Related Links: In Panama, Global Engineers Tackle Gigaproject Transparency Panama Canal Owner and Contractors Agree to Final Cost, Schedule Terms Backstories from a Visit to the Panama Canal Panamania: Museum Becomes Instant Icon for a Developing Nation Dramatic Digs Mark Panama Canal Expansion Progress Excavation Under Way on Panama City Metro In addition to the $3.2-billion project to construct locks for a third lane of the Panama Canal, Panama City construction includes a new metro system, high-end condos and restaurants in its historic district and a new museum on biodiversity designed by Frank Gehry. The fast-paced Latin city with a

Photo by Janice L. Tuchman for ENR The Atlantic side locks for the third lane of the Panama Canal are progressing rapidly with the gates positioned and ready to be installed. Related Links: Panama Canal Builders Agree to Final Cost, Schedule Terms Panama Canal Project Won't Be Held Hostage With the 100-year-old Panama Canal and its challenging third-lane expansion just miles away, engineers from around the world debated project transparency earlier this month in Panama City at an American Society of Civil Engineers conference.In a session on “Maintaining Transparency and Integrity in the Procurement of Gigaprojects,” moderator William P. Henry,

Source: CII Related Links: CII Research Graphic: Category Ratings for Late Deliverables Teams Drive Detailed Construction Planning Into the Design Phase Construction Industry Institute Working relationships and team dynamics have emerged as the leading variables affecting the cost and schedule of industrial projects, according to a research report from the Construction Industry Institute, presented at the group's annual conference in Indianapolis on July 21-23.The performance-assessment effort "really could be a game-changer for us and for the whole industry," said J. McM. "Jim" Backes, CII vice chair and Hargrove Engineers + Constructors executive vice president.  BackesResearch staff took all the data

Devotion to work and technical prowess may not be enough to boost women up the ranks among construction industry employers; they also need to beat their own drums for better roles on jobsites and in boardrooms. Women executives from industry firms urged more than 300 mostly younger female attendees at the ENR Groundbreaking Women in Construction conference to seek ways to raise their profiles to coworkers, bosses, clients and outside peers.

Photo by Tudor Van Hampton for ENR Attendees crowded into the Caterpillar booth at CONEXPO 2014. Related Links: ENR Full CONEXPO Coverage Facing Soft Demand in Second Quarter, Caterpillar and Terex Look To Refocus Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Douglas R. Oberhelman says he is “very guardedly optimistic” about 2014 in the U.S. and abroad.“But compared to last year, maybe slightly less guarded,” Oberhelman told the media during the CONEXPO-CON/AGG exhibition, held earlier this month in Las Vegas. After what Cat saw in 2013, he added, “we are keeping all eyes on every cost and every growth piece."Oberhelman offered the following

Photo by Robert K. Radske Speaking to the Moles, Christie said that cancelling the ARC project does not mean he opposes big infrastructure. He pointed to the Goethals Bridge replacement, raising Bayonne and the Pulaski Skyway upgrade. Following notable public figures including Presidents Herbert Hoover, Richard Nixon and Dwight Eisenhower, House Speaker Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neil and New York state Govs. Mario M. Cuomo and Andrew Cuomo, Gov. Chris Christie (N.J.-R) stepped to the lectern at the New York Hilton on Jan. 29 to address more than 1,900 members and guests of the Moles, a heavy-construction industry group.The occasion was

The Construction Industry Institute considers productivity to be such a complex challenge that the group allotted six years, rather than the usual two, for its research team to study the issue.

This year’s panel of photo contest judges did more than choose finalists. They came to the conclusion that over-manipulation of photos should not be rewarded in a formal contest.Robert Nickelsberg—whose latest photo book, “Afghanistan: A Distant War,” was hailed by The New Yorker as “a stunning collection of photography”—was the judge who brought to the table the subject of gratuitous photo editing.“This year’s judges decided to turn away photos that they thought were obviously too Photoshopped or overedited,” says Luke Abaffy, ENR’s multimedia editor, who organized the contest this year for the first time.“We cannot make a practice of rewarding

Illustration Courtesy of Bentley Systems Approach connects engineering with geospatially defined 3D construction packages. Illustration Courtesy of Bentley Systems Approach offers dashboards to track progress. Related Links: Bentley's Lean CM and Workface Planning Product Construction Industry Institute Report on Advanced Work Packaging A s project size grows in complexity, so does the need for advanced tools for work-face planning. At its "Year in Infrastructure" conference in London, Bentley Systems Inc. in late October announced that its ProjectWise Construction Work Package Server (WPS), a system for managing the life cycle of work packages, is now being validated by industry firms and