Configuration

Configuring the program for the first time is by far the most time-consuming part of working with GEOPAK Rebar.

Project configuration entails setting a host of parameters. Design and detailing data for local and international codes can be stored. Defaults for specifying rebar placement and detailing variables can be set to eliminate "wheel reinvention" later on. Reinforcement schedules can also be configured to calculate quantities and analyze reinforcement in various ways.

The Bar Defaults palette alone includes seven major categories: General Defaults, Levels Defaults, Structural Detail Defaults, Main Bar Defaults, Range Defaults, Longitudinal Defaults, and Bar Label defaults. Most of these categories each contain several settings. The settings can be saved as Project Defaults to a standard ASCII file that can also be modified using a common text editor.

Once back on my DOT bridge job, I entered the design parameters into the database to set up the project. Given the large number of parameters that needed to be initialized before I could get down to the business of actually using the program, I spent about three times as long as I would have expected to finishing this first project. However, by the time I got to the second project-another bridge for the same client-I was working at a reasonably good clip. This is due to the fact I was able to use the same standards on the second project as I used on the first, saving me all of that configuration time.