Resources // Blog
-
Making the World a Better Place
What a difference technology has made in engineering. We have seen drafting boards replaced with computers running CADD and BIM software, grid paper replaced with Excel spreadsheets, and manual engineering calculation forms replaced with sophisticated engineering calculation software.
The benefit is that engineers can provide designs that are far more complex, evaluate far more options, and design to much tighter tolerances – all in less time.
Instead of hand drawn lines on Mylar, owners now get 3-D computer models they can use for facilities management. Instead of a couple of system options, owners now get to narrow down numerous options and ...
-
Asset Protection
Many of us have seen the video of the aircraft hangar accidentally filled with white, billowy, high-expansion fire suppression foam during a hangar system test that ran too long.
Yes, I am referring to the one where the hangar doors were opened afterward and the foam seemed to flow out onto the aircraft operations area, almost engulfing a small jet sitting outside the hangar.Click here to check out the YouTube video showing the fire foam test going wrong.
If you have not worked with an aircraft hangar or similar high-value storage facility, you may not have heard about the ... -
design ingenuity + virtual building optimization = true energy savings
Today’s construction industry is in the midst of great change as it is experiencing increasing pressures on price and schedule. Added to this are binding requirements for long-term building performance and occupant comfort. Most people agree that improved performance is necessary and worthwhile, but accurately assessing a building’s overall efficiency during design can be challenging.
True building optimization can require trial and error, which would be far too expensive to accomplish with physical construction. Fortunately, the tools now exist to cost-effectively model performance in the virtual world. Whole-building energy simulation, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling, and other analyses ...
-
Where's the economy going?
It’s hard to believe that the recession has been over for two years. Employers aren’t hiring, developers aren’t developing, builders aren’t building, and shoppers aren’t shopping. So what’s happening? A couple of things are at work here. First, employers are finding out how to do more with less. That means that even though they are recognizing growth as a whole, they are meeting their needs with the same number of employees. Developers are still having a hard time justifying building space for employers who are reluctant to hire and the financers of those projects ...