Global changes, such as population growth, rising sea level and energy demand, create challenges for civil engineers. And advances in data sensing, and analysis can help address them—but researchers must concentrate on significant needs to make useful contributions.“We see so many people doing research that doesn't help anyone,” laments Ioannis Brilakis, an assistant professor in civil engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta. His research focuses on use of computers and information technology in construction.Inspired by a 2008 survey about engineering challenges for the 21st Century, Brilakis decided to use a scientific approach to identify challenges facing civil engineering that
The October 24th issue of ENR covered how social media is being leveraged in the construction industry. It’s an emerging story on how contractors, architects, and manufacturers are reaching new audiences and developing sales leads through tools such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Contrast these social media efforts with “social networking”, which is using these and other tools to extend your personal network. So for example, I use LinkedIn to manage my professional contacts and Twitter as a tool to share content and meet new people. These activities are essentially the digital version of professional networking, so in addition to
Rendering courtesy of NIBS Common BIMAn overview of one of the standard building information models released to the public. To help users benchmark the performance of building information modeling software and applications in a common environment, the Washington, D.C.-based National Institute of Building Sciences' buildingSMART alliance has released a reference set of BIM open standards.Three models created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Engineer Research and Development Center, Champaign, Ill., include an apartment building, a medical clinic and an office building. Each model includes architectural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing information.“These common BIM files are a very good step forward
Data courtesy of SMPS White Paper: "The Client's Use of Social Media and Social Networking" (August, 2011) Data courtesy of SMPS White Paper: "The Client's Use of Social Media and Social Networking" (August, 2011) Related Links: VHB/Eng-Wong, Taub and PB: Building Client Relationships with Social Media In Social Media, Some Conversations Are Best Kept Private 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 For any construction firm
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,
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