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Better BIM: Laser Scanning Improves Accuracy and Speed in Onsite Data Acquisition

October 14, 2016 - in Articles, Feature, Featured

By Chew Beow Kwan Building information modeling (BIM) first came about in the 1970s, but its methods have been refined considerably since then. Widely used by city planners, architects and civil engineers today, BIM enables stakeholders to better make high-impact…

Final Thoughts: The Joy of Witnessing Engineering’s Evolution

October 13, 2016 - in Column

I consider myself lucky to have begun my career when I did, seeing firsthand so many dramatic changes in engineering. Let’s take a quick look back at…

GRAVITY: It Just Works—Massive Concrete Blocks Resolve Detention-Basin Challenges

October 13, 2016 - in Articles, Feature, Featured

By Angus W. Stocking, L.S. Houston’s Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 17 is clumsily named, but its mission is admirably clear: per the organization’s…

Executive Corner: Does the Valuation of Your Company’s Stock Reflect ALL its Risk?

October 13, 2016 - in Column

Whether a business valuation is done for purposes of transferring ownership internally from one employee to another, or for meeting the regulatory requirements of sponsoring an employee stock-ownership plan, the risk associated with such an investment is a…

Engineered Solutions: Tricky Feedmill Site Requires Stormwater Conveyance System

October 10, 2016 - in Articles, Feature, Featured

By Bart Hartsfeld and Chris M. Ross, P.E. After acquiring Durbin Farms, Mar-Jac Poultry Alabama LLC planned a major expansion to build a new $25 million feedmill in Franklin County, Ala., that would efficiently provide feed to poultry growers in the region. Unfortunately,…

Engineer Spotlight: The Unhappy State of U.S. Bridges and Highways

October 10, 2016 - in Articles, Column

An interesting article ran in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Journal of Leadership and Management in Engineering in 2008: “A Tale of Two Bridges: Dangerous and Still Standing.” Robert W. Clark, P.E., authored the piece about two well-used…