With 45 years in civil engineering behind me, I have the experience (or at least the tenure) to look back and reflect—as long as my memory doesn’t fail me. But I want to start by looking back even further than I can remember. Lasting Structures My wife…
Code Update: New Los Angeles Seismic Ordinance Will Save Lives … and a City
As a structural engineer working with governments and communities worldwide as they struggle to face earthquake disasters, I’ve repeatedly seen tragedies…
Executive Corner: Is the End Near for Traditional Management/Ownership Structures?
There’s no doubt about it; attitudes regarding ownership, particularly among younger generations, are changing. Why own a car when, with the touch of…
Engineer Spotlight: Small Changes for Women: Big Improvements for the Engineering Profession
In the last few years, there’s been much discussion of “Women in (fill in the blank).” Why are these topics so important? And what can be improved for women in engineering to better the profession? Much debate focuses on how women’s careers may be…
Structural Solutions: Delegated Design or Delegated Engineering?
If you didn’t make it to the 2016 NASCC conference this year, you missed a lot of excellent engineering sessions. One of the more-interesting sessions (at least for me) was titled “Delegated Connection Design: What Are the EORs Responsibilities?” As…
Structural Steel Detailing—Perfection has Always Been More than Important
Today’s construction industry relies heavily on robust steel development. Accurate structural engineering promises sturdy buildings that withstand unexpected natural disasters. Gone are times, when engineers and construction specialist had to work with elementary…
A Watershed Moment in Public Alerting
A real-time web map goes a long way to prevent sickness when force majeure strikes. Last winter, a torrential storm caused two water pump outages in Atlanta, Georgia, risking contamination and necessitating a boil water advisory be issued to affected residents.…
BIM Processes Are Impossible to Ignore
The adoption of building information modeling (BIM) technologies across all architectural and engineering project types worldwide has reached an inflection point. Implementing BIM advancements is now vital for remaining competitive. This interview with Harry…
Executive Corner: Can the A/E Industry Re-accelerate Its Growth?
Ten years ago, 2006, was arguably the A/E and environmental-consulting industry’s peak of financial performance and achievement. Architects and engineers everywhere took advantage of unprecedented gains in commercial and residential building, while surging…
Structural Solutions: Picking Partners to Manage Risk
In the previous issue of Informed Infrastructure, I wrote about how sometimes things happen in our lives that help us do better and avoid trouble later in life. The scout-leadership training obstacle course I talked about did just that (see “Managing Risk…
