Advances in Engineering

New Tech Applications A Game Changer For Industry

BY MICHELLE LEACH

ANDY MILLER

NATURAL RESOURCES GROUP MANAGER, BENESCH

Engineering Skylines

MICHELLE EBLE-HANKINS

SENIOR LIGHTING DESIGNER, ALVINE ENGINEERING

ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL AND ACOUSTICAL DESIGNER, IP DESIGN GROUP

SAM

UNDERWOOD ACOUSTICAL DESIGNER, IP DESIGN GROUP

Discussion of ChatGPT and adjacent AI tools’ potential effects on almost every industry are as seemingly ubiquitous as discourse on the “cloud” was a few years back.

The AI family also represents just one of many types of products and technologies that Midlands professionals have isolated as actively transforming the engineering industry, or that may be poised to do so in the future.

In recent years, Thiele Geotech has made significant investments in a new data management platform.

“[The platform] allows us to manage all of our test data,” said Robert K. Lapke, president and COO. “It came with an application that allows digital entry of test results in the field, which are automatically uploaded to the system where the data is then available for review and billing input by our project managers.

“Once reviewed and signed the data is published to a server that is accessible to our clients. So, they have all reports for a given project at their fingertips.”

When asked for insights into how the tech compares to its earlier-generation counterpart, Lapke said the former tech didn’t have any field application or the ability for e-uploads.

“Forms were filled out by our staff and had to be typed into our previous system,” he said. “The new system is much more efficient. This new software saves us significant time and money.”

Natural Resources Group Manager Andy Miller noted that Benesch recently invested in the purchase of Trimble GPS units and several drones for use in natural resources surveys and aerial photography, respectively.

“The new GPS units are smaller, more accurate, allow for payas-you-go variable horizontal accuracy ranging from 1 [centimeter] to 1 [meter], and allow for real-time data download to the cloud,” he said.

To the former investment, Miller said the GPS units allow for more efficient fieldwork and the collection of more accurate data, while the drones allow a “unique capability” – documenting infrastructure and site changes before, during and after project implementation.

“Aerial photography has become key for monitoring public structures such as utilities and inspecting, public works and infrastructures like bridges and dams,” he said.

Support Systems

Snyder & Associates’ migration to digital delivery has required large investments in design software and equipment for its construction observation staff to use to complete projects, according to Mike Geier, business unit leader and regional office manager for Omaha, Council Bluffs, and Sioux Falls.

“The migration to digital delivery completely changes the well-established design processes engineers have used for centuries to deliver projects,” Geier said. “Traditionally, when an infrastructure project was constructed, we sent out surveyor teams to take measurements to represent a three-dimensional world in two dimensions — first on paper, but for the last several decades in two-dimensional CAD files.”

Information on plan sheets would then be interpreted by contractors to construct 3D projects in the real world, with observation staff using tape measures and levels to make sure the project matches what the engineers drew.

“With digital delivery, everything stays in three dimensions,” Geier explained. “Snyder & Associates had to upgrade our entire design software platform to technology where the design process