Certain guidelines were formulated for conducting mechanical and electronic design, calibration and installation of steel or aluminum transducers, which may be utilized to monitor internal forces in selected elements of a redundant structure, directly and independently, without a need for analysis. Two different transducers are discussed as examples. These were implemented in reinforced-concrete test structures at U.C. Berkeley, and revealed significant information regarding actual force responses. It is assessed that this information could not have been analytically predicted or experimentally measured in any other manner. Possible practical applications of such force transducers, in addition to their potential in experimental research, are suggested.