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 Recognize five beam systems, then choose supports and compare results in one guided activity. | Choose the right supports — checked results, guided choices and an automatic recap | 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 — checked results, guided choices and an automatic recap | 30 min |
| 3. Shear and bending moment Follow beam cuts step by step to derive, draw and check shear and moment diagrams. | Locate the peak without trusting the plot — checked results, guided choices and an automatic recap | 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 — checked results, guided choices and an automatic recap | 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 — checked results, guided choices and an automatic recap | 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 — checked results, guided choices and an automatic recap | 30 min |
Completion standard
Submit all six calculation records with correct numerical results and guided choices, plus actual study time. 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. All six lessons provide formulas, worked answers and guided choices with an automatic activity recap. Personal notes and extra practice are optional. No separate table, drawing or report is required. Personal notes are not individually instructor-graded.
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 eligibility before purchasing for renewal
Continuing-education eligibility, reportable hours and documentation requirements vary by jurisdiction. Confirm suitability with your licensing regulator before purchasing for renewal purposes.
No regulatory approval or endorsement is claimed unless expressly stated. Where required provider or course approval is absent, this course is offered for educational use and is not represented as qualifying renewal credit.
This course does not replace mandatory ethics or regulator-specific training. Keep your syllabus, saved calculation records, completion certificate and 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.