A structural design system that has been growing in capability since it first appeared 12 years ago has added concrete design to its bag of tricks.

The RAM Structural System, from RAM International, Carlsbad, Calif., now offers a module called RAM Concrete V1.0, which builds upon the same geometric and load modeler as the system's other tools, including the flagship product, RAM Steel.

All designs are built on the same data models. They can be switched between materials to analyze alternatives.

"We were doing a project in Indiana and we went both ways, steel and concrete," says Doug Sholl, a structural engineer with HDR, Omaha. He said it took "about a day"

to transform a plan for a 750,000-sq-ft, four-floor steel- frame building into a concrete alternative. "I have not heard from the construction manager which way he wants to go, but I don't think he's ever seen this much detail so early on," Sholl says.

This release focuses on beam and column design. The next will take up post-tensioned beam and shear wall design and detailing. The cost is $4,000. Information is at www.ramint.com.