In steel tanks made by the method of rolling, defects of a geometric shape often occur in the area of the welded welded joint of the wall. Subsequently, in these areas, as a result of low cycle fatigue, an unacceptable defect appears in the form of a crack, which makes it necessary to remove the reservoir from operation and carry out a set of measures for its repair. To determine the terms of safe operation of vertical steel tanks with geometric defects, it is proposed to use the methodology control of the actions of structures of load-bearing structures, one of the directions of which is the regulation of the stress-strain state of steel structures. To implement the possibility of regulating construction, it is necessary to identify such parameters, the change of which will give the maximum effect in achieving the set goals. As the indicated parameters, the design characteristics (material properties, design scheme, geometric characteristics) and factors of external influences (load, operating conditions) can act. To regulate the stress-strain state design of vertical steel tanks, the following regulators are proposed: product loading height, wall deflection arrow and permissible number of tank loading cycles. By numerical calculation of the VAT of the vertical steel tank design with geometric defects, the necessary values and values of the stress state are determined. Further, using known analytical dependencies from the field of fracture mechanics, it is possible to determine the permissible number of loading cycles of the reservoir before the appearance of a crack-like defect. The application of the methodology control of the actions of structures load-bearing structures, by means of a certain change in the established control parameters, allows increasing the number of loading cycles of the reservoir, thereby increasing the period of safe operation of the defective reservoir and thereby increasing the economic efficiency of the tank farm.