| Pre-Engineered Buildings (PEBs) | Conventional Steel Buildings | |
| Design | Quick and efficient; since PEBs are mainly formed of standard sections and connections, design time is significantly reduced. Basic designs are used ove and over. | Slow: Each conventional steel structure is desinged from scratch by the Consultant, with fewer design aids available to the Engineer. |
| Delivery | Average 6 to 8 weeks. | Average 20 to 26 weeks. |
| Foundations | Simple design, easy to construct and light weight. | Extensive, heavy foundations required. |
| Erection Cost & Time | Both costs & time of erection are minimized. | Typically, they are 20% more expensive than PEB. In most of the cases, the erection costs and time are not estimated accurately. |
| The erection process is easy, fast, step by step and with hardly any requirement for equipments. | Erection is slow and extensive field labor is required. Heavy equipment is often needed. | |
| Architecture | Outstanding architectural design can be achieved at low cost using standard architectural features and interface details. | Special architectural design and features must be developed for each project, which often require research and thus resulting in much highter costs. |
| Future Expansion | PEB Building are designed with future expansion in mind. It is simple, easy and cost effective. One supplier can co-ordinate changes. | Future expansion would be more difficult and, more likely, costlier. |
| Responsibility | Single responsibility for design, supply and even erection of PEBs. | Multiple responsibilities can result in questions of who is responsible when components do not fit properly |