explaining wind and seismic to nonstructural engrs

huangyhg

explaining wind and seismic to nonstructural engrs
does anyone know of a good article that explains how to properly specify wind and seismic loads to essentially a layperson?
everytime i start a new project i go on this rant.  here's an excerpt from the spec i'm currently looking at.
structural design basic wind speed (v): 30 m/s
that's it, nothing else on wind. no building code specified. no hint if this a 3 second gust or what, no nothing.  seismic is just as bad.
i should mention i work in the oil and gas process plant world.  anyway, i've tried to explain to our salesman over and over again what we need but they just don't get it.  maybe if i can hand them an article that explains this stuff on their level they will start asking our clients for this info up front.   
why don't you just create a document that he can use with all the variables that are required for the particular site. for instance:
basic wind speed = xx mph
exposure
importance
etc.
ss = xx  s1 = xx
site class xx
seismic use group = xx
seismic design catagory = xx
etc.
if fulfilling their sales depend on your work, then tell them that their job can't be started, let alone completed, until the information on the form is completed.  
if their comissions are placed in jeopardy, then the information you need will suddenly become far more important.   
mike mccann
mmc engineering
agree w/ jike but you might add some definitions - like for exposure - just what is a, b, c or d
for a layman pictures are better than words. try googling and chose something with pictures.
here is one suggestion for wind:
i do not know what the governing building code would be in your area. but if you look in the ibc, section 1603 gives specific requirements as to what should be on the construction documents. i would imagine other building codes would have similar rqmts.

i don't think laypeople should be specifying these parameters.  how likely is a client to know what ss to use and whether it is correct?  they might think wind speed is category 3 hurricane, which is no good to us.
i would try the approach of deciding what information you need that a client is likely to know that will help you determine what you need, and tell they salesperson to get that.  they may not know the wind speed, but they should know the location, from which you should figure out the wind speed and seismic parameters, for instance.
it sounds like this may be foreign work, in which case location doesn't help much if using the international building code.
it would help if dozer would explain to us what exactly his role and others role are in his business. is he a consultant or responsible for hiring consultants? is he a manufacturer? national or international, etc.
this will helps us then give you better advice.
really, you just need to know where it is.  the governing codes are based on your location.  this is true for other countries as well.  if they don't have one, offer an appropriate one and follow it.
if you "heard" it on the internet, it's guilty until proven innocent. - dcs
jike, good suggestion i need to make a "cheat sheet" for each of the common building codes that outlines the information i need.  i know i'm being unreasonable in expecting people to understand their job but i would like these guys to understand why a wind speed all by itself is not sufficient.  i've tried explaining it for over twenty years and i'm tired of it.  i was hoping to find an article that gave a succinct, easy to understand synopsis of why we structural engineers need this info so i could just hand it to people.  i could write it myself but i don't want to reinvent the wheel if somebody has already done it.
what do i do?  i do the structural analysis and design of various types of equipment, platforms, pipe racks, etc. in process plants (oil and gas).  the way it usually works is a gas producer or someone like that will hire a consultant to design a plant or more often "shephard" the process.  this guy will write specs that we will then use to design our portion of the plant. when i said laypeople, i just meant a layperson in the sense they are not a civil/structural engineer.  presumably they are an engineer thoguh.  i surely don't expect an english major to be writing technical specs.
so anyway, these specs are multidiscipline in nature.  here's the part that kills me.  if i told you the name of the company that wrote the latest spec that sent me to my soapbox you would very likely know it.  they have literally thousands of engineers.  yet all they can muster for the wind load section of the spec is "design wind speed: 30 m/s".  aaagh!  if that isn't bad enough our people who review this crap before bidding never catch that that is not enough info, hence my desire to educate.  or rather, give them a tool to educate themselves because, did i mention, i'm tired of explaining it!
and yes, jstephen, this particular job is foreign (to the us).  which is doubly frustrating because i don't know the russian snip code from a hole in the ground. but that's okay because evidently neither does the guy that wrote the specs.
i don't agree that we just need to know where it is.  as i've stated we design projects all over the world.  i would much rather you tell me what your wind exposure category is rather than me guessing because i've never seen (and probably will never see) the area.  same for soil type.  i'm not carnac the magnificant.  throw me a bone here!
hanif08, thanks for the link.  i'm looking for something a little less verbose though. if anyone else has a suggestion let us know.  sorry for the rant, but y'all asked.  thanks for the replies thus far.