Design Smarter, Not Harder: Speed Up Connection Checks in 3 Simple Ways

On large-scale structural projects, engineering teams are often responsible for designing and validating dozens, if not hundreds, of steel connections. From repetitive modeling tasks to late-stage design changes, these connection-related workflows can take up a significant portion of time and resources.

To address these challenges, many engineering firms are turning to IDEA StatiCa not just for its analysis capabilities but for the workflow optimizations it offers. Three specific tools, Checkbot grouping and batch design, parametric templates, and the new connection wizard, are helping teams streamline their processes and maintain efficiency across projects of all sizes.

Checkbot – grouping & batch design

When the same connection type appears throughout a structure, whether it’s a base plate at each column or a beam-to-beam shear connection in multiple bays, repeating individual modeling and validation steps can consume valuable hours. Checkbot helps you combine these similar connections so you can focus on one reference design instead of opening dozens of separate files.

By recognizing patterns in member count and cross-section, Checkbot lets you work on a single node and then apply that connection model to every matching node. Once the reference connection is set up, the software performs all required calculations, code checks, and load combinations for the entire group. You’ll also be able to export your connections to BIM via IFC without leaving the Checkbot interface.

Here's how it works:

• Connections are automatically grouped by member count and section type.
• Design one reference connection, and Checkbot applies it across the group.
• Run design checks and analyses for the group, including all relevant load combinations, without opening each connection individually.
• A single report summarizes every connection in either a summary or a detailed format.
• IFC export integrates your results directly into BIM models.
• Everything happens within Checkbot, no switching between programs.

Firms using Checkbot are seeing time savings of 50–60% over traditional workflows. By cutting down repetitive modeling and centralizing checks, engineers can work faster without sacrificing quality. Checkbot is especially valuable in BIM or FEA models with repeating geometries like beam-to-column connections, where consistency and organization are crucial across dozens of similar connections.

To prove our words, we've run a small test. 

During our webinar on Complete connection design in IDEA StatiCa Checkbot, we asked attending engineers how long it typically takes them to design joints for a project with approximately 200 connections. 

• Over 80% said more than 6 hours.
• 25% estimated over 24 hours. 

With IDEA StatiCa and the help of Checkbot, it took us exactly 2 hours and 25 minutes. You can easily calculate how quickly the software pays for itself through time savings. 

If you want to see how it works, check out a quick demonstration of the Checkbot workflow down below, and see how easily repetitive connections can be handled. 

Parametric templates

Designing standard steel connections doesn’t have to be repetitive. With IDEA StatiCa’s parametric templates, it’s easier than ever to handle simple and modular connections, especially when projects include variations of the same base design.

IDEA StatiCa offers a library of ready-made parametric templates for common connections like shear tabs, moment end plates, and gusset plates. These templates are fully parametric, allowing engineers to quickly adjust inputs like thicknesses, member sizes, and plate dimensions while maintaining the overall logic of the design.

Even more valuable is the ability to create your own parametric templates. If your team regularly works with standardized designs that vary slightly from project to project, this allows you to build a starting point tailored to your needs. Simply select the key parameters you want to control, adjust them as needed, and run the design check, all without needing to build the connection from scratch.

Parametric templates are a massive time-saver, especially for repeated or modular connections. Where manual modeling can take 20-30 minutes for new users, templates cut that down to just 5-10 minutes by allowing quick adjustments to a few key parameters. They’re not only faster, but they also help maintain consistency across similar connection types.

New Connection Wizard

To make it even easier to start your connection design, the new Connection Wizard provides a guided workflow from the moment you launch IDEA StatiCa Connection. Rather than starting from a blank screen, the new Connection Wizard helps answer that by letting you start from geometry and then surface relevant templates, including your own saved designs!

Here’s how it helps:

• Select the geometry layout you need, and the wizard will filter templates accordingly.
• Save your own connections to appear automatically the next time you start a project.
• No more digging through folders or trying to remember what file you last used, just pick it and go.

The real advantage? Your custom connection templates are now built into your startup workflow. They’re not hidden in file directories or tied to older versions, they’re integrated, accessible, and ready from the start screen.

Whether you're standardizing connections across teams or managing repeated designs across multiple projects, the wizard brings speed, organization, and reliability to the start of every connection workflow.

Save hours where it matters most

Connection design often comes down to repetition, repeating geometries, loads, redlines, and tasks. That’s where IDEA StatiCa delivers real impact: by automating and simplifying the repeatable parts of your workflow so you can focus your engineering time where it matters most.

By grouping and batch-designing in Checkbot, adapting parametric templates, and starting from your own wizard-based connection library, engineers can confidently say they’re not just working harder, they’re working smarter.