In the last few years, there’s been much discussion of “Women in (fill in the blank).” Why are these topics so important? And what can be improved for women in engineering to better the profession? Much debate focuses on how women’s careers may be…
Structural Solutions: Delegated Design or Delegated Engineering?
If you didn’t make it to the 2016 NASCC conference this year, you missed a lot of excellent engineering sessions. One of the more-interesting sessions…
Structural Steel Detailing—Perfection has Always Been More than Important
Today’s construction industry relies heavily on robust steel development. Accurate structural engineering promises sturdy buildings that withstand unexpected…
Executive Corner: Can the A/E Industry Re-accelerate Its Growth?
Ten years ago, 2006, was arguably the A/E and environmental-consulting industry’s peak of financial performance and achievement. Architects and engineers everywhere took advantage of unprecedented gains in commercial and residential building, while surging…
Structural Solutions: Picking Partners to Manage Risk
In the previous issue of Informed Infrastructure, I wrote about how sometimes things happen in our lives that help us do better and avoid trouble later in life. The scout-leadership training obstacle course I talked about did just that (see “Managing Risk…
Managing the Model: Varied Organizations Lead the Charge for AEC Improvements
For nearly 15 years, my company, Engineered Efficiency, has worked with thousands of AEC users and firms to help them get the most out of the technology they use (or could be using). But this is a large industry with a tremendous amount of variety and disparate…
Infrastructure Outlook: Key Points You Need to Know About Aerial Photography
By Sherry and Brett Eklund No matter the project at hand, knowledge is power. The more perspective an engineer can gain when planning or completing a job, the better. An aerial photographer, offering insights and data that can’t be gathered any other…
Structural Solutions: Managing Risk through Careful Planning
In my later years in the Boy Scouts, the senior leaders took us older scouts on a leadership-training obstacle course—the equivalent of some of today’s office teamwork outings. One particularly memorable obstacle had two telephone pole uprights about six…
Executive Corner: Frequently Asked Questions about A/E Ownership Transitions
Of the wide-ranging internal-ownership inquiries my firm receives, most can be distilled into just a few ideas that ultimately answer the same question: “How can my firm make an internal transition process work?” So I thought I’d reflect on the most…
Managing the Model: Getting the Lead on the Late Majority
A longtime acquaintance recently started an engineering design firm, and he asked me and my staff at Engineered Efficiency to help him get their AEC technology up and running. Right now, his company is small and has a clean slate: they don’t have any bad…
