Safety Aspects of Detroit DPM Station Designs
The Detroit Downtown People Mover (DDPM), currently under construction in the Central Business District of downtown Detroit, offered a unique set of challenges to the architects and engineers...
The Resident Engineer?A Member of the Construction Team
The paper discusses the prime concern of a resident engineer, namely, seeing to it that the structure built is in accordance with the plans and specifications and that the work is carried...
Ethics in Contract Administration
Society still struggles with the moral dilemma of whether an act must be illegal to be unethical. Citing codes and examples, this paper focuses on the ethical aspects of Resident Engineers...
Cost Engineering for Disputed Work
Engineers and architects tend to underestimate the cost of disputed work, especially those connected with delay. The engineer, using industry standards and estimating rules of thumb, can...
Specification Deficiencies?Contract Disputes
The costs of rework, replacement, duplication, delays, and related administration are major factors in disputes. The major reasons for specification-caused disputes are discussed. A three...
The Printed Word: A Defense Against Liability?
Design professionals should endeavor not to write burdensome or inaccurate contracts; i. e. , those that inaccurately describe duties. Inspector liability is not relieved by ambiguity...
An Owner's Role in Dispute Avoidance & Resolution
Construction disputes can be avoided in number and severity through education of the project team. This paper will identify a variety of ways an owner can avoid disputes, pinpointing reasons....
Building Condition Assessment�An Owner's Perspective
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has recently instituted a program to inspect all of its buildings structures to insure structural integrity and public safety and to provide...
Revitalization of Existing Buildings: An Owner's Perspective
Revitalization of the large stock of existing buildings in this country is of paramount importance today to building owners, who want the value of existing properties to appreciate as...
Evaluation and Modernization of Veterans Administration Facilitaties
This paper discusses two examples showing in detail that procedures for building assessment require much consideration for engineers' programming and must be properly specified...
Research Needs for Extant Iron and Steel Buildings
A brief review of iron- and steel-making processes is background for the development of shapes and codes. Sources of information for the condition assessment of iron and steel buildings...
Masonry Rehabilitation: Practice and Research
The rehabilitation of masonry buildings is a major construction activity in the United States. The available techniques and evaluation methodologies are limited to visual investigation...
Hurricane Alicia
One Year Later
In the pre-dawn hours of August 28, 2983, Hurricane Alicia ripped its way ashore at the western tip of Galveston Island and moved northward to the Greater Houston area. This storm caused...
Administrative Aspects of Project Software
This paper reviews the various aspects of administering the development, control, and use of computer software employed to support the design office in the administrative and technical...
Policies to Encourage Innovation in Infrastructure
The paper discusses public policies that encourage, promote, and finance infrastructure innovation, terming these essential if excellence and cost-effectiveness are to be realized. Among...
Design Standards and Public Liability
For years in California, a defense to a negligence action was contributory negligence. This was replaced in 1975 by comparative negligence, which the paper discusses. It then goes on to...
Avoiding Contract Disputes
Contract disputes among parties involved in the construction project are very expensive in both time and dollars. Owners, designers, construction managers and contractors all share in...
1986: The Year of the Connection
It is proposed that 1986 be designated the Year of the Connection and that the American Society of Civil Engineers take a leading role in overcoming problems now associated with structural...
Window Glass in Extreme Winds: Design for Flying Debris
Whether or not to change design procedures for window glass in buildings subject to very high winds was debated at the ASCE Convention in Houston. Preventing gravel and other debris from...
Writing Clear Computer Programs
Writing understandable computer programs is important for engineers, who should develop good programming skills. Engineers should always use structured programming techniques, using blank...
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