No, I am not talking about cooking the books. I am talking about planning, strategizing and putting resources where needed to achieve desired results. Does it sound like too much for an engineering firm? Well, it’s not. Engineers do it, although not at the same scale as big businesses do it. We also don’t take the process as seriously as we should and that, I believe, will have long-term business consequences. To think in terms of this seemingly radical idea—engineering the bottom line—I thought getting an MBA might be an answer. It was like getting a different pair of glasses,
Building codes in the U.S. are at a crossroads. Until recently, we took the safety of our buildings for granted, confident that designs meeting code requirements would perform well. However, the collapse of 60% of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995 and destruction of the World Trade Center towers in 2001 shook that confidence, not only with the general public, but with engineers as well. I propose a new path for building codes–performance design within a unified U.S. code. Instead of a ‘one-size-fits-all' code mandate, performance design requirements can vary, based on the hazards being considered, the
After a four-day halt of air travel a year ago, this country's need for an efficient high-speed ground transportation system became even more obvious in the wake of Sept. 11. Now, Congress is seriously considering funding the development of true high-speed rail, or HSR. As Congress mulls a reauthorization of highway and transit funding for 2003-2009, the multi-billion-dollar measure seems likely to call for an innovative version of high-speed rail called magnetic levitation. Maglev uses electromagnetic forces for vertical and horizontal support as well as for propulsion. Unlike traditional HSR with steel wheels on steel rails, maglev eliminates any contact
I didn't get into this business to be a social worker," a developer complained to me recently. After 30 years of helping builders bring projects to completion, I'm hearing more and more of them complain that public officials aren't satisfied anymore when private developers bring projects in on time and budget. Increasingly, the public sector expects private developments to include recreation facilities, affordable housing and such. Real estate developers have always had their share of problems. I've helped many of them solve the challenges of unseasonable weather, unscheduled union demands, fluctuating financing, last-minute client revisions, uncertain entitlements, inexplicable zoning, conflicting
Along Exit 14B of the New Jersey Turnpike, you can see something even more distressing than lower Manhattan’s skyline. Mountains of metal rise from the scrap yards of Jersey City, where much of the steel from the 110-story World Trade Center was taken and shredded. There, much of the evidence of the world’s largest-ever building collapse passed through on its way into history. It is there that the physical clues of the terrorist assault were gathered together one more time after having left Ground Zero, directly across the Hudson River. But except for 100 or so pieces saved for future
Curmudgeons see just fun and games at student-run concrete canoe and steel bridge contests. You often hear criticism that these annual competitions distract faculty and students from serious academic pursuits. But I believe that any structured activities that help students develop a "hands-on" feel for modern materials, design processes and construction practices are as important as any course that develops an understanding of underlying physical laws and design principles. In many ways, practical experience may be even more valuable to engineering practice. Although I don't speak for most of my faculty colleagues, I'm an advocate of student competitions such as
No wonder that so many construction engineers complain about the poor quality of design drawings; no wonder that construction and design engineers rarely see eye-to-eye in dispute resolutions; no wonder that construction engineers often propose methods different from what design engineers feel comfortable with. It's because of polarized hemisphericities. In a recent study that I did with funding from the Federal Highway Administration and Hawaii Dept. of Transportation, I found that most construction engineers are left-brained and most design engineers are right-brained. BALANCE. For the past 200 years, researchers have been developing the field of hemisphericity. A breakthrough came in
Project owners often write onerous contracts to shield themselves from risks. But one-sided contracts may leave them with higher bids from fewer qualified bidders. Realizing this problem more than a decade ago, the New York City Transit Authority began rethinking its contracting schemes. Until then, one-sided contract language was used "to protect us from ourselves," said Mysore Nagaraja, senior vice president and chief engineer at NYC Transit, as he helped me look into the consequences of such contracts. SURVEY. At Columbia University during my master’s program in civil engineering, I wrote a 30-question survey that I sent to contractors and
Even as an architecture student at the University of Kabul, I wanted to help preserve my cultural heritage. But in 1978 I left for Denmark–with a scholarship to study historic building restoration. Soon after, the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, causing unfathomable destruction and bringing restoration projects to a complete halt. Of course, my plans changed. In 1980, after completing my studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, I came to visit my brother in the U.S. and for the first time became aware of the atrocities taking place in Afghanistan. Advised not to go back, I stayed in the
Several days ago I was working late on a proposal. Stuck with writing a section on how a prospective client could benefit from using Web-based technologies, I decided to take a break to grab a hamburger across the street. Although it had been a long time since I had eaten at a McDonald's, the company had been on my mind ever since I had read Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Several sections of the book, but mostly the discussion of the McDonald's empire, had made me think about my own industry—environmental management—and its identity and perception problems. These problems
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