Steel fabrication in California requires more than a capable shop — it requires engineering documents that are accurate, code-compliant, and buildable from the first set. Errors in fabrication engineering are expensive: they show up as field welding corrections, fabrication reruns, and plan check rejections. JMC² Civil + Structural Engineering provides precise, California-licensed steel fabrication engineering throughout CA — built around the schedules and standards that fabricators and contractors actually work with.

Who We Work With

JMC²’s steel fabrication engineering services in CA support a range of clients in the construction and manufacturing chain:

-Steel Fabricators needing SE-stamped calculations to accompany shop drawings for permit or owner approval
-General Contractors managing structural steel scopes and needing engineering support for field conditions or submittal packages
-Architects and Designers who need a structural engineer to develop and stamp miscellaneous metal designs
-Building Owners and Developers requiring structural steel systems for new construction or renovation
-Industrial and Manufacturing Facilities that need engineered steel support structures, platforms, and equipment frame

-Fabrication Calculations — detailed structural calculations for custom and standard steel components, prepared to support shop drawing submittals and permit applications
-Connection Design — engineering of bolted and welded connections including moment connections, shear tabs, clip angles, end plates, and base plates
-Miscellaneous Metals Engineering — structural design for stairs, handrails, guardrails, catwalks, mezzanines, platforms, ladders, and pipe supports
-Seismic Steel System Design — Special Moment-Resisting Frames (SMRFs), Ordinary Moment Frames (OMFs), and Special Concentrically Braced Frames (SCBFs) per CBC and AISC 341 seismic provisions
-Pre-Engineered Metal Building Review — independent review and supplemental engineering for pre-engineered metal building systems requiring California-specific modifications
-Structural Steel Assessment for Modifications — evaluation of existing steel structures for capacity, condition, and feasibility of proposed modifications
-Industrial Equipment Support Structures — structural design for steel frames supporting HVAC units, industrial machinery, generators, and process equipment
-Stamped Engineering Letters — California SE-stamped letters and calculations for fabricated items requiring engineer-of-record approval outside of a full permit set

California’s structural steel engineering requirements are among the most demanding in the nation. The CBC adopts AISC 360 and AISC 341 with California amendments. Seismic Design Categories D, E, and F — which apply to most of California — trigger requirements for special inspections, pre-qualified connections, and licensed Structural Engineer (SE) stamping that differ from standard PE engineering in other states.

Fabricators working on California projects without SE-stamped engineering documents frequently encounter plan check rejections and special inspection holds that delay project schedules significantly. JMC²’s team is intimately familiar with California’s steel-specific requirements and can help fabricators and contractors avoid those pitfalls from the start.

Steel fabrication runs on tight lead times. When a fabricator needs a calculation package to release steel to the shop, delays in engineering directly translate to delays in fabrication — and delays in fabrication mean delays on the job site. JMC² is organized to turn around steel fabrication engineering packages quickly without sacrificing the accuracy that California plan checkers and special inspectors require.

We communicate clearly with fabricators and detailers throughout the process, flagging any engineering concerns early so that shop drawings and engineering documents stay aligned.