From buildings to bridges, the built environment would benefit from a stronger collaboration between structural engineers and geotechnical engineers, leaders of both disciplines agree. But barriers to teamwork abound in the form of business practices, contracting norms, fee structures and professional rivalries, said engineers at the first joint conference of the two disciplines, organized by the 12,742-member Geo-Institute and the 31,000-member Structural Engineering Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
“Better collaboration would lead to better projects, which would lead to better public health, safety and welfare,” said Jim Rossberg, ASCE’s managing director of engineering programs, at the Geotechnical & Structural Engineering Congress, held Feb. 14-17, in Phoenix.