions forsame.Thenitwasimportanttoreadovertheexaminer’sreporttoconfirmthatwhatwasprovidedasasolutionwasindeedwhatwasexpected.Anythingthatwasmissedatthatstageneeded to be investigated in detail.

Finally!Itookthedaybeforetheexamoff.Youwillneedalltheenergyyoucanharnessforthe‘realthing’.Agoodnight’ssleepisagoodidea.Tryandbethereearlytosetup.Rollontheexamand if there’s an ounce of energy in you afterwards, congratulate yourself for having sat it and celebrate.

Good luck!

cm exam personal reflections

Documents

hong kong

big box folder

hong kong

half hour

analyse past

good freehand

chartered

practising