Perfect Is the Enemy of Good: Criteria for Limiting Nonlinear Pushover Reanalysis

Balancing tight schedules and budgets with the reanalysis effort required to accommodate design changes is a persistent challenge in structural engineering. This is especially true for engineers who have not yet grasped the age-old mantra that “perfect is the enemy of good,” treating every analysis as final instead of as a confirmatory checkpoint in design. Nonlinear pushover analyses, while valuable for evaluating the structural performance of piers and wharves under dynamic loading, often introduce significant cost and schedule impacts when overused in the design process. This paper examines the effects of typical design changes on the structural behavior of pile-supported shoreline structures to identify when reanalysis is warranted. Key considerations include modifications to substructure size or location, soil input parameters, topside load distribution, and pile connection changes. By establishing contingency and optimizing the frequency of analysis, we offer strategies to boost engineering efficiency, improve schedules, and reduce costs during design and construction.