MAYER My recently completed doctoral research project, entitled Sources of Competitive Advantage in U.S. Engineering Firms, sought to uncover important factors affecting performance in design firms. Drawing upon a survey of the largest 300 firms from ENR’s Top 500 Design Firms, in-depth interviews of senior executives and CEOs of firms, and a detailed postal survey, I evaluated a series of strategic factors that included: The importance of geography, such as proximity to the client. Innovation. Diversification of markets, services and geography as a growth strategy. The role of partnering. Utilization and investment in technology. Key sources of market and technical
HANSPAL You can never be too rich or too thin, so the saying goes. But some parts of the building market may now be feeling too rich. The continued record-low mortgage rates of the past two years proved a boon to construction in 2004. In February 2005, the U.S. Commerce Dept. and the National Association of Home Builders reported that housing starts jumped 4.7% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.159 million units, the highest pace in 21 years. But nothing lasts forever, especially low interest rates. Builders need to think lean for the future or they
Irwin In the wake of President Bush’s re-election, the war on terrorism and the reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan continues unabated. Contractors working in Iraq and Afghanistan face tough challenges, including an increasingly perilous security environment, coupled with much public scrutiny worldwide. But on top of that, working in the region often involves dealing with a difficult overlay of U.S. sanctions, laws and regulations. Few people are aware of the complexity and broad scope of such sanctions and many do not appreciate the fine efforts by many companies to adhere to these rules in a most challenging environment. Economic sanctions
Educators, government and media are growing more concerned about the erosion of the long-standing U.S. edge in science and engineering. Undergraduate university engineering education, in particular, is in trouble, threatening our nation’s wealth and prosperity. NIKIAS In 1985, more than 76,000 engineering degrees were awarded in the U.S. Since then, the number of graduating engineers in America has declined by 20%. China, Japan, India, Russia and Europe now graduate substantially more engineers than we do. China and India produce almost 320,000 engineers annually. This year, U.S. universities will graduate less than 60,000. Losing Product Many observers propose relaxing visa
LAIBSON There is a pervasive and malignant myth in the construction industry that companies should not hire older employees simply because they are older. Life in the 21st Century has changed and firms cost themselves money and valuable resources by dismissing out-of-hand a pool of smart and dedicated older workers. Resumes that show that a job applicant has 30 years of experience obviously indicate that the candidate is at least 50 years old, maybe 55, maybe even 60. Some companies make assumptions about such people that are stereotypical and usually wrong: the candidate is over the hill and lacks energy
Recently, while visiting the ENR Website, I was intrigued by a request to take part in an instant poll addressing jobsite theft. The poll listed specific tangible items such as tools, materials, equipment and the like. As a staff archi- tect for an architectural firm, these items are not in our realm of everyday objects that we encounter in the storage cabinet or workplace. Sure, many of our colleagues make off with pencils, whiteout, paper clips and such, though their disappearance hardly affects the profitability of the firm. But one area of jobsite theft that unfortunately often is tolerated and
TRIPATHI In an election year, Republicans and Democrats can agree on at least one thing—that highway spending is essential to win re-election. They also know that in order to maintain our national economic health, we must fix our aging and distressed transportation system. Yet after prolonged squabbling between Congress and the White House, the Senate only recently passed a $318-billion transportation bill with a seemingly veto-proof margin of 76-21. The President’s proposal, in comparison, is a modest $256 billion. Some in the House last year proposed a Cadillac version worth $375 billion, but lawmakers there now are considering a $275-billion
For years, the standard practice within the U.S. steel construction market, excluding the West Coast, has been for fabricators to design member connections. This gives the fabricator better control of the process by designing connections that best fit their particular machinery and shop standards. But the practice is ineffective and risky for all parties involved in today’s litigious and claims-oriented environment. As structural engineer of record (SER) on some very large and complex steel buildings, we have found that it is best for the SER to design the connections and present them in the construction documents. The larger and more
HOARE There’s a certain stereotype associated with engineers. We’ve all heard about the pocket-protector-sporting, calculator-wielding, introverted and boring type–lacking that certain joie de vivre commonly associated with more "creative" professionals, such as writers, graphic designers and marketers. Heeding that stereotype, most would conclude that we Cyborg-like engineers wouldn’t dream of taking a lesser-paying job just because it seemed like a great opportunity and personal fit. A robot doesn’t have feelings, right? What is the top priority for an engineer searching for a new job? Well, according to one of our recent surveys, it’s what the job entails. Of 736 respondents,
JOACHIM The U.S. is the only major developed nation in the world that does not have a single coordinated family of construction codes and standards. While efforts were initiated in the 1990s to rectify that situation, the breakup earlier this decade of negotiations between the International Code Council (ICC) and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is negatively impacting the cost of construction in our nation. The ongoing acrimonious competition between these two organizations to gain the adoption of their respective building codes by state and local governments comes at a cost to our nation, the construction community and state and
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