ReEngineering the Engineer: To Fail or Not to Fail?
True confession: I didn’t always want to be a structural engineer. I grew up in the 1960s when the space race with Russia was at its peak. In those days, all I could think about was being an astronaut, probably like most other kids my age on the planet. How exciting would it be to fly to the moon and then walk on it? Ah, the engineering of it all! When my wife travels, the dog and I go to the basement and watch my favorite movies. Although I agree to watch the “chick-flicks” with my wife, she...
From the Editor: Bridges to the Future
Every time my sister crosses a bridge, she gets anxious. This has happened her entire life, and, although not quite panic-attack-inducing, the anxiety is palpable. The fear of crossing bridges is common enough that it has a name: gephyrophobia. Trained as a structural engineer, I often marvel at the amount of weight a bridge carries and how many people cross them without ever giving it a thought. That is, until bridges make the headlines when tragedy strikes, and then bridges are on everyone’s m...
Bridge Code: Steel Bridge Design Specifications Revised in New AASHTO Edition
Sponsored by: Interim revisions to AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications (7th Edition) were published in 2016 with a few minor revisions to the steel bridge design sections of the specifications. The 8th edition of AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications is expected to be published later in 2017. As far as steel bridge design is concerned, a major revision to the design of bolted field splices and minor revisions to other sections are expected. Let’s take a deeper lo...
Executive Corner: Get Your Firm ‘Sale Ready,’ Even If It’s Not for Sale
You’ve decided to sell your house, so you fixed that broken screen door, pruned the hedges and cut the lawn. Why do those things now? Because you want to show your house in the best possible light to potential buyers to maximize its sales price. You’ve “gotten your house in order.” Like selling a house, to affect a successful sale of your firm, you need to get that house in order, too. You want to present your firm in the best possible light to all potential buyers—external or internal—to max...
Infrastructure Outlook: A Bridge Too Far (Gone)?
One of the most frustrating things about contemporary times is that people are unable to change their mindset as fast as technology progresses. According to American design expert Donald A. Norman, “Technology may change rapidly, but people change slowly.” And Steve McCurray, the American photographer best known for his world-famous photo of the “Afghan Girl,” says, “Technology changes, times change, but the essence of the culture and the people basically stays the same.” The truth of these o...
Final Thoughts: Spring Brings Baseball and Construction Seasons
Spring finally has arrived here in the Midwest (Chicago, to be specific): flowers are blooming, trees are budding out, birds are singing, and baseball is in full swing. But April 2018 was the fourth-coldest April on record; the Chicago Cubs home opening game on April 6th was postponed due to snow. Tulips are just now blooming, and the trees are a month behind in their growth. Another event that starts in the spring in our area is construction season: the time of year when a little more patien...
ReEngineering the Engineer: Written vs. Oral Communication: You Make the Call
I admit I haven’t really embraced the whole texting thing, and I don’t believe it’s an age gap. Although I communicate with our kids that way about half the time—out of necessity—I rarely do so with our clients (unless, of course, I’m running late for a meeting). It has nothing to do with the medium. Texting (and let’s broaden it a little to written communication) certainly has its place. A quick note from your kids letting you know they got to their destination safely or that they survived t...
Code Update: Provisions for Cold-Formed Steel Nonstructural Members Clarified in AISI S220
For most cold-formed steel framing projects, industry or manufacturers’ design tables are sufficient for specifying and constructing nonstructural partitions. But for projects where the requirements are outside the usual limits, design professionals and building officials now have a resource to address those challenges. Prior to 2011, designers consulted AISI S200, North American Standard for Cold-Formed Steel Framing—General Provisions, for both structural and nonstructural members. In an ef...
From the Editor: Old Habits Die Hard
I have a theory, and I wonder what you think about it. It has to do with ancient pyramids, spaceships, artificial intelligence, robots and self-driving cars. No, this doesn’t have anything to do with “ancient astronauts” or Chariots of the Gods; it's a bit more mundane and a lot more serious. The Other 1% Without getting bogged down in the numbers, many studies have found that since the 1950s, manufacturing (which includes automobiles, aerospace and electronics/microchips, along with nearl...
Thoughts From Engineers: Water 4.0: Time to Consider an Alternative Paradigm
Our present-day style of managing water hasn’t strayed much from the centralized approach employed by the Romans some 2,000 years ago. This was fine when cities first began to modernize, but the 21st century requires something different. This is the conclusion reached by David Sedlak in his book, Water 4.0: The Past, Present, and Future of the World’s Most Vital Resource, following an exhaustively researched and riveting history of humankind’s relationship with and management of water. Roman...
Video: Crashes Drop Measurably After Rural Road Safety Improvement Project on US 521 in Lancaster County
AdventHealth Weaverville Hospital
June Issue 2026
.jpg?width=225)