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Recovery from natural and man-made disasters is often assigned in part to engineers, who we expect to answer the call to fix the problem. Knowing the inevitability of periodic catastrophes, the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York (ACEC New York) strongly supports emergency responder legislation to prevent future misguided lawsuits against engineering firms for on-site conditions that are entirely outside their assigned responsibility. Unlike Good Samaritan Laws, which protect only unpaid volunteers from liability for work performed during state or national disasters, emergency responder legislation would provide design firms immunity from lawsuits that attempt to make engineers responsible

There’s no getting around the fact that automobiles are among the leading causes of pollution. There are tens of millions of cars and trucks on American roads contributing significant amounts of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. The question facing policy makers, scientists, and engineers is how to reduce the impact that our vehicles have on the environment. In Washington, the discussion revolves around how high to raise fuel efficiency standards and whether to offer tax credits to those who drive hybrids and alternative fuel vehicles. And on the drawing boards of auto industry engineers and environmental scientists, new ideas for

Economic Stimulus Packages needed! Bail out big auto. Bail out Wall Street. Next, bail out big oil because oil prices are falling. With the national debt now at more than $10 trillion (69% of the Gross Domestic Product) and growing, massive foreclosures of idiotic and now not-so-idiotic mortgages, the credit system in shambles, unemployment moving to depression levels, an unfinished war that is a black hole for resources and an economic stimulus package that will not work, this country needs a plan. There are a number of reasons for the current economic problems. Some of the more popular candidates are

The recent major increases in fuel prices, exacerbated by the turmoil in the financial and credit markets, have provided the impetus for airlines to take a hard look at their operations and begin to tailor their operations to today’s needs. The increased fuel prices have a major affect on the ability of various aircraft in the fleet to produce positive yields, and the load factors necessary for all aircraft to produce positive yield. This has led airlines to critically evaluate demand and attempt to better match segment demand with capacity. The results of this endeavor are not final as of

Leadership begins by taking the first step and not waiting for others to act. As a profession, we have bemoaned the failings of politicians and bureaucrats to make the investments we believe are required to have an efficient and effective national infrastructure system—and by extension an effective and efficient competitive national economy. We developed tools like the American Society of Civil Engineers’ report card to measure the inaction of others and have spent a considerable amount of time talking to ourselves about how bad things are and how they should be fixed. Now is the time for us to take

The City of Salt Lake had a dilemma. In the center of a downtown parking lot, a large silver maple tree was slowly dying. Enclosed with impervious concrete, the tree was withering because water could not reach its roots. The city’s Urban Forestry Division approached our civil engineers who agreed to work on a pro bono basis to develop a sustainable solution to the problem. They redesigned the parking lot with pervious concrete, which allows water to seep through the surface directly into the soil beneath. It was too late to save the silver maple, but the Urban Forestry Division

I have grown passionate about improving America’s infrastructure for several reasons:  my personal migration to the U.S. more than seven years ago; my more than 35 years experience in the building products industry; leading a North American building products team for seven year; and being a father as well as a resident of this great country. The U.S. is growing faster than any other industrialized nation. Population is expected to reach 400 million by 2039, four years earlier than previous projections, according to the newest U.S. Census Bureau report.  Will our nation’s infrastructure be ready to handle almost 100 million

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is big news, and for good reason. A close second to �sustainability,� it�s difficult to navigate the waters of the AEC industry without colliding with the BIM revolution. However, lurking just below the surface, there are some issues that need to be negotiated before your BIM ship sails into the sunset of profitability. Advantages of model-based design and analysis have been well-documented. Element connectivity, material takeoffs, scheduling, clash detection, and photo-realistic visualizations, just to name a few. Beyond the capabilities built into the software, the model can be increasingly leveraged for use in external applications such

Some time ago, a colleague called to get my opinion on the use of TV cameras for underground inspection of drilled shafts.  His query related specifically to relatively tight working areas and “in the dry” conditions. After pressing him to elaborate further on the context of his question, I discovered that he was weighing the benefits of TV inspection versus human entry into the drilled shaft excavation site.  Photo: Raito Inc Going the distance with In-hole inspections This conversation is indicative of a larger movement that has been afoot for the past few years that seeks to discourage - or