Many ENR readers have watched with interest the recent debate over the proposed Las Vegas-to-Los Angeles high-speed rail corridor running along Interstate 15. Long viewed as a potential maglev project, things got a little murky last month when U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) switched his support from maglev to conventional high-speed steel wheel technology. But what happened in Vegas is not staying there. With the advent of the Obama presidency, rail suddenly is a hot and potentially lucrative topic everywhere.
MARC CASPE Security perimeter standards and physical-barrier technologies have rapidly developed in recent years due to increasing threats to buildings and human lives. Security perimeter technologies require assessing all risks and vulnerabilities. Based on crash-validation test standards, innovative technologies are available using analytic simulation tools followed by prototype validations. Attractive antiterrorism designs now can provide landscaping of city streets without deep excavations. Photo: Courtesy of KKCS Simulations and actual crashes fine-tune design process. “The Specification for Vehicle Crash Test of Perimeter Barriers and Gates” was first published in 1985 by the U.S. Dept. of State and then revised in 2003.
The global construction market is in crisis. Credit is tight or non-existent. Development deals are stalled or stopped. The money flow from lenders- to owners -to contractors is slower than normal. Based on past history, these conditions lead to more claims, more disputes, and more arbitration and litigation. So, what can be done to avoid or reduce the historical equation of “less money equals more disputes?” The construction industry has long served as a “laboratory” and proving ground for innovative dispute resolution prevention and resolution. Some processes have worked better than others. There are the preventative processes such as “partnering”.
In some ways the green movement has created a new generation of skeptics by generating doubt about the benefits of new products and services designed to mitigate human impact on the environment. But “greenwash” charges should not be lathered on the ones that really do deliver the goods. In heavy construction equipment, there is a huge opportunity for machinery to move down the green path, and some manufacturers are gingerly moving in that direction. Iowa State University Caterpillar Inc. is about to go into production with its diesel-electric dozer, which is 25% more fuel-efficient than its predecessor. Intelligent compaction is
With $130 billion in Federal stimulus money heading into the economy for infrastructure, the demand for engineering talent will be enormous and competition for that talent will rage. Whether it’s for designing and building new highways or bridges, water systems, transit lines or green buildings, proposed federal stimulus spending will see a massive change in how engineering staffing models are employed and utilized by the building design and construction industries. SALVUCCI But I have a few questions. Will the coming hiring binge sow the seeds for a counter cycle two or three years from now that will eliminate many of
There are some things nature does spectacularly well on its own, such as creating the great vistas of the Grand Canyon and many picturesque lakes and streams. There are some things nature does that don’t quite measure up, even though they are in areas where people wish there were more natural beauty. And then there are man-made activities that can make everything worse through development, neglect and poor planning. Photo: Highline / Iwan Baan High Line Park Engineers traditionally have taken the lead in creating systems that replace natural functions on a grand scale to support sprawling populations. These drainage,
According to the Federal Bureau of Labor and Statistics the construction industry has one of the highest occupational injury rates. What makes the situation worse is that the Social Security Administration notes that disability costs related to these injuries are projected to increase 37% this decade due to an aging workforce. This lost time due to injury/illness impacts both direct and indirect disability costs and that may lead to a variety of issues including a decrease in employee morale, increased litigation, and increased medical and lost time costs. It may also lead to an increased experience modification rate. So what
The current recession in the construction industry and other sectors is worse than most, but not as bad as the Great Depression. Everyone who has been around for a while knew how this downturn would happen, based on the many booms and busts that have come before. At the heart of it is a herd mentality among investors and industry firms that causes irrational behavior. This leads to a bubble market that eventually bursts due to unrealistic expectations. Midway through the crisis, the industry now is caught up in another predictable trap as huge numbers of competitors try to snag
ENR’s recent story on the new labor-management accord in New York City to cut building costs and boost work revives memories of the founding of PRIDE of St. Louis Inc., 37 years ago. Like New York now, St. Louis then had a construction industry in crisis. Labor-management disputes were disrupting building projects and development dollars were fleeing town. PRIDE, an acronym for Productivity and Responsibility Increase Development and Employment, became a forum to unite labor and management. We, too, eliminated outdated work rules, more than 300 of them. Prefabricated plumbing was allowed to expedite on-site assembly. Non-competitive overtime rates were
President Barack Obama recently announced a new federal policy to raise the mandated average gas mileage of cars and trucks, as well as reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. By 2016, the fleet-fuel-efficiency standard for all passenger cars will be 39 mpg, and 30 mpg for light trucks and sport-utility vehicles. Photo: Ford Motor Co. Slick hybrids could become jobsite workhorses. The average of these two equals a passenger-car and light-truck fuel-efficiency standard of 35.5 mpg. So what does this mean for future pickup-truck buyers? It depends. What is still to be determined are the exact rules that will have to be followed
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