In Spain I would say for concrete structure buildings CYPECAD outnumbers by far any other program in the field. This status has been attained through very a very good input interface (directly snapping to actual plan of the structure by levels, and easy input of the loadings) and a very good output (near complete elimination of draughtsman work for structural work). The inner works may be more criticable from the abilities of good structural analysis programmers, maybe as well by some degree of opacity, and some other related viewpoints, but in general seems to be more than conservative enough, and able to be put in place to the general approval of those intervening in the project. You may find places where if you don't provide the rebar works as generated by this program the rebar people looks you with a blank stare. I don't see this preeminence as good, since it undermines the true core of analysis, yet it is imperative to reckon that from a market viewpoint it has been always very well targeted through
1. Reduction of errors at input time
2. General conservatism of the solution to not get designs with problems
3. Overall reduction of drawing errors and even omissions, since the program provides complete rebar design.
It also contemplates a nice bunch of international codes.
What above, coming from me, that don't like particularly this program, is compliment enough.
As of now I use mostly RISA 3D for steel work design, results to be drawn in Autocad or whatever. Since I bought it first in 1993 or so it has not produced a single incidence in steel work, and adapts well to the irregular setup of plans I have been involved with, mainly by setting the model first in an Autocad dxf model import.
The "by hand" work I do mainly through Mathcad worksheets that I produced in the over 2000 number range around the years 2000-2002; I find comfy the ability of invariably soundly treat the engineering units as provided by default by Mathcad, and the sheer investment I did in producing the worksheets paid -if not always in money, that is entirely another equation- in better understanding of the problems therein dealt with.
I am able to use and in fact use for some projects some dozens of other programs, but these are the mainstays of my structural work when I have to do some design.
