Viktor Várkonyi, Chief Division Officer of the Planning & Design Division and Member of the Executive Board of the Nemetschek Group, explains why data-driven design is more efficient than model-driven design and what this has to do with Building Lifecycle…
Tech Tip: Is it Time to Update Your Civil 3D Template?
If you’re on an Autodesk subscription plan, new versions of software are available to you every year, and periodic updates, enhancements and hotfixes…
Code Update: An Advanced Approach to Seismic Code-Check of Steel Connections
About half the buildings designed and constructed in North America have some level of seismic design requirements. Seismic design has evolved—engineers…
From the Editor: What’s Past Is Prologue, But the Future Seems Uncertain
For the last three months, I’ve been teaching a senior design class at Valparaiso University, my alma mater. When I say “at Valparaiso University,” I mean “at home, for the university, through online software.” The pandemic has had a significant…
Executive Corner: Are These Beliefs Crippling Your Firm?
You’re probably familiar with the adage “beliefs drive behaviors, behaviors drive results.” From my 15 years of experience as an owner and CFO for architecture and engineering firms, I can tell you that faulty beliefs are the biggest culprit when…
Thoughts From Engineers: A Moving Target: The Challenge of Predicting Flood Risk
The Aug. 20, 2018, storms that hit Dane County, Wis., near Madison, unloaded in some locations nearly 15.33 inches of rain in a 24-hour period. Flood stage on Black Earth Creek climbed from 2 feet to 9.7 feet within a few hours, and the two-day rain event…
ReEngineering the Engineer: Security 101: COVID, a New Level of Growing Pain
Life was seemingly simple when I started engineering. We printed out a large floor plan from the architect and drew the floor framing on tracing paper. Then we designed one beam after another, writing the reactions on the plan, then the girders, then on to…
Construction Concerns: Ten Strategies for Planning a Successful Construction Project
JACQUELINE GREENBERG VOGT There has been a recent abundance of catastrophic construction failures. One of the more-famous failures occurred on March 15, 2018, when a pedestrian bridge collapsed at Florida International University, killing six people.…
Code Update: Construction Stormwater Permitting and Regulations
LILY MONTESANO, CISEC Construction sites can generate substantial amounts of pollutants during a relatively short period of time. From exposed soils to concrete, trash and solvents, pollutants present at construction sites, if uncontrolled, can easily…
Executive Corner: Four Action Items to Help Move Your Firm Forward
As we come to grips with the current economic landscape and ponder the post-pandemic future, it’s natural that negative feelings arise. We have the choice, however, to let these negative emotions debilitate or energize. As owners or leaders of our businesses,…
