Computer Estimating System-Design / Implementation
The Ball, Ball and Brosamer (BBB) Construction Company of Danville, California recognized the need to computerize their estimating process in the fall of 1981. This paper is a narrative...
Organizational Adaptation to Small Computers
The organizational changes associated with the introduction of mini- and micro-computers into firms in the construction industry is addressed in this paper. A review of the general management...
Research Needs Related to the Nation's Infrastructure
The engineering community, which designs and constructs infrastructure facilities, must look for innovative ways to do a more efficient job. Although some research has focused on problems...
Infrastructure Crisis: What the Media Are Saying
In the past year and a half the national media have performed the major role in spreading the word that the nation's public works, particularly in urban areas, have been neglected...
Working Abroad? What About Taxes?
Highlights of the 1981 Tax Act are explained. The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 was intended to simplify the calculations required to arrive at taxable income both for citizens abroad...
Inspecting Buildings During Construction: Are We Doing a Good Enough Job?
Everyone agrees that inspecting buildings during their construction is important�and that it could be done a lot better than in the past. Suggestions for improving inspection practice...
Constructive Suggestions for Construction Success
Perhaps the biggest reason women engineers are discouraged from the construction area is that it is still very much a man's world. A profile is presented of Celia Ruiz Tomlinson,...
Lining a Pond to Contain Uranium Tailings
Impermeable pond linings combined with geotextile fabric underlinings are a recent innovation in industrial storage pond construction. A case history of a pond site in New Mexico illustrates...
Afloat on the China Sea
In the summer of 1982, the Science and Technology Commission of the People's Republic of China invited four United States tunnel experts to come to China to engage in technical...
Productivity in Civil Engineering and Construction
According to one analysis, United States construction productivity has been declining for the last ten years. The percent of construction dollar volume going to research and development...
Pre-Engineered Metal Buildings: The Story Behind Their Rapid Growth
In 1964, pre-engineered metal buildings accounted for 24% of new non-residential, low-rise construction. By 1981, that figure had jumped to 56%. Behind that rapid growth are some very...
Better Trained Construction Supers Would Boost Productivity
Everyone complains about poor productivity in construction. One way to improve it, says a recent Business Roundtable report, is to provide better training of first and second level supervisors....
Ports 83
The Ports '83 Specialty Conference, whose theme is Modernization, Upgrading and Repairs, covers considerations in port operations, design and construction due to obsolescence...
U.S. Bridges: The Bias Towards Mediocrity
This article contends that in this century the United States has lost its leadership in bridge design and explores reasons why this came to be. Comparative examples of various bridge types...
Underground
The Civil and Mineral Engineering Building at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis was designed with careful attention to the environment. In the years ahead, this building will...
EPCOT
EPCOT Center, perhaps the most elaborate and futuristic entertainment attraction in the world, is also a major achievement in such civil engineering-related disciplines as geotechnical,...
Oil Platform
The Cerveza offshore drilling platform demonstrates that a single-piece platform base for deep water is technically feasible and economically practical. The template-type fixed platform...
Bridge
Seven Mile Bridge is the longest, continuous precast post-tensioned segmental concrete bridge in the world. In addition to its function as a main artery connecting the Florida mainland...
Public Works and Unemployment: A Panel Discussion
In March 1983,
Proposition 13: Impact on California Public Works
The effect of proposition 13, which was passed in California in June 1978, has hurt the ability of local governments in the state to raise funds to construct new infrastructure and maintain...
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