Five years of Australian limit states steel design

Limit states steel design was first introduced into Australia late in 1990 with the release of the AS4100 steel structures standard. This represented a significant departure from contemporary design procedures in place at the time because of the limit states design philosophy, and the adoption of much new material in the AS4100 which was based on the findings of recent research. The educational strategies, particularly those for practicing engineers, required great care in their implementation. The paper reviews the five years after the release of the AS4100, and shows how the transition to limit states design at the writing of this technical note is all but complete. Although simple, the strategies may with little modification be deployed for the remaining nations where limit states design is to be introduced.