Experience with Small Computers in Construction at North Dakota State University
The Construction Management and Engineering Department at North Dakota State University is assisting the regional contractors in developing the necessary tools to improve management of...
Construction Management Software Requirements
With the rapid improvement in capabilities of microcomputer systems, it is possible to develop software for small computers previously only possible on mini or mainframe computers. This...
Computerized Estimating, What's Right for You
Several good computerized estimating programs exist on the marketplace today. Contractors who avail themselves of good systems can generally realize a very respectable return on their...
Trends in Small Computer Utilization
In an effort to determine the extent to which micro and minicomputers have been successfully implemented by construction contractors, the authors compiled a comprehensive questionnaire...
Automated Control and Robotics for Construction
This paper addresses the potential for automated process control and robotics for remote, large-scale field operations such as those on construction engineering projects. Combining selected...
Reinforcing Roof Truss Frames Under Load
Without altering the roof structure of an industrial boiler plant, a long-span steel truss frame was modified in place to support heavier loads. The owners of an industrial boiler plant...
Managing Overhead in Consulting Engineering Firms
One of the ways an engineering firm can maintain - or increase - profitability is through judicious management of overhead. Yet various industry studies suggest that the typical engineering...
Establishing a Computerized Accounting System in a Consulting Firm
If it has been determined that there is a need for a computer, the next step is to determine the software programming needs. The two distinct options in software are 'packaged'...
Organizational Implications for Financing Constructed Facilities
The ownership arrangements for constructed facilities not only can generate the capital for new facilities but also will influence the management of the construction and operation of these...
Managing Yourself Plus One
Engineers become poor managers because they prefer devoting their time and energies to technical matters rather than those items that deal with management issues. This is true of managing...
Computing in Civil Engineering
A broad spectrum of computer applications in civil engineering is covered in 73 papers presented at the Third Conference on Computing in Civil Engineering. Emphasis is on microcompters...
Characteristics of Indiana Soil Properties
The Indiana Geotechnical Data Bank was established to collect engineering soil data in the state and to provide information for engineering planning and design works. It contains nearly...
An Extreme-Value Model for Strength of Stiff Clays
The role of the distribution function in the safety analysis of soil structures is briefly discussed. Comparison of the two statistical distributions - normal and Weibull - reveals that...
Steel Girder Bridge Sets Record Length
The Veterans Memorial Bridge at Ottawa, Ill., is the longest plate girder, stringer type bridge in the country with spans of 385, 510 and 305 ft. Value engineering played an important...
The Search for Engineering Ethics
The author suggests that engineering ethics is not a set of guild rules governing polite behavior; not a matter of obeying the law or being prudent in business; not a viable substitute...
Building Failures�Construction Related Problems and Solutions
A leadership group of representatives from the fields of structural design, construction, building inspection, the law and insurance agreed that if five changes are made in the way building...
Small Computers in Construction
These proceedings are the result of a symposium sponsored by the Task Committee on the Application of Small Computers in Construction of the Construction Division of ASCE. Nine papers...
LAX Takes Flight for the 1984 Olympics
LAX (the Los Angeles airport) had over two dozen contractors working on site to complete their $700 million improvement plan in time for the Olympics in July. They also came up with several...
Instant Expertise: A Danger of Small Computers
The low cost and easy access afforded by small computers have made it easy for an engineer to become an instant expert. Because low-cost software is available for almost any field of endeavor,...
Building Failures: Design Problems and Solutions
A Building Failures conference of the Engineering Foundation dissected the problems leading to failures and recommended ways to reduce failures. This article discusses value engineering,...
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