Syllabus · Version 1.1
Practical Beam Analysis: Model, Verify & Review
OB-CE-BEAM-101 · Author: Tamer Hijjawi, P.Eng. · Optimal Beam Inc.
3-hour CPD / PDH learning plan · Personalized certificate after successful completion. Keep this syllabus with your certificate and actual study-time log for your professional-development records.
Audience and prerequisites
Engineers, EITs and advanced students who analyze or review beam-like members. Assumed knowledge: basic statics, algebra, unit conversion and the definitions of elastic modulus and second moment of area. The course refreshes beam analysis; it does not qualify a learner to perform work outside their competence.
Format and workload
Written instruction, engineering figures, worked derivations, numerical exercises, prepared calculator labs and a final assessment. The core workload is planned at 180 minutes, including assessment. Optional extensions and linked reference guides add depth; time depends on prior knowledge. Record actual engaged learning time rather than treating the estimate as attended time. Use a calculator and a desktop or laptop for the software labs.
| Module and measurable outcome | Required evidence | Plan |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Beam types, load paths and idealization Compare five beam systems, select defensible supports, trace load paths and state the boundary of the model. | Defend a support model — numerical results and a written explanation | 35 min |
| 2. Loads, reactions and equilibrium Translate physical loading, establish sign conventions, and close the equilibrium check. | Turn a floor load into beam reactions — numerical results and a written explanation | 30 min |
| 3. Shear and bending moment Construct and audit diagrams using jumps, slopes, areas, extrema and boundary values. | Locate the peak without trusting the plot — numerical results and a written explanation | 30 min |
| 4. Stiffness, deflection and stress Connect E, I, span, curvature, boundary conditions, deflected shape and elastic bending stress. | Choose stiffness for a stated criterion — numerical results and a written explanation | 30 min |
| 5. Verification and software failure modes Use independent checks to detect unit, support, loading, and interpretation errors. | Diagnose a report, then make a decision — numerical results and a written explanation | 25 min |
| 6. Integrated calculation review Review an overhanging beam, identify uplift and hogging at an interior support, and complete the assessment. | Submit the overhang review — numerical results and a written explanation | 30 min |
Completion standard
Submit all six calculation records with correct numerical results, your own written reasoning and actual-time attestation. Complete all three questions in each of the first five module checks. Pass the 20-question final assessment at 80% or higher. Every final attempt samples all six modules from the applied question bank. Notes and a calculator are allowed; retakes are available after review. Written responses are retained as learner evidence, not individually instructor-graded submissions.
Your certificate and CPD / PDH records
A numbered certificate with public verification, version and completion date; a printable workbook containing your saved calculations and reasoning; a study-time record; and a reusable eight-check beam-review form. Planned instructional workload and learner-reported time are distinct fields. Download and retain your own copy.
Scope
Small-displacement, linear elastic Euler–Bernoulli analysis of planar beams, primarily constant EI, with supplied teaching load cases. The course does not perform a full member, connection, stability or material-code design and is not an ethics or jurisdictional-law module. Examples are instructional.
Technical references
- Optimal Beam: beam types and supports, with linked simply supported, cantilever, fixed, overhanging and continuous guides.
- Optimal Beam: beam deflection formulas — reference load cases and assumptions.
- MIT OpenCourseWare: Slender Structures lecture notes — beam theory and bending relationships.
Check your engineering regulator’s requirements
Ontario — PEO PEAK CPD hours: PEO does not endorse providers or accredit activities. Choose learning relevant to your practice and report only admissible time actually spent. This technical course does not replace PEO’s mandatory Professional Practice Module. PEO PEAK requirements.
British Columbia — CE hours: Engineers and Geoscientists BC recognizes relevant learning, including self-directed study, beyond routine job duties. Activities do not need accreditation, but supporting records must be retained. EGBC continuing education guidance.
United States — engineering PDH / CPC: Acceptance depends on your board, subject, delivery format and provider requirements. Texas accepts qualifying online learning with supporting documentation and does not pre-approve courses. Texas CEP guidance.
New York: Approved sponsorship is required. Optimal Beam is not advertising approved sponsor status; do not purchase this course for New York renewal credit unless the required approval is confirmed. NYSED requirements.
Other jurisdictions: Check your own regulator before purchase, especially provider approval, self-study limits and subject requirements. This is a technical analysis course, not an ethics or jurisdiction-specific law course. No universal Canada/U.S. acceptance is claimed.
Guidance checked October 10, 2026. Retain the syllabus, saved calculation records, completion certificate and your actual-time log.
Questions or a suspected error
Use Optimal Beam support and include the course code, module and calculation step. Keep an anonymized teaching example in the message; project-confidential information is unnecessary.