26 minute read
Spotlight
The Left Coast Lifter
By Kenton Lee, S.E. and Anna Dix, P.E.
Liftech Consultants was an Outstanding Award winner for the Left Coast Lifter project in the 2011 NCSEA Annual Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards Program (Category – Other Structures).
The Left Coast Lifter floating crane was delivered to Oakland, California, in 2009 to aid in the erection of the new eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. The new bridge incorporates the largest single tower self-anchored suspension span (SAS) in the world, which, by nature, requires special construction considerations. Since the bridge deck provides the anchorage for the main cables, the deck needs to be temporarily supported by falsework while the cables are installed. This is different from a conventional suspension span, where the deck can be suspended from the main cables during erection. The Left Coast Lifter was procured by the contractors for the SAS, American Bridge/ Fluor Daniel Joint Venture (ABF), specifically to lift and place the falsework, the deck, and portions of the tower in the bay. The Left Coast Lifter components were fabricated in different parts of the world. The 100-foot wide by 400-foot long barge was fabricated by US Barge LLC in the United States. The crane and barge floats were fabricated by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (ZPMC) in Shanghai, China. The crane was mounted onto the barge in Shanghai. Liftech Consultants Inc. (LCI) provided structural engineering consulting services to ABF for the crane structure, including technical specifications, design, and fabrication review assistance. The crane structure design was a collaborative effort by ZPMC, LCI, and ABF, with ZPMC as the design-build contractor. The approximate total project construction cost was US$50 million.
Operation
The 328-foot shear leg boom is a welded tubular truss structure with a capacity of 3.75 million pounds (1700 metric tons) at 65° and an operating angle range from 19° to 65°. The boom design allows a 66-foot boom tip section to be removed to reduce the length to 262 feet. The truss is shaped like an “A” in plan view to efficiently resist the barge listing and rolling forces. The boom heel imposes large vertical and longitudinal loads on the barge. To minimize the local reinforcement in the barge, large structures were used to distribute the loads: massive 30-foot long shear stops (longitudinal thrust) and an equally massive 15-foot long boom carriage (vertical loads). To achieve uniform bearing over the entire length, the surface of the carriage was machined to match the bearing rail surface. The Left Coast Lifter is towed by tugboat from the port to the operating location and is positioned more precisely with the barge’s computer-controlled anchor and spud system. Three floats are attached to each side of the barge for stability during large lifts. These six floats are connected to the barge by upper and lower connections that resist a tensioncompression couple. The float design criteria required that the floats be easy to install and remove on the water. To address this, a guidance system was designed to help align the floats with the barge. Once the floats are guided into the lower connection, the float is attached to the barge deck at the upper connection using two 2.95-inch diameter pins. Another design challenge was that, in an accident, the lower connection to the barge may tear a hole in the side of the barge, so replaceable ductile links were designed to yield and limit the force imposed on the side of the barge.
Transportation
The crane is designed to fold up for a 32.8foot vertical clearance while navigating US waterways. The boom heel can slide back on rollers (“skid”) from the stern toward mid-ship so the boom tip can rest on a barge-mounted stand. This substantially reduces the voyage loads on the boom during transportation. The A-frame can also be lowered onto the barge deck to clear 32.8 feet for travel in US waterways. Tension and relaxation of the topping lift and jacks control the A-frame raising and lowering. In order to lower the A-frame, the backstays were designed to fold like links in a chain. To skid the boom heel, the boom tip is lowered to a stand mounted on an auxiliary barge. The stand has a spherical bearing to allow for differential list and roll between the crane barge and the auxiliary barge. Then, the boom heel carriage is unlocked from the operating position and rolled on Hilman rollers along a 197-foot track. Winches pull the structure toward mid-ship. At the stowed position, the carriage is locked again by bolting it to a pedestal. Finally, the boom tip is hoisted, to separate it from the auxiliary barge, and lowered onto the boom stand on the main barge. Early in the design, a skidding system using Teflon and stainless steel bridge bearings was considered instead of the rollers, but it could not provide an acceptable level of reliability since the track is very long. The rollers were much more suitable due to their relative insensitivity to slight imperfections in the track. Another design consideration was level of the tracks. During skidding, the load on each of the two boom heels is approximately 44,000 pounds (200 metric tons). Uneven tracks could potentially overload one of the 10 vertically loaded Hilman rollers on each boom heel. To equalize the load, Fabreeka elastomeric pads were installed above each roller.▪
Kenton Lee, S.E. is a principal and Anna Dix, P.E. is an associate at Liftech Consultants Inc.
ASSOC I A T I O N S NATIONAL COUNCI L
NCSEA News
Ronald O. Hamburger, S.E., SECB, Chair, NCSEA Code Advisory Committee
The Code Advisory Committee is composed of 6 by reference to national standards, such as ASCE 7, ACI 318, subcommittees: General, Existing Buildings, Seismic, and so forth. As a result, there has been little direct submittal Quality Assurance, Wind, and Evaluation Services, activity by our Seismic and Wind Subcommittees, as techniand an executive committee, composed of the chairs cal criteria under the purview of these committees is mostly of each of the subcommittees, including Ed Huston (General), contained in the reference standards. The Existing Buildings, David Bonowitz (Existing Buildings), Kevin Moore (Seismic), General Requirements, and Quality Assurance Subcommittees, Kirk Harman (Quality Assurance), Don Scott (Wind), Bill however, have been quite active, as the requirements in these Warren (Evaluation Services), and this author. areas remain within the body of the building codes. In a general sense, the Code Advisory Committee’s charge is The Existing Buildings Subcommittee submitted 30 septo improve the building codes to assure safe, economical and arate proposals, heard by the ICC’s General and Structural reliable construction. However, building codes today consist of Committees, dealing with such topics as when an existing no single document but, rather, a complex suite of documents building must be structurally evaluated or upgraded, as well as including the model codes themselves (there are several), the the detailed technical requirements of certain evaluation and ANSI consensus standards the codes adopt by reference, and upgrade means. The requirements for existing buildings are a series of evaluation service reports that identify the code embodied in both the International Building Code (IBC) and conformance of proprietary products of different types. The International Existing Building Code (IEBC). A major focus of committee’s specific activities include: this cycle was the reference of ASCE’s newly reorganized ASCE 1) Monitoring the status of the building codes, their 31/41 standard, not yet complete, by both the IBC and IEBC. referenced standards, and evaluation service approvals, The General Requirements Subcommittee submitted 11 to assure that our “codes” are providing safe and separate proposals to the Structural Committee, addressing economical structures, and to not place undue requirements associated with roof-mounted, photo-voltaic cells, burden on structural engineers either through unfair snow loads, allowable deflections, public assembly classification, apportionment of professional responsibility/liability, crane wheel loads, excavation and stockpiling of earth adjacent or through imposition of unclear, conflicting, or hard- to construction, conventional wood construction, and coordito-implement requirements. nation of the risk categories in ASCE 7, with the occupancy 2) Suggesting to the standards committees, through categories specified by the building codes. advocacy, proposals intended to address our The Quality Assurance Subcommittee submitted 4 proposals, membership’s concerns. clarifying definitions associated with Quality Assurance require3) Providing public comment to the standards associated ments for structural observation and load testing of structures. with revisions that are not in our members’ interests. The Seismic Subcommittee submitted 1 proposal associated 4) Development and submittal of code change proposals with anchorage to concrete and clarifying miscoordination of to the ICC, to address issues of concern. references to ACI 318 Appendix D. 5) Monitoring code change proposals submitted by Following submittal of proposals, our subcommittees reviewed a others, to assure that these do not violate the principles total of 445 proposals with potential structural content submitted indicated in 1 above. by others and provided public comment on many of these. This 6) Attending the ICC code hearings and advocating for is a major effort by our delegates, lasting several weeks, and is (submitting argument against) proposals consistent one of NCSEA’s most publicly visible activities. A major part of with the goals indicated in item 1 above. this effort is coordination between the subcommittees, to make 7) Partnering with the ICC-ES to improve the technical sure that one of our subcommittees does not speak contrary to adequacy of their evaluation of acceptance criteria and the position of another of our subcommittees. Our delegates to product reports. the code hearings work with their subcommittees and the other 8) Providing public comment on acceptance criteria subcommittees to develop consensus positions on each proposal. proposals, through the public hearing process, as However, the code hearings often involve last-minute, smokeappropriate, to accomplish the goals in item 1 above. filled room deals between advocates of various proposals, as well as A brief summary of our activities follows: floor modifications made during the hearings. Effective action in Building Codes this environment requires not only detailed technical knowledge, but also political sensitivity and superior communication skills. ICC is in the process of developing its 2015 series of model building codes. It does this in 2 groups, over a period of 3 years. Evaluation Services Group A changes include technical changes to structural design The Evaluation Services Subcommittee has been engaged in criteria. Group B changes include administrative adoption of two principal activities. One of these consists of participation updated structural standards. Presently, we are in the middle in an ICC-ES task force, developing acceptance criteria for of the cycle for Group A changes. Proposal submittals were proprietary, lateral force resisting elements (substitute shear due in January 2012 and ICC held public hearings in Dallas walls such as Simpson Strong Wall, Hardy Frame, etc.) when during the month of May to review and vote upon proposals installed in multi-story configurations or on flexible bases. The submitted. In recent years, and in accordance with NCSEA second consists of participation with ICC-ES on a task force to policy, most technical structural engineering provisions have review the Simpson Strong Frame submittal for qualification been moved out of the building codes and become adopted as a Special Steel Moment Resisting Frame.
In addition, the Evaluation Services Committee monitors proposals for Acceptance Criteria submitted by others, and provides testimony as appropriate at three hearings per year.
Standards Liaisons
Th e CAC maintains active liaisons with the ASCE 7, ASCE 31/41, AISC Committee on Specifi cations, Masonry Joint Standards, and ACI 318 committees. Th e most signifi cant activities this year include: • ASCE 7 – initiating the cycle to produce the 2016 edition of the standard. Th is will include splitting the standard into 2 volumes. Volume 1 will be the basic standard, applicable to all construction and for all loadings. Volume 2, sometimes referred to as “ASCE 7-light”, will contain one simplifi ed procedure for each of the most common loadings, applicable to regular,
low and mid-rise construction in regions of modest environmental hazards. Th is is a major attempt at simplifi cation of the codes. • ASCE 31/41 – nearing completion of a major eff ort to combine the two former standards ASCE 31 and ASCE 41 into a single, coordinated standard. Th ree of our
Existing Building Subcommittee members are voting members on the ASCE committee. • ACI 318 – undergoing major reorganization for the 2014 edition. • AISC 341 – Th e seismic committee of AISC is attempting to pull much of the “how-to” information out of the code and place it in commentary or reference to manuals and texts, while leaving the standard as a
“what is required” document. Th is is also an attempt at code simplifi cation.
NCSEA 2012 Conference in St. Louis, October 3-6, 2012
Two full days of continuing education, business meeting on Saturday, exhibits, exhibitor reception on Th ursday night, Awards Banquet on Friday night. Th at almost sums it up, but then there are also several free events going on Wednesday, October 3, in addition to the NCSEA Committee meetings. Come early and enjoy the following:
Free Wednesday events:
All day, visit and sit in on ICC-ES Evaluation Committee meetings.
AZZ Tour from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., including trans-
portation and lunch: Experience a State of the Art Hot Dip Galvanizing Plant and see how steel is inspected, cleaned, fl uxed and then Hot Dip Galvanized. St Louis Plant capacities: Kettle 7' wide x 10' deep x 51' long, 60,000 lb. lifting capacity, parts up to 62' long (depending on height).
Ten Vendor Presentations from 1:30 – 5:30 p.m., including
software and non-software vendors. Refreshments provided. SECB Reception from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Enjoy drinks and hors d’oeuvres, compliments of SECB, and learn more about the program from SECB members and Board members. Register at www.ncsea.com, and note two special off ers for Young Members of local SEA’s (age 35 and younger): • NCSEA is off ering a 25% discount on registration for all Young Members • NCSEA is awarding at least two fully paid conference registrations to highly motivated Young Members who submit a 1-2 page essay about “How can forming a Young Member Group in my local SEA benefi t my career?” Please submit your essay to execdir@ncsea.com by August 1. Essays will be judged by a panel of NCSEA
Board members, and winners will be announced by
August 10, to allow suffi cient time to book economical travel to the conference. Use this opportunity to encourage your young members to take advantage of these new discounts and this year’s reasonable hotel prices ($102/night), to learn what NCSEA is all about and to network with some of the well-known and highly-experienced structural engineers in the profession!
NCSEA Webinars
Hear David Pollock on July 24 and July 31 July 24: Design Provisions for Lumber & Glulam Beams based on the 2012 NDS
Th is webinar will address the design of wood bending members for moment, shear, bearing, defl ection, and long-term creep using either the allowable stress design (ASD) methodology or the load and resistance factor design (LRFD) methodology.
July 31: Design of Bolted Connections using the 2012 NDS
Th is webinar addresses the design and behavior of bolted timber connections, as modeled by yield limit equations in the 2012 National Design Specifi cation for Wood Construction (NDS). David G. Pollock was recently appointed the Coughlin Distinguished Professor of Structural Engineering in the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department at Washington State University (WSU). Prior to joining the faculty at WSU, Dave was the Director of Engineering for the American Wood Council (AWC) of the American Forest & Paper Association (formerly the National Forest Products Association). He is a co-author (along with Don Breyer, Ken Fridley, and Kelly Cobeen) of the Design of Wood Structures textbook published by McGraw-Hill, and he is a licensed P.E. in Virginia.
Cost: $225 for NCSEA members, $250 for SEI/CASE members, $275 for non-members, FlexPlan option still available. Several people may attend for one connection fee. 1.5 hours of continuing education. Approved for CE credit in all 50 States through the NCSEA Diamond Review Program. Time: 10:00 AM Pacifi c, 11:00 AM Mountain, 12:00 PM Central, 1:00 PM Eastern. Register at www.ncsea.com.
NCSEA News
T R U C TURAL S
ASSOC I A T I O N S NATIONAL COUNCI L
The Newsletter of the Structural Engineering Institute of ASCE Structural Columns
Deadline: July 31, 2012
There are ten Governor positions on the SEI Board of Governors: two representatives from each of the four Divisions (Business & Professional, Codes & Standards, Local Activities, and Technical Activities), one appointed by the ASCE Board of Direction, and the most immediate and available Past President of the SEI Board. The representatives from the Divisions each serve a four-year term. This year SEI is conducting an election for a Business & Professional Activities Division (BPAD) and a Codes & Standards Activities Division (CSAD) representative on the Board of Governors. The BPAD and CSAD Executive Committees have nominated David Odeh and Stephen S. Szoke as their respective candidates. In accordance with the SEI Bylaws, each ballot provides a space for a write-in vote. If you are a member of ASCE/SEI please complete and mail the ballots to the address provided. Either vote for the named candidate or provide a write-in candidate. Because we must confirm SEI/ASCE membership, ONLY SIGNED BALLOTS WILL BE ACCEPTED. DEADLINE JULY 31, 2012.
David J. Odeh, P.E., SECB, M. ASCE
is vice president and principal at Odeh Engineers, Inc. In this position, he is responsible for a wide variety of building structural design projects. His recent work includes a new 21-story Residence Hall for the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, MA; the structural restoration of the 1681 Old Ship Meeting House in Hingham, MA (among the oldest existing wood frame churches in North America); and a new large scale fire test center for Factory Mutual Research in West Glocester, RI. Since 2001, David has also been on the adjunct faculty of the Brown University School of Engineering, and regularly speaks at professional conferences. He has published articles in STRUCTURE magazine (2006), ASCE Natural Hazards Review (2002), and conference proceedings from the SEI Structures Congress (2005). He recently edited and contributed to a white paper on Building Information Modeling published by CASE (2011). David has served as the co-chair of the ASCE-SEI Building Information Modeling Committee since 2009, and has served on the SEI Business and Professional Activities Division Executive Committee since 2010. He also serves on the Existing Buildings/ Structural Retrofit Subcommittee of NCSEA’s Code Advisory Committee. David was a founding board member and former president of the Structural Engineers Association of Rhode Island. David received a BS in Civil Engineering from Brown University (1992) and an MS in Structural Engineering, Mechanics, and Materials from the University of California at Berkeley (1993).
Stephen S. Szoke, P.E., FACI, IOM,
LEED/AP, M. ASCE is Director of Codes and Standards for the Portland Cement Association. He graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from Lehigh University. He is licensed as a professional engineer in Virginia and the District of Columbia, Fellow of the American Concrete Institute, and US Green Building Institute Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional. Steve has been a corresponding member of the SEI CSAD Executive committee since 2001. He is active in the International Code Council code development process and serves on the Industry Advisory Committee. His broad experience includes activities related to the advancement of structural, fire, structural-fire, energy conservation, sustainability, and enhanced resilience concepts. His experience as a leader includes having directed market development programs for the masonry industries, Executive Director of the Southeast Cement Shippers Association, and Past-Chair and Honorary Member of the Sustainable Building Industry Council. Steve participated in the organization efforts of the National Institute of Building Sciences High Performance Building Council and is active on the Multi-Hazard Mitigation Council. He continues leadership roles in ASTM International, American Concrete Institute, and The Masonry Society and holds an Institute for Organization Management certificate from U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Full Name: _____________________________________Member’s ASCE/SEI ID No:________________ (Please print)
Date: ______________ Signature: _______________________________________________________________ Return postmarked no later than July 31, 2012 to: SEI Board Election, 1801 Alexander Bell Dr., Reston VA 20191.
SEI 2012 Board of Governors Election Official Ballot
Business and Professional Activities Division
Codes and Standards Activities Division
The SEI Technical Activities Division Executive Committee awarded the 2012 O.H. Ammann Research Fellowship in Structural Engineering to Ms. Megan McCullough, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Notre Dame. The fellowship was awarded for her research entitled Data-Driven Models: From Data to Knowledge for Multi-Hazard Engineering. The O. H. Ammann Research Fellowship in Structural Engineering is awarded annually to a member of ASCE or SEI for the purpose of encouraging the creation of new knowledge in the field of structural design and construction. All members or applicants for membership are eligible. Applicants will submit a description of their research, an essay about why they chose to become a structural engineer, and their academic transcripts. This fellowship award is at least $5,000 and can be up to $10,000. The deadline for 2013 Ammann applications is November 1, 2012. For more information and to download an application visit http://content.seinstitute.org/inside/ammann.html.
ATC & SEI Advances in Hurricane Engineering Conference
Learning from Our Past Registration Now Open
Miami, Florida October 24-26, 2012
This is the first hurricane conference to focus exclusively on topics of interest to professionals who design, engineer, regulate and build projects in hurricane affected regions. This event will bring together practitioners, educators, federal and state government officials, students, and business leaders from across the nation and around the world. Hurricane engineering has evolved since Hurricane Andrew wreaked havoc on South Florida and Louisiana nearly 20 years ago. Andrew taught us much about how these powerful storms affect our built environment. Much has changed in building codes, standards and products designed to resist the effects from strong hurricanes, and much more needs to be improved upon. Visit the conference website at www.atc-sei.org for more information and to view the technical program.
Errata
SEI posts up-to-date errata information for our publications at www.asce.org/SEI. Click on “Publications” on our menu, and select “Errata.” If you have any errata that you would like to submit, please email it to Paul Sgambati at psgambati@asce.org.
ASCE 7 Committee
Call for Proposals for the 2016 Edition Deadline extended to December 31, 2012
The Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) of ASCE is currently accepting proposals to modify the 2010 edition of ASCE 7, Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures Standards Committee to prepare the 2016 revision cycle of the standard. Interested parties may download the proposal form from the SEI Website at www.asce.org/SEI. The committee will accept proposals until December 31, 2012. For additional information please contact Jennifer Goupil, SEI Director, at jgoupil@asce.org.
The Electrical Transmission and Substation Structures Conference is widely recognized as a one-of-a-kind conference that focuses specifically on transmission and substation structure issues to help utility engineers meet the daily challenges of today’s high-stakes energy environment. This must-attend event offers an ideal setting for learning and networking for utilities and suppliers. Registration will open in July
To see the Technical Program visit the conference website at
http://content.asce.org/conferences/ets2012/program.html
In-Depth Technical Sessions will be presented by leading industry experts on topics including Aesthetic Design Principles; Construction Challenges; Emerging Technologies; Foundations; Lifeline Reliability and Performance; Line and Substation Siting; Line Design, Re-rating and Upgrading; Extreme Loading Events; Managing Aging Infrastructure; Project Management; Regulatory Compliance; Structural Analysis and Design; Substation Design and Upgrading. Mark your calendars now, and plan to attend this forum where transmission and substation engineers can share technical knowledge and explore emerging issues, while bringing new engineers up to speed on core issues. For more information visit the ETS conference website at http://content.asce.org/conferences/ets2012/index.html.
CASE in Point
Poor communication is frequently cited among the top reasons for deteriorated client relationships and claims. It is the intent of the Project Communication Matrix and Coordination Log tool to make it easier to maintain consistent project communication standards, and to document and communicate project coordination decisions. is Excel-based tool, which is easily adaptable for each individual rm’s needs, provides an easy to use and e cient way to (1) establish and maintain project-speci c communication standards, and (2) document key project-speci c deadlines and program/coordination decisions that can be communicated to a client or team member for veri cation. Tool 5-4: Negotiation Talking Points
is tool provides an outline of items to consider during fee negotiations for private sector and for public sector projects. e tool o ers suggestions of what to do and what not to do in di erent sets of circumstances, and provides reminders of ethical and professional obligations that must be kept in mind during these negotiations. CASE Tool 4-5 and 5-4 are available at www.booksforengineers.com.
Legislative Update
e Disaster and Emergency Response Protection Act of 2012 Ready to be Introduced in the 112th Congress Protecting public health and the lives and property of unfortunate victims of disasters and emergencies is at the heart of structural engineering. Structural Engineers design structures that are disaster resilient and, after a disaster, work quickly to determine their condition and usability. It is in the national interest to encourage design and construction professionals to respond, since government institutions do not have su cient resources. Unfortunately, 9/11 and Katrina have taught us that there can be unfortunate and unearned liability in the mere fact that we responded. e lawsuits that followed those events e ectively told the experts to stay home. ACEC stepped in to help at the request of CASE and the member rms that were a ected by the lack of liability protection. Working with a diverse group of potential responders and legal counsels, ACEC’s Government A airs group drafted the Disaster and Emergency Response Protection Act of 2012 and is currently working to secure congressional sponsors. e bill recognizes the needs and provides the necessary legal protection against enterprise-threatening liability and costs. With this protection, entities with the know-how will step up and help federal authorities respond to disasters and emergencies. is is not a Good Samaritan Bill; rather it covers all consulting work done for pay as well as pro-bono during the emergency period. e legislation recognizes that design professionals who are working in challenging conditions, with limited information and under tight time constraints because lives hang in the balance, play a vital role in disaster and emergency response and recovery e orts. ey assess the safety of buildings and other structures that police o cers, re ghters, and other rescue workers must enter. ey determine the soundness of levees, bridges, and other components of our national infrastructure upon which thousands of lives depend. ey also guide the mitigation of conditions that threaten life and property. e Disaster and Emergency Response Protection Act of 2012 as drafted would extend legal protection to quali ed architectural and engineering rms. e bill would: • Create an exclusive federal cause of action for claims of death, injury or business or property loss proximately resulting from the deployment of architectural or engineering technology or services during responses to or recovery from declared federal disasters or emergencies; • Include all actions taken within the area of practice expertise of the participant; • Provide legal immunity to registered architects or licensed engineers and their rms as long there was no fraud or willful misconduct; • Require engineers and architects to be properly licensed in a state or territory in order to be eligible for legal protection, meeting all of the educational requirements to receive and maintain a license and passing all licensure examinations; • Require rms responding to disasters or emergencies to carry liability insurance. e full text of the draft legislation is available from ACEC’s Katharine Mottley (kmottley@acec.org). Your comments on the draft language and support of the bill when introduced are welcome and encouraged.
CASE Convocation at the ACEC Fall Conference
On October 14-17, 2012, ACEC is holding its Fall Conference in Boca Raton, FL. CASE will be holding its convocation on Monday, October 15th. Sessions will include: Seismic Assessment Repair and Design: Washington Monument and National Cathedral, Daniel J. LeMieux & Eric Sohn, Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc., Project Risk Management Plans, Stephen Cox, GHD, and Risk Management Essentials for Structural Engineers, Randy Lewis, CPCU, XL Group. ACEC’s program will include: • CEO Insights on Firm Growth and Pro tability • Industry Economic Update – Where is the Movement for 2013? • Tour of the Everglades and learn about the Federal
Government Restoration Project • e Annual ACEC PAC Golf Tournament For more information, go to www.acec.org.
You can follow ACEC Coalitions on Twitter – @ACECCoalitions.
CASE is on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a great virtual resource for networking, education, and now, connecting with CASE. Join the CASE LinkedIn Group today! www.linkedin.com.
CASE Announces the 2012 CASE Scholarship Winner
Since 2009, the CASE Scholarship has helped engineering students make positive steps towards a bright future in structural engineering. e CASE Scholarship, administered by the ACEC College of Fellows, is awarded to a student pursuing a Master’s degree in Structural Engineering. CASE strives to attract the best and brightest to the structural engineering profession and educational support is the best way we can ensure the future of our profession. e 2012 winner, Eric Grusenmeyer, will graduate in December with a combined M.S./B.S. in Architectural Engineering with a Structural Emphasis from Kansas State University.
CASE Business Practice Corner
If you would like more information on the items below, please contact Ed Bajer, ebajer@acec.org.
The Project May Not Be Risky but the Contract Could Be
Some DOT’s are considering requiring project professional liability policies for larger projects. ey use a list of cost and complexity factors, with each risk being assigned a dollar value, and give a project a risk rank. Agencies are subject to economic conditions like everyone else, and requiring these policies could be a factor in limiting the number of projects they take on. Also, known professional limits could increase unreasonable damage demands. ere are many ways to determine risk, address it in the contract, and have adequate insurance limits.
Small Bank Financing
Despite the current credit crisis in the U.S., there appears to be plenty of cash available to business borrowers. Small banks particularly see this time as an opportunity to wrest some business from larger institutions that are currently saddled with problem loans and limiting their lending activity. However, even from small banks you can expect more scrutiny and a return to lending practices as they were before the liberal loan era. Also expect the terms to be tighter with more collateral required.
What I Meant to Say in the Contract was…
Clients will sometimes contend that the contract was supposed to say something that it did not say. It is a longstanding principle of contract law that a written agreement supersedes all prior oral agreements or understandings. You and your client should review the nal agreement to assure it says what you meant it to say and contains all your intentions as to your services. Contracts should contain an “integration” clause that says, in e ect, the agreement is nal and complete and supersedes all previous written or oral communications.
