You can be the masonry expert in your team. This course equips you with everything you need to become a proficient designer from the team behind the engineering textbook and MASS design software.
The Engineered Masonry Design Course (EMDC) is a professional course offered to practicing engineers in the local design community. It equips you with the tools and knowledge to design masonry confidently, effectively and efficiently, using current codes and standards.
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Presented by:
Edmonton – 2024
Saskatoon – 2024
The Engineered Masonry Design Course (EMDC) is tailored to equip you with the tools and knowledge to design masonry confidently, effectively, and efficiently. This course has been offered to more than 500 practicing engineers in Canada and is roughly equivalent to a 4th year engineering undergraduate university course in both scope and workload (there is a significant amount of homework required so please consider this before registering). The materials covered reflect Canadian design practice and are taught to the 2014 editions of masonry CSA Standards as well as the 2015 edition of the National Building Code of Canada.
The intention of the course is beyond simple professional development hours; you gain the skills necessary to properly analyze and design with masonry in new construction in Canada. This is the equivalent to the level of knowledge gained from a 4th year design course in a university undergraduate program and involves approximately 40 hours of in person and virtual guided learning time as well as graded assignments, a take home design project, and a take home final exam. Participants will be provided detailed feedback as well as a final grade.
Each in-person session will provide participants with a light breakfast, lunch, snacks, and coffee/refreshment breaks. Registrants must indicate any dietary restrictions during registration.
The course is being run using a hybrid of both in-person and virtual platforms. There will be four full in-person days of lecture content with virtual lectures and tutorials in weeks between. As part of the course, one half-day will be dedicated to a hands-on demonstration of bricklaying during which time you will have a chance to learn how to build with masonry and lay bricks and blocks on mortar. The course will be spread over approximately 2 months.
As courses are planned and announced, they will be posted here. Courses planned further out (ie. more than a few months) can be lacking details such as venue or exact dates. If you are interested in a potential future course, signing up for the waiting list is the best way to ensure that you do not miss an EMDC near you.
Full days are scheduled to cover material through in-person lectures. This will give you an opportunity to receive your copy of the textbook as well as other course materials and meaningful engagement with our staff and other students face-to-face.
For convenience, we will be recording these in-person virtual lectures for students to access and review after. Attendance at the in-person lectures is worth a portion of the final grade.
EMDC Introduction and Outline
Syllabus Overview
Online Learning Tutorial
Overview of Masonry Construction, Design and Standards
Introduction to Masonry Materials and Assemblages
Masonry Beams:
Ultimate Limit States Shear and Flexure
Serviceability Limit States
Detailing of Reinforcement
Design Examples
Beam Design Tutorial Exercise
Out-of-Plane Masonry Walls:
Ultimate Limit States Shear and Flexure
Interaction Diagram
Deflection, Second Order Effects, and Slenderness
Serviceability Limit States
Detailing
Design Examples
Unreinforced Out-of-Plane walls
Walls subject to concentrated loads
Masonry Shear Walls:
Ultimate Limit States Shear and Flexure
Serviceability Limit States
Detailing
Design Examples
Single Storey Buildings:
Load Calculation
Load Distribution around Openings and Movement Joints
Design Examples:
Individual Structural Elements
Design Methods of NBCC
Seismic Modelling and Analysis Methods
(subject to change for courses in lower seismic regions)
Seismic Design of Masonry Shear Walls:
Conventional Construction
Moderately Ductile Design & Post-Disaster
Boundary Elements
Design Example:
Multi-Storey Structure Example
Design of Reinforced Masonry Columns
Design of Masonry Pilasters
Design of Partition Walls
Other Specialized Analysis Approaches
Includes Horizontal bending, flexural wall panels, internal arching action, and more
Design of Masonry Veneers:
Analysis and Design of Ties
Shelf Angles and Support of Masonry
Specifications and Documents
Detailing
Workmanship
Hands On Wall Building Session
Design Project and Exam Overview
Design of a single storey Post-Disaster Strucutre
In addition to the in-class component a number of lessons will be made available through our online learning platform. These additional topics are included and can be taken at anytime during the course. These added lessons will provide designers with a deeper and more nuanced understanding of masonry design through the use of the MASS design software, toughing on other topics.
MASS Design Software:
Design of Masonry Beams
Design of Out-of-Plane Walls
Design of Masonry Shear Walls
Shear Wall Load Distribution with Openings and Movement Joints
Most of the teaching is done live and in-person, allowing for Q&A and discussion among participants. All Lectures are recorded and available for viewing by registrants afterward.
Some topics are reserved as supplemental and posted as virtual lectures to best use our time together in-person. These are generally to be viewed ahead of the next in-person session but can be done at any time, at your convenience.
These are live sessions run remotely where we discuss common design situations as well as the merit of different approaches to address them. These are practical, and rooted in experience.
Get a unique opportunity in a relaxed, low pressure environment to manipulating mortar on the trowel and laying brick or block yourself!
Participation is 100% optional. It is worth none of your final grade, but is consistently enjoyed by all who attend.
Bennett R. Banting is the current Director of Technical Services for the Canada Masonry Design Centre in the Ottawa, ON office.
He began as a graduate student with a NSERC industrial postgraduate scholarship visiting the CMDC office back in 2007 and started to work full-time for CMDC in 2012 as a NSERC industrial research and development post-doctoral fellow. His Ph.D. dissertation from McMaster University was instrumental in the introduction of masonry boundary elements and the ductile shear walls SFRS category to the 2014 edition of the CSA S304 design standard. For his work he was the recipient of the TMS Ph.D. Thesis award in 2015.
Over the years he has overseen 40+ grant-leveraged masonry research programs at 15 Universities across Canada, taught numerous full masonry design courses for professional engineers, undergraduate and graduate students at various venues, presented and spoken at numerous conferences and seminars, and has published dozens of peer-reviewed journal papers, conference papers, and other industry literature and research reports on behalf of the masonry industry. He is the current Vice Chair of CSA S304 and serves as a voting or non-voting member of several other CSA, ACI and ULC committees as well as various committees and working groups at the National Buildings Code of Canada. He has served as the technical committee chair for the 13th and 14th Canadian Masonry Symposium and is a regular reviewer of masonry publications for 7 different journals, receiving the ASCE award for outstanding reviewer twice. He is the current lead author of the Masonry Structures: Behaviour and Design, 2nd Canadian Edition masonry design textbook.
Brad has been part of the CMDC team since 2011 and was initally overseeing the engineering portion of development and providing technical support for the MASS software (Masonry Analysis Structural Systems). Brad now spends much of his time providing general technical support to designers and masonry contractor members concerning all things masonry design and construction, as well as helping run design courses, seminars, and lunch-and-learns for engineering and architecture firms.
Brad has taught several courses and tutorials and been part of many editions of the course, going back to when the primary lecturing was provided by none other than Dr. Bob Drysdale himself.
Monica studied civil engineering in her home country of Venezuela before coming to Canada and completing her Master of Science Degree in Structures and Solid Mechanics at the University of Calgary. She works at the CMDC Calgary office and her duties involve providing technical assistance to contractors, architects and engineers, supporting CMDC with courses and seminars, participating in the development of the CSA masonry standards, and supporting in the development of the MASS™ design software.
Jawdat Alfarra holds a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from Jubail University College in Saudi Arabia. He furthered his academic pursuits by earning a M.Sc. in Structural Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. His research focused on the mechanical behavior of masonry assemblages, particularly examining the impact of anti-freeze admixtures under sub-freezing curing temperatures. Currently contributing to the CMDC team, Jawdat provides technical assistance to contractors, architects, and engineers, supporting courses, seminars, and actively participating in the development of CSA masonry standards. His commitment to advancing the field aligns with CMDC’s vision for innovation and sustainability in masonry construction, making him a valuable asset in the pursuit of excellence.
In order to reserve your spot for the upcoming edition of the EMDC, you can sign up by purchasing your seat online. Please select a course location to the right to visit the course page and confirm that the dates align with your schedule.
Edmonton – 2024
Saskatoon – 2024
Important: Please note that registration cannot be confirmed until payment is received.