Code Update: EC-017: The Evaluation Criteria for Field-Applied Fire-Protective Coatings
During seven months from 2006 to 2007, three firefighters—in three separate fire-related incidents—died from injuries sustained after falling through the floor on which they were walking. Each tragedy had one thing in common: the floors were constructed with lightweight engineered-wood floor systems. These firefighters’ experiences with conventional solid sawn lumber provided guidance on how long one could be near such construction when it was on fire. Engineered wood, however, which has lon...
Infrastructure Outlook: Remote Sensing for Distribution Networks Drives Safety, Reliability and New Insights
There’s an increasing focus on the reliability and resiliency of the nation’s electric grid; outages have continued to grow in frequency and cost. More than 37 million people were affected by more than 3,500 outage events in 2017, compared to 2009, when only 13 million people were impacted by about 2,800 outages, according to the 2017 Eaton Blackout Tracker. Aging infrastructure, greater demand for service and the need to place additional equipment on existing poles to support 5G and small-cell...
Project Management Insights: Project Management or Else
A contact of mine was considering an administrative assistant position with an engineering firm this summer and wanted my opinion on the job description. She isn’t an engineer but has served in several marketing and support roles throughout her career. The list of responsibilities was typical: some marketing coordination, time at the reception desk, assisting HR, and other assorted generalist duties. The firm was expanding to the city where she lived, and she was looking for a new opportunity....
Executive Corner: Is Your Company’s Stock a Good Investment?
"The best investment I ever made!” I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard owners in the architecture, engineering and environmental consulting industries say something to this effect when I’ve asked about the performance of their company stock. There are exceptions, of course, but this is by far the more-common refrain. Yet many firms struggle with their ownership transition plans due to a lack of demand for stock among their next generation of leaders. Competing Capital When a company...
Thoughts From Engineers: Water Scarcity is Common: The Grim Reality of Freshwater Supplies Worldwide
Most news headlines barely get my attention, but it was startling to come across a list of 11 cities projected to experience serious water shortages within the next 50 years due to a combination of polluted and diminishing water supplies, climate change and population growth (bbc.in/2Mj16HR). Some of the major urban centers at risk for severe water shortages won’t surprise you; others surely will. The mix of cities with looming water shortages include Beijing, Cairo, Cape Town, Tokyo, London, Mi...
Change Leader: Use Familiar Tools to Achieve Public Support
These profiles are based on interviews, and the opinions and statements are those of the subject and are not necessarily shared or endorsed by this publication. The video discussed in this interview can be viewed at wp.me/p8dJln-bXo Doug Taylor is vice president and transportation practice leader for Stewart, an engineering, design and planning firm located in Raleigh, Durham, Charlotte and Wilmington, N.C.; and Columbia, S.C. A successful project requires much m...
From the Editor: It’s Time to Think About More Than Financial Costs
As I scanned the Table of Contents for this October 2019 issue of Informed Infrastructure, I noticed the article title “Brick Sewer Rehabilitation in Nation’s Capital.” My first thought was that it didn’t read “Brick Sewer Replacement.” I’m sure that cost was a major (and perhaps only) factor in the decision to rehabilitate rather than replace. But I also thought that we’ve approached the time when cost should only be one of many factors in such decisions. As we continue to engineer our way i...
ReEngineering the Engineer: A Tale of Two Projects
Every now and then, you get a project that just seems to run into headwinds no matter which direction you turn. This latest one, however, came at a time when we were closing out our Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) project. The difference between the two projects couldn’t have been more striking and left us longing for a better way to work together to build our buildings. The Worst of Times The first project was a relatively simple two-office building with an outdoor open-air covered stor...
Code Update: ACI 318-19: Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete
The American Concrete Institute (ACI) recently published “ACI 318-19 Building Code for Structural Concrete.” ACI 318 includes the requirements for design and construction of structural concrete that are necessary to ensure public health and safety. This edition of ACI 318 is the first to be published since the format of ACI 318 was reorganized in 2014, and it’s anticipated that it will be referenced in the 2021 International Building Code (IBC). Important Updates Now in full color with...
Executive Corner: Do the Valuation Multiples You’re Using Actually Apply to Your Firm?
Firm owners often rely on pricing multiples to arrive at a ballpark estimate of their firm value. We regularly hear from them that they generally rely on data points from transactions that either they or their peers at other firms had been part of in the past relied, or on data published in our “A/E Business Valuation and M&A Transaction Study.” But many also inquire about what the specific multiples are that they should be relying on, and as part of my response to these inquiries, I counter...
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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