Related Links: The Security of Modern Password Expirationby Yinqian Zhang, UNC/Chapel Hil Case Study: Facilities Management as Engineering Deliverable (subscription required) Those calls to change your password every month, or to add extra characters, really don't work. don’t work. And no matter what you do, your systems are less secure than you and your system administrator think they are. Little wonder that Sony, the Pentagon... and you... are easy targets. If you're using Web-collaboration CAD or BIM tools, you may want to re-think your password policies.I’ll explain why, and what you can do to come close to maximum password security,
Photo courtesy of Gehry Technologies Frank Gehry forms an advisory board of noted architects and construction professionals to advance the use of BIM and similar technologies in design and construction. Gehry Technologies is forming a new strategic alliance of prominent architects and construction professionals to serve as an advisory board that will promote new technologies in design and construction. Frank Gehry, who founded the Los Angeles-based company in 2002, said in a statement on Oct. 18 "I am dedicated to giving architects better control of the process so they can deliver the fruits of their imagination, which is what our
Image courtesy ENR Art Dept. Firms are increasingly using social media to build their company brand. Related Links: Social Media Reshape Job Hunting and Recruitment at Smith Group, CH2M Hill Hashtag This: Social Media Risks and Rewards in Construction VHB/Eng-Wong, Taub and PB: Building Client Relationships with Social Media In Social Media, Some Conversations Are Best Kept Private Water Social Networking Site Matches Water Providers With End Users Corps Finds Facebook Excels for Flood Emergency Communications As more contractors and design firms build online presence and promote their brand via social media, some—but not all—are beginning to develop formal company
Courtesy of Pile Dynamics Inc. A view of the thermal readout, or heat map, produced by Pile Dynamics' field device displays the location of the thermal wires and the shape of the shaft. Nine cubic yards of wet concrete will release the energy equivalent of 400 lb of TNT as it cures. Researchers at the University of South Florida are now partnering with industry to deliver a new device and software to monitor the heat distribution in curing cast-in-place concrete foundations, such as drilled shafts and bored piles, as a new quality-assurance tool.The method, called Thermal Integrity Profiling (TIP), is
Engineering researchers are dissecting troves of data about the performance of structures hit by the Japanese tsunami of March 11. One of their sharpest tools is light imaging and ranging scan data. It captures distortion in exquisite detail.“We started talking about this [LiDAR] right after the earthquake,” says Michael Olsen, a professor of geomatics at Oregon State University.Olsen is the terrestrial LiDAR expert on a team convened by the American Society of Civil Engineers to analyze the tsunami's loads and the performance of structures and coastal engineering.The team, coordinating with Japan's Building Research Institute, has sent two missions into the
LinkedIn remains the most popular social media site for architecture and engineering firms, according to a recent survey by Knowledge Architecture. Related Links: Hashtag This: Social Media Risks and Rewards in Construction VHB/Eng-Wong, Taub and PB: Building Client Relationships with Social Media Corps Finds Facebook Excels for Flood Emergency Communications Social Media Reshape Job Hunting and Recruitment at Smith Group, CH2M Hill Water Social Networking Site Matches Water Providers With End Users Writing the Social Media Policy Handbook at Burns & McDonnell, HOK Construction companies are becoming active users of social media, but much of the chatter is hidden from
Photo courtesy of USACE As the Mississippi River swelled to dangerous levels last spring, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers prepared to open floodways by blowing levees. Nervous populations downstream craved information about the actions and consequences. By launching a Facebook page, the Corps found it could quickly deliver critical information on the unfolding situation to the people who needed it most. The response was enormous. Photo courtesy of USACE Last spring, faced with the need to disseminate quickly updates and information to an affected constituency about the probable need to blow a levee to relieve flood pressures, the Corps
Photo courtesy of VHB/Eng-Wong, Taub Photo Credit: Owen Murphy/Louisiana DOTD Related Links: Hashtag This: Social Media Risks and Rewards in Construction Social Media Reshape Job Hunting and Recruitment at Smith Group, CH2M Hill In Social Media, Some Conversations Are Best Kept Private Water Social Networking Site Matches Water Providers With End Users Corps Finds Facebook Excels for Flood Emergency Communications Writing the Social Media Policy Handbook at Burns & McDonnell, HOK One of the positive outcomes that firms report in using social media is building rapport with clients. Often, it evolves from teaming with them to help make information about
ENR Art Dept. Social Media: A Special Report Related Links: Hashtag This: Social Media Risks and Rewards in Construction VHB/Eng-Wong, Taub and PB: Building Client Relationships with Social Media Corps Finds Facebook Excels for Flood Emergency Communications Writing the Social Media Policy Handbook at Burns & McDonnell, HOK Social Media Reshape Job Hunting and Recruitment at Smith Group, CH2M Hill In Social Media, Some Conversations Are Best Kept Private Developers of a new website are hoping to use the power of social networking to launch what they call a “grassroots water revolution.” Englewood, Colo.-based CH2M Hill created the site WaterMatch