A bar bending schedule (BBS) is a table listing every reinforcement bar in an RCC member — its bar mark, diameter, shape, number of bars, cutting length and weight — so steel can be cut, bent and ordered accurately.
Site engineers prepare a BBS from the structural drawings for each beam, column, slab and footing. The cutting length of a bent bar is its total length along the bends, less the bend deductions, plus any hooks the design calls for. Shapes and bend allowances follow IS 2502 and the detailing practice in SP 34.
Bar weight is usually worked out as D²/162 kilograms per metre, where D is the bar diameter in millimetres — so a 12 mm bar weighs about 0.89 kg per metre.
Totalled by diameter, the BBS tells the purchase team exactly how many kilograms of 8 mm, 10 mm, 12 mm and larger bars to order, cuts wastage, and gives the engineer a basis for checking the steel fixer’s bill.
A 12 mm bar, 6 m long: 12² ÷ 162 = 0.889 kg/m × 6 m ≈ 5.33 kg.
Build the schedule with the free BBS calculator, then record steel purchases as vendor bills against the project in ARC PEM, where they count towards budget vs actual. See all features.
Free tool: Bar Bending Schedule (BBS) Calculator — Cutting lengths, bar counts and steel weight for beams, columns, slabs and footings — a complete bar bending schedule in seconds.
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