Thoughts From Engineers: Microplastics: An Unavoidable Reality of Modern Life?
There’s nothing like the widespread use of plastic by all—and for nearly all purposes—to thwart any ambitions we may have as a society to live more sustainably. Plastic is indisputably fundamental to the world’s economy. The material’s strength, flexibility and durability make it indispensable in virtually all fields, from the delivery of vaccines to the manufacture of auto parts and ordinary household gadgets. But after the object’s useful life is over, the plastic invariably lives on, often...
From the Editor: Personal and Mass-Media Stories Highlight the Importance of Inspections
During my career, I’ve performed inspections on hundreds of bridges. The inspections varied in detail depending on the reasons for looking at them. Some were cursory inspections to determine whether or not to include particular bridges in the INDOT program for replacement or rehabilitation. There were some general criteria to follow about geometrics and structural condition, but a lot was left up to inspector experience. A couple of us would inspect five to 10 a day, mostly depending on how f...
Executive Corner: The Pandemic’s Impact on A/E Firm Ownership
A psychological shift seems to be taking place as we begin to migrate back to “normal.” More Americans are shifting their views on retirement, with many considering retiring earlier than initially planned. In a recent phone call, an A/E firm owner (aged 62) told me they had always planned to work full-time until they were 70, then scale back their hours for a few years after that. But since the pandemic, their goals have changed. They now are considering selling their firm and only working anoth...
Thoughts From Engineers: Water Reuse Enters the Spotlight
The Wichita Falls Resource Recovery Facility in Wichita Falls, Texas, became a national model for indirect potable reuse (IPR) in 2018 when it captured, disinfected, filtered and oxygenated wastewater before delivering roughly 20 million gallons a day to the city’s drinking water reservoir, Lake Arrowhead. A prime example of making the most of a city’s water supply, the city now treats and reuses what would have been discharged as effluent 10 years ago. Pure Water San Diego is in the process...
Infrastructure Outlook: Building Back a Better Next-Generation Infrastructure
As we have changed our shopping patterns from the cart to an app and meetings from conference rooms to Zoom, infrastructure has been one of the last vestiges of the industrial era that hasn’t migrated to the digital era. This must change. President Biden recently echoed the same message in Louisiana. Reliable and safe bridges also bridge party lines, and literally unify people. “We’ve got to build back to a different standard, not to what it was,” the President said. “It’s got to be better...
ReEngineering the Engineer: We’re Not in Kansas Anymore
When I left my old firm in the early 2000s, my breadth of experience was mostly in hospitals and medical facilities—new and renovations. Having all my eggs in one basket wasn’t how I wanted to run my company, so I was determined to diversify the types of work my firm had to offer. Through the years, we expanded our portfolio of project types to just about everything except residential. Expanding into new building categories of work never seemed to bother me much. Structures are structures,...
Infrastructure Outlook: The Future Is Now: Blockchain and Cryptocurrency in the Construction Industry
For a profession that’s been around for decades, the construction industry has innovation firmly at its heart. New technology, materials and techniques are vital in construction, and can create a healthy advantage over competitors if executed correctly. Blockchain and cryptocurrency are relatively new technologies, but their uses are being explored in just about everything. To understand the potential for blockchain and cryptocurrencies in the construction industry first requires understandin...
Project Management Insights: No Buzzwords, Just Good PM Concepts
The business world loves buzzwords. Consultants and marketers thrive on buzzwords. Google, Twitter and all social channels constantly drill the importance of keywords. Words are the way to stand out or be found in a universe of noise. If we ever wonder if it has gone too far or become a bit laughable, we’re not wrong; comedians take aim at buzzwords quite frequently. In the last few years, project management (PM) vernacular has gone through its own transition and introduced new words to descr...
Thoughts from Engineers: Water Infrastructure Woes Hit the American Pocketbook
The COVID-19 pandemic brought into sharp focus a few key realities about water service in the United States. Many millions of Americans worked hard to pay for water service before the pandemic hit, and many millions will continue to struggle to pay when rates of infection decline. The pandemic peeled back the veneer on a lurking problem, the solution for which is far from clear. Due to badly deteriorating water infrastructure, shifting inner-city demographics and other factors, more Americans...
Executive Corner: Don’t Neglect Post-Pandemic Employee Engagement
For this installment of “Executive Corner,” we explore how the A&E landscape has changed during the pandemic, particularly in terms of employees in a tight job market. Russ Ryan, principal at Rusk O’Brien Gido + Partners (email: [email protected]), interviews Bob Kelleher, founder of The Employee Engagement Group (email: [email protected]). BOB KELLEHER Ryan: Bob, you’ve been recognized as the thought leader in the A&E space on all things relating to the people part...
Video: Crashes Drop Measurably After Rural Road Safety Improvement Project on US 521 in Lancaster County
AdventHealth Weaverville Hospital
June Issue 2026
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