Engineering the ATLANTIS in the Bahamas

So…

Add this onto the list of cool things I design!

My engineering firm may be designing a replacement for these huge “roof petals” over the top of a waterslide in Atlantis in the Bahamas! Apparently they're currently made of steel and rusting ALOT. The client would like to do it in welded aluminum (which won't corrode as bad near the water), but I have reservations as to how effective that would be. I also would want to see some cables or bracing added to the system; I'm not comfortable with hanging these 20-ft petals over everyone's head by themselves. Also, the biggest problem with aluminum is that when you weld it, it becomes weaker. This means the end product could be ALOT larger than the steel you see in these pictures. I would prefer to make it out of stainless steel, being sure to heat-treat the welds afterwards (stainless steel is composed of chromium, which is displaced when welded; heat-treating the weld restores the chromium which is stainless steel's main helper to resist corrosion).

Maybe I’ll just charge them a couple nights stay!!

Balcony Collapses and How to Avoid Them

The Causes

The main causes for deck collapses are either post and railing failures, or the connection of the deck ledger board to the house’s rim joist. The ledger board is usually a 2 by 8 or 2 by 10 pressure treated board that is bolted or screwed to the house and holds the joists of the deck. It is estimated that 80 percent of the deck collapses occur at the ledger to rim joist connection.

Deck ledgers should be screwed or preferably bolted to the building rim joists not merely nailed. Properly installed, bolts and lag screws will withstand the expansion and contraction of the wood. They can loosen over time, but will not pull out as nails would. You will notice a gap between the deck and the house is the bolted or screwed connection is loosening. If the ledger board has been nailed to the house, any lateral movement may cause the deck shift to the point of collapse.

Lag bolts and screws must be spaced properly to maintain the deck’s connection to the house. If bolts are spaced too far apart, they can bend if the deck becomes overloaded or is loose. Thirteen people died in a deck collapse in Chicago due to improperly spaced lag bolts.

If the connection between the ledger board and rim joist is not flashed properly, or if flashing was not installed at all, water can get behind the ledger board and cause the rim joist on the house to rot. This is because rim joist are not pressure-treated and will be susceptible to rot if they remain wet over long periods of time Flashing can be installed in the form of either a metal coil cut to the length of the ledger board and bent to fit under the siding and cover the top edge of the board, or in pre-formed flashing that comes in various lengths. Aluminum flashing should not contact pressure treated wood due to a corrosive chemical reaction of these two materials causing the aluminum to dissolve completely over time. New pressure treated wood uses alkaline copper quaternary (ACQ) chemicals for preservation, which is even more corrosive then previous treatments that were applied to wood. You should make sure that the correct anchors were used for attaching the posts to the pier and that cast aluminum porch post supports are not being used. This change in chemical treating also does not allow for making repairs to existing decks. ACQ in new wood will corrode existing connectors within three years. Decks need to be replaced in their entirety once decay has been observed.

Life Safety - Railings

Railings are one of the most obviously safety issues with decks and balconies because it is readily apparent when they are loose. There are many guidelines for railing design and requirements for installation which include height, grasping ability, design loads in both vertical and horizontal direction, space between railings, and even spindle location. Railings also need to be securely fastened to the deck framing with bolts that go completely through the post into a beam or joist. It is unacceptable to notch posts, so make sure that the deck’s support posts are separate from the railing posts. It is important that you inspect the railings at least twice a year and even a sound deck may have problems with the railings that need to be corrected.

The wood used to construct decks should last 20 to 25 years if properly maintained, but decks that are shaded can degrade faster as the wood does not dry out. This process is made worse if the wood has not been stained or painted. In cases such as this the wood loses it structural integrity as well as the ability to hold a fastener.

As wood ages it will expand and contract, causing graying, splintering, and cupping. This is also a sign of the wood losing its structural capabilities and nearing the end of its life cycle. The older the wood is, the more nails and screws will be pulled out from the decking and joists.

Make sure you have a qualified engineering firm that is competent in analysis of this kind, such as Engineering Express, to ensure appropriate protection and/or remediation.

FAU Needs Duct Tape! And Fast!

Wow. Amazing sometimes how you can look back at a bad idea. I'm sure whatever engineer designed this walkway at FAU's student apartments wouldn't sleep at night knowing this was hanging over the student's heads:

I'm personally surprised that the bearing key (the block of concrete holding the slab up) was made so small. Over time, the expansion and contraction (i.e. movement) of the walkway probably caused the cracking seen here. It looks like the contractor made it worse by putting just one set of steel shoring posts at the wrong place. The posts needed to help hold up the heavy slab that's causing the cracking, not the small key that's already busted! Hopefully Engineering Express will be called out to fix this mess; I wonder if other engineers would know how to fix this correctly.... and, no, NOT with duct tape!

How can students learn so much?

According to a diverse group of civil engineers who met to discuss the future of the profession, by the year 2025 a civil engineer will be:

Entrusted by society to create a sustainable world and enhance the global quality of life. Civil engineers serve competently, collaboratively, and ethically as master: planners, designers, constructors… stewards of the natural environment… innovators… managers of risk and uncertainty caused by natural events and other threats, and leaders in decisions shaping public environmental and infrastructure policy.

Wow! That’s a really tough charge. The statement is a great rallying cry for the importance and prestige of civil engineers, but can one realistically master so many subjects? In 2008, an ASCE committee was tasked with determining the Body of Knowledge (BOK) necessary to meet these ideals.

The resulting document spells out 24 different areas for prospective professionals to study. Subjects like math, mechanics, and technical specialization are common to most traditional degree programs. However, the committee suggested many new topics that weren’t even on the radar when I was in school. 10 Sustainability – Analyze systems of engineered works for sustainable performance; 17 – Public Policy – Apply process techniques to simple problems related to civil engineering works; and 19 – Analyze engineering works and services in order to function at a basic level in a global context.

Collectively, the new Body of Knowledge asks engineers to, “master more mathematics, natural sciences, and engineering science fundamentals; maintain technical breadth; acquire broader exposure to the humanities and social sciences; and achieve greater specialization.”

Colleges already struggle to integrate practical tools and procedures used by industry into the curriculum. How do you fit all of these new subject areas into a degree program? For one, engineering students should get used to the idea of going on to pursue a master’s degree. More on the job training and exploratory learning is also suggested. However, the authors of the Body of Knowledge purposefully want to raise the bar. More responsibility is placed on students and young engineers to actively seek education in these competencies.

The problem is that you really can't fit all the required knowledge / learning into today's 4-year curriculum. The National Academy of Engineering did a study a few years ago and concluded that it is no longer possible to fit everything that is necessary into a traditional 4-year engineering degree. This is further complicated when you realize that a "traditional 4-year" engineering curriculum in 1960 was 145 hours and is now, on average, 128 hours. As life and engineering got more complicated, and the required knowledge grew, the number of hours available was reduced (by the legislative funding process). The solution is additional education - a master's degree or other, equivalent, formal education process. This is, of course, followed by practical experience, because some of what is in the BOK must be learned on the job. But, some of it must be learned through the educational process, as well. We need more education, and more focused on-the-job education.

Excerpt from http://bit.ly/Nnpk6

Advice Needed - What can I do with this engineering technology discovery?

I'm looking for ideas, partners, and places to use this natural evolution for simplifying engineering calculations. Watch this brief video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83VorCuSVRg

Essentially, we have discovered an easy way to create dynamic calculations from static charts, tables, and formulas. These web friendly 'widgets' can simplify finding answers, provide easy interpolation, and reverse 'what if' questions.It's like the evolution of the phone book, and as powerful as the calculator from the slide rule. There are a few national companies that have hired us (www.powers.com for example, see the 'Power Calc' at http://www.powers.com/powercalc/ , it's their entire anchor catalog in one big widget, interpolation and all), but we feel there is an incredible opportunity for them out there, we just don't know where to go to show them off.

See more of them here: http://www.engexp.com/exos/widgets.cfm

and the bigger versions: http://www.engexp.com/exos/tools.cfm

Contact me, troyb@engexp.com for any help, advice, or interest you have.

Voiceover Tutorial First of Its Kind

Well I don't have much to post this week--it's been fairly busy at work (read: the building departments are killing me) and I haven't had much interesting news come across my desk. I did find a fairly interesting article about Engineering Express (although I think we may have written it--shameless self-promotion :) ) through my Google Alerts. The article is called "Engineering Express - Where Engineering Meets Technology."

I also created a Youtube video describing how to use one of my firm's most used tools called a "Wind Pressure Calculator" which (as you may have guessed) calculates wind pressure on an object. The calculator can be found here and the tutorial video is below. Enjoy!

Technology, Widgets, and Engi-tainment

If you thought I spent 5 years in college studying engineering so I could sit in a cubicle all day, you're wrong. Now I get to be on film! I know I'm such an amazing actor and will probably be a superstar in no time, ESPECIALLY since America is so enthralled with structural engineering.

No, seriously folks, I'm now online with EXtv, the newest, hippest, most educational and technothusial form of engi-tainment on the web (by the way, engi-tainment is a mix of engineering and entertainment; you should have known that). Not that we've been all that entertaining so far, but give us a break engineering is a technical subject that takes alot to explain!

We shoot the video at our enormous production facility in South Florida (I like to call it Engineering Express). We have a plethora of producers, actors, extras, and models that I work with every day just to get the show going (the models especially go after my co-host Randald, our producers Keith and Colby, and our cameraman/Exec Producer Frank). We edit the video with top-dollar editing equipment (a.k.a. any software we can get for free online), and upload each episode with expensive servers and digital equipment (gotta love Youtube).

Anyway, the show features engineering, technology, and educational highlights, especially anything related to hurricane protection. Myself and Randald will try to steer the content in a direction that appeals to all types of people, not just engineers. We'll go over how to make your life easier with Widgets, how to navigate the weird and confusing ways of construction in South Florida, what to look out for regarding structural engineering and the next big things, all the while attempting to throw some humor and entertainment into the whole shabang.

You might enjoy the pilot episode, located on the Engineering Express channel at Youtube. Since you're following my blog and I have a big ego that needs to be fed, I'll go ahead and embed the second episode (mostly me sharing my amazing knowledge of everything in the universe) right here. Enjoy and tune in often.

Technology Should Have Been There...

I'm a huge supporter of engineering interwoven with cutting-edge technology, and here's why: DO IT CORRECTLY ONCE AND IT NEVER FAILS. There's that old saying "why is there never enough time to do it right but always enough time to do it over?" which is especially evident in the structural engineering field. Some people are perfectly willing to work with a flawed design in the interest of savings, but then get upset when they need to do it over the correct way. Technology can solve this problem. If an engineer creates a structural design using technology, he can invest his time and energy in the critical areas, and can even re-create or revise those results within seconds. Even better, the engineer can be instantly notified if he's over-designing or under-utilizing parts of his structure. A simple change in the thickness of a structural tube can save thousands of dollars on the project (thereby making his engineering more valuable).

For instance, this picture has been floating around the internet for a few months:

This building's demise was probably caused from a multitude of errors, but here's my opinion of a typical example and how this led up to a failure:

• The soil engineer didn't test the ground properly, or didn't report the results correctly, to the structural engineer.
• The structural engineer assumes the soil engineer knows what he's doing and takes the results at face value. He then designs an appropriate foundation from the data he was given.
• The contractor receives the structural engineer's directives, and thinks to himself "well I don't think they need to be quite that big, or quite that deep. I'm sure if I go 6" short I'll be able to make a profit, plus I doubt anyone will ever find out."
• The structural engineer, unaware of the changes being made to his design, inspects and approves a foundation that is actually smaller than it should be, but without communication or checks on the contractor, nobody's the wiser.
• The weight of the building eventually overcomes the resistance of the soil, and it tips over.

Now I'm not saying that computers will fix everything. Far from it. But if technology would have been better utilized in this situation, all professionals involved would have been more informed. The contractor could have even used a simple widget to double-check if that 6" made a difference in the weight or bearing of the footer, by modifying this simple widget below:

Next up, and my personal favorite, is the Google Engineer. You didn't know Google had structural engineers all over the place did you? Well, technically it's called Google Earth. The full-blown advent of technology in the last 5 years has created ways for engineers to review structures that we never even thought possible before. Here's an example:

• A building in NYC was cited for having a crack running from the first floor to the third. The May 1 complaint from the Building Department says “Approx 1/2 inch to 1 inch wide vertical crack line in east wall (east south corner) facade from 1st to 3rd floor.” The inspection also found cracks on the interior wall on the third and fourth floors.
  

• Google Street View had actually caught the image of the building around this same time, which clearly shows the crack running up the side:

• The building eventually did collapse, but fortunately did not hurt anyone. Here's the aftermath:

While Google Street View is sometimes viewed as invasive, this shows an unexpected benefit: images that once seemed irrelevant are suddenly at the center of a major news event. Engineers can learn from this by using technology creatively and more proficiently. Just imagine what will be here in another 5 years....we'll probably have a McDonald's of Engineering (hint: it's called Engineering Express).

Power in the Ocean - World's First "Real" Floating Wind Turbine

Since my career first began in Ocean Engineering, I've always been interested in the growth and technology from the Marine industry. My biggest complaint, however, is the lack of resources that exploit this huge unexplored territory. The ocean has an almost infinite number of power sources--we can create power from offshore currents, from the ocean wind, from the jetstream, from the sun....you name it and the ocean has a place to put it. Well, finally, the world is being introduced to the first large-scale ocean wind turbine. It's 240-feet across, 120-feet up in the air, and extends about 300-feet deep. The best part is it's not founded in the seabed--IT'S FLOATING!! The manufacturer, Siemens, "anchored the structure to the seafloor with three wires and a control system enables the turbine to dampen the effects of wave-induced motion." Sounds structurally difficult but I like it! Personally, I would have created a multitude of smaller turbines that actually sit in the ocean and are constantly powered by waves, because this huge mammoth (which works intermittently because it's based on wind) only has a 2.3MW output (only enough to power about 2000 homes in a year). Those smaller turbines would actually be double-helix's and look similar to a DNA strand--creating the most surface area for multi-directional waves to penetrate. Either way I'm glad a major corporation is making strides in renewable power. Maybe someone will see my double-helix idea and make me a millionaire or at the very least copy my blog and make me famous. Not holding my breath.

By the way, what the heck is up with the Chevy Volt? According to this article, the car can get up to 230 MPG. Is it just me or is this a glaring admission that the American car companies have always been just a few steps away from truly renewable sources of power and simply waited until the last possible moment to roll out the technology? I find it hard to believe we magically made our technology 1000% more efficient within five years (going from 23 MPG to 230 MPG). Soon I hope our society starts to work with technology instead of against it, or we may all be living on our own floating turbine.

Information courtesy of CE magazine www.pubs.asce.org

Engineering Salaries Going Up!

Just read an article in Civil Engineering magazine that despite the recession, the salaries of engineers continue to go up year by year. The survey found that between April 2008 to April 2009 the median base salary of professional engineers rose almost 10%, from $85,000 to $92,000 annually. That's great news for me! Even better, my own field of structural engineering actually saw base salaries go up 12%! This is great news and shows that America is starting to finally see professional engineers for what they are--valuable assets to the safety and civility of society. Without engineers, you wouldn't even have a computer to read my blog. Although I still have to wait another 3 years for my own license in 2012 (right when the world ends), I'm glad that reports are finally coming out which make me feel more comfortable about choosing the right major. So now, not only do I love my job, but I'll be quite well off in doing it.....and will build my billion-dollar dream house in just a few short decades.

I also added some more GOOGLEJUICE (as Jeff Jarvis calls it) to my name. I now have a Google profile (which oddly enough doesn't even show up when you search for me, go figure) as well as a claimID account. ClaimID is a cool way to collaborate your digital self and put all the links into one simple site. My new claimID is www.claimid.com/troybishop and my new Google profile is http://www.google.com/profiles/troy.engexp. I even collected my sweet widget page at http://www.engexp.com/exos/widgets.cfm and a couple more profile pages at http://www.engexp.com/employee.cfm?employee_id=51 , http://www.linkedin.com/in/troysbishop. (Sorry about all the links, but I was told this would increase my exposure!)

My claimID

Information courtesy of CE magazine www.pubs.asce.org

How to Get Hired at a World-Class Engineering Firm

I have to get this off my chest; I don't want it to come off mean, but I hope this becomes a resource for engineering students or graduates who need help understanding the "mysteries" behind the doors of an engineering firm.

My engineering and tech firm, Engineering Express, is (in my opinion) one of the best and brightest in the industry. Obviously we didn't become that in a day, but we have worked tirelessly to get it there.

It all boils down to people. People are like the gears and equipment that keep a car moving; if you've got just a tire and a steering wheel you don't have a car that will go anywhere. But if you can get the other pieces and parts and put it all together, you can everything move--the people make it all happen. In regards to our own people at EX, we want and expect certain qualities. We need job skills, work attitudes, and personalities that will help us continue our vision and carry on our legend.

Job Skills

Job applicants to an engineering and design firm like Engineering Express should really analyze their skills and compare them to those required for the job. Do your research on the company interviewing you; look at their website, Facebook, Twitter, or other pages. Take an interest in what they do before you even get to their office. If you feel like you can't find an interest, you're probably at the wrong office. Also, your previous jobs, even if very different, may have given you skills that prove helpful. For example, a person with experience as a contractor may have the ability to be a great value-engineer or an inspector. Make note of these qualifications in your job interview, and relate some ideas on how you would utilize those skills to make your future employers profitable.

Problem-Solving Skills

Being able to solve problems is probably the most important skill an engineer will ever have, period. Don't be intimidated by problems--they're really opportunities. When you begin to formulate your own theories they will take on a life of their own and you can find a passion for finding the best solution. Think of your own experience in terms of how you solved problems. Then, relate those problem-solving skills to the engineering design job that you want.

Communication Skills

Any efficient design, engineering, and technology firm needs effective communications to run smoothly. It's a very simple thought, but one that can present the biggest downfall for engineering firms due to the complexity and real-time changes that occur every day in every active construction project they have on the books. The "Engineer Version 2.0" must streamline the data stream from each project, determine the next plan of action, and continually process and manage project information thereafter. His life literally depends on it. My firm does a great job of tracking projects and continuously synchronizing all the information that goes along with the 50,000+ every year. On the interview side, we can see whether the applicant can communicate effectively in their letter of introduction, cover letter, resume, and of course the interview. Successful applicants use these tools to show how their skills and qualifications will carry over into our firm.

Teamwork

Teamwork is just the ability to get along well with the people you have to work with every day; not just your co-workers, but also your current or prospective clients. You have to be able to put your team's needs above your own at times, and then take direction and criticism if needed. You can only get better if you know you're not good enough, and an employee who is skilled, but too argumentative or too sensitive, can stand in the way of his own and the company's success.

Dedication

Any design and engineering firm needs workers who are willing to put in the extra effort it takes to satisfy a customer, get training if needed, and essentially just be honest and dependable.

Personality and Life Skills

I love having co-workers that know themselves, can express their personality, and are comfortable with change. I also feel that my current colleagues manage their lives well enough that their personal problems don't interfere with our work. It's not that I expect them to have perfect situations – life sucks sometimes with finances or personal challenges – but it's that they handle it before it affects their work performance.

Attitude

I can't say enough about how important it is for me to work with people that have a positive work attitude. We all put extra effort into our jobs and focus on the good in pretty much any situation.

Employability Skills

To sum it all up, I would call the most important skills "employability skills" where you can:

• Adapt to changing demands of a job
  
• Be accurate
  
• Be creative and innovative
  
• Be flexible
  
• Concentrate on several parts of a job at once
  
• Not prevent me from finishing my own tasks
  
• Plan and organize work
  
• Stick with a task and keep busy

My firm generally looks for all of the above, with consideration to the fact we’re all human so it’s not fair to completely preclude someone for anything. We take a look at as many prospective hires as we can, and try to use a benchmark for particular positions to judge how an applicant would handle the work (something that generally includes a typical drawing and some calculations) . Once we agree on a good benchmark for the new prospects we then apply a uniform standard to certain capabilities and make a well-informed decision.

Long story short: my perfect job applicant needs to come to an interview ON TIME with at least a minimal grasp of what we’re doing, perform a job himself even if it takes all day, and ideally I would repeat the process with several applicants. At least in this economy, time is on the employer's side and nobody ever wants to settle. We all work better through personal synergy, and it shouldn't be at risk for just any hire. The market is in an employer's favor anyway, so they will always hold out for the best they can get that will still be here alongside them in the years to come.

Engineering Express is what's missing

If you don't know already, I'm a graduate of Civil Engineering from Florida Atlantic University and I currently work at a firm called Engineering Express. Seriously, I am amazed by the way this engineering firm does things. The philosophy goes like this: Starbucks revolutionized coffee because they figured out a way to do mass production and assembly-line their product. Home Depot did the same. These industries realized that there are unchanging “recipes” that can be done correctly once, then sold over and over again. That’s what Engineering Express is trying to do for structural engineering (we do hurricane resistant windows and doors, shutters, canopies, building columns and walls, etc.). So now, for every project, the theory is to never have to calculate or design the same thing twice. We log everything into our database that’s run through SQL (website all made from scratch with Coldfusion to help), track the project so the client can see how we’re progressing or when we’ll be finished, and all the design and number crunching is done almost automatically. Of course we still have to review the numbers for safety, but our calculations give us a great way to check everything once, and usually get consistent and correct results every time.

What’s even cooler is that we use a program which provides a flashy GUI interface so clients can use dials and switches to input their specific construction, and instantly receive a “Yes, approved for use” or “Not OK! Modify design!” message. The software extracts all data from a base calculation file, and we have a patent pending for use of the technology in engineering. Check out an example here: Pressure calculator. I’ve worked on a few of my own as well.

My boss had me read the book “What would Google Do?” about how Google turned the standard “get capital, get a storefront, market to the masses, sell your standard product” into a very fantastic and revolutionary idea of “do one thing best and link to the rest, market to the niches, give the people control and they will use it, make money by giving away almost everything for free to shut out your competitor, then charge small fees (through advertising) to millions of webpages”. CHA-CHING. I’m over halfway done with the book, but already I see the real power and future of blogs, merging social communities, upside-down business mindsets like why Google made it so big and Yahoo didn’t. I’d like to introduce the concept of distributed knowledge, elegant organization, and just how profound this mindset can have on our company. The book is fascinating, talking about how cable companies should have started the Vonage-type long distance service, newspapers should have started their own craigslist, and how NY Times Online took too long to figure out that if you make people pay for access, they’ll go somewhere else. In other words, all of those companies could have made much more money if they would have done what their online competitors did—which is give the people what they want at the best possible price, or for free if you can.

How does that apply to me? Well, I’m trying to take the reins and learn the SQL and Cold Fusion programming behind our website. The plan is to create a huge platform to revolutionize engineering by providing a one-size-fits-all web service which gives away these free calculators (paid by ads), makes a way to simplify the construction industry, social networking, news, blogs, forums, Wikipedia, the whole thing. Last week my boss taught me how to provide an online search of our database and SQL tables and views and return results with tabs and a nice layout. We’ve already got the Wikipedia, blogs, forums, and news; but we haven’t cracked the code on how to give so much away for free and still ensure revenue.

Anyway, I went off on a long tangent here, but I want to get a feel for these ideas. Does anyone see these changes coming as well? Like a huge shift in the way commerce and services are provided thanks to Web 2.0? To me, all these ideas are all computerizable and can for the most part be handled by formulas and rules. Who better than Engineering Express to invent them? What better time than now to put the ideas into action?