Modeling and design software has made our design life really simple these days. The ability to add or modify loads and reconfigure framing provides a lot of flexibility in determining the best system for floors and lateral systems. However, at the end…
ReEngineering the Engineer: Getting Started on the Right Foot(ing)
As a young engineer, starting on a project always seemed daunting. I’d receive plans and elevations (or a 3D model) from the architect or MEP engineers…
ReEngineering the Engineer: The Needle in the Haystack
Every now and then, I find myself reminiscing about how we designed buildings back in the “dark ages” when I was a young engineer. Our engineering…
ReEngineering the Engineer: Seeking ‘Five Reasons’ for Problems
One of our integrated project delivery (IPD) projects finished at the end of 2021. It survived a COVID-19 shutdown, reduced productivity due to restrictions of personnel onsite, cost increases and material-procurement challenges. Everyone was looking…
ReEngineering the Engineer: Tips to Survive While Professionally Underwater
My brother, sister and I spent a lot of time at the beach when we were younger. We lived about 5 miles from the east coast of New Jersey, so it was very convenient. Although there were several public beaches in the area—Sandy Hook, Long Branch and Asbury…
ReEngineering the Engineer: Do You Hear What I Mean?
We’re working on a project that involves the demolition of a multi-story existing building with new construction going back in its place. The programming of the new building requires elevator shafts adjacent to the building that remains. Not only will…
ReEngineering the Engineer: Times Change: Don’t Be the Cranky Old Neighbor
My wife and I moved into our current home about two years after we were married and, coincidentally, just as we found out she was pregnant with our first of two daughters. It was located at the end of a street outside Charlotte in a neighborhood of 25 homes.…
ReEngineering the Engineer: Longing for the Good Ol’ Days of Engineering
While 3D images from BIM certainly convey a lot of information in one shot, having the skill to physically draw something by hand will always hold its value.
ReEngineering the Engineer: Self Preservation Through Workload and Stress Management
If there’s a silver lining to COVID, it helped push us to more-efficient ways of communication. Rather than traveling to meetings and wasting a ton of time on the road, we’ve embraced the idea of virtual meetings. I think that’s actually an OK thing.…
ReEngineering the Engineer: Fostering Personal and Corporate ‘Sustainability’
When I started my firm in 2004, I had a decent idea of the corporate inner workings. I had been a partner at my previous firm for more than 15 years, but I had not started a company from scratch. Dealing with the engineering registrations was an obvious…
