The Construction Dead Load, or Pre-composite Dead Load, is that portion of the Dead Load which is applied to the beam prior to composite action. It must be less than or equal to the Dead Load. This value is only used in the RAM Steel Beam Design module when designing unshored composite beams.

When a column is supported by a composite beam, RAM Steel Beam Design assumes that the full column load is applied to the post-composite section; the column induces no Construction Dead Load on the pre-composite section.