June 2018 Vol. 5 Issue 3
C E L E B R AT I NG T H E D E S I GNE R S OF T H E WOR L D A ROUND U S
STRUCTURAL STEEL INNOVATIONS DESIGN-BUILD GAINS MARKET SHARE
INTEGRATED APPROACH TO STORMWATER MANAGEMENT MODEL FOR COMMUNITY-CONTRACTOR COLLABORATION SUSTAINABLE COASTAL DEVELOPMENT
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CONTENTS
PAGE 14
THE COVER The American Institute of Steel Construction recognized 12 structural steel projects in its 2018 IDEAS 2 awards program, including the new 54-story 150 North Riverside in Chicago — story on page 28. Photo: Magnusson Klemencic Associates ON THE RISE 12 Awards, promotions, and new hires MANAGEMENT FILES 14 Design-build gains market share 20 Understanding basic patent filing rules CHANNELS SOFTWARE + TECH 22 Five surprising benefits of project accounting 24 Lean IT strategy 26 Autodesk releases InfraWorks and Civil 3D 2019 STRUCTURES + BUILDINGS 28 Structural Steel Innovations 36 Optimizing construction technologies and methods WATER + STORMWATER 38 2018 StormCon 40 An integrated approach to stormwater management 43 Anaerobic digester restoration ENVIRONMENT + SUSTAINABILITY 46 River engineering impacts 48 Sustainable coastal development 49 Designing more resilient coastal communities 50 Civitas design to revitalize Lake Minnetonka waterfront 51 Riverfront reclamation in Boston TRANSPORTATION
52 Utah’s Mountain View Corridor 54 Designing safe streets for kids 56 Support for California transit and rail UAV + SURVEYING 57 Surveying the future 59 Grand Paris Express construction monitoring 60 DOT Drones 61 Field data management 62 Improving drone data accuracy CONTINUING EDUCATION 63 FRP possibilities 63 Preparing for licensure 63 Supporting STEM diversity departments 7 Civil + Structural Engineer Online
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10 Events 64 Specify
65 Reader Index 66 Benchmarks Columns 06 From the Publisher: On my mind By Mark Zweig 08 Engineering Our Future: What it means to be a principal: Part 1 By Chad Clinehens, P.E.
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VOLUME 5 ISSUE 3 csengineermag.com
publisher Mark C. Zweig | 508.380.0469 | mzweig@zweiggroup.com DIRECTOR OF SALES Beth Brooks | 479.502.2972 | bbrooks@zweiggroup.com Production & circulation manager Anna Finley | 479.435.6850 | afinley@zweiggroup.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Bob Drake | 616.741.9852 | bdrake@zweiggroup.com EDITORial Chad Clinehens, P.E. | 501.551.2659 | cclinehens@zweiggroup.com H. Kit Miyamoto, PH.D., S.E. | miyamotointernational.com Will Swearingen | 479.435.6977 | wswearingen@zweiggroup.com Richard Massey | 479.856.6122 | rmassey@zweiggroup.com ART director Donovan Brigham | 479.435.6978 | dbrigham@zweiggroup.com
For subscriptions or change of address, please visit our website csengineermag.com/subscribe/ or call 800-466-6275
800-466-6275 1200 North College Avenue, Fayetteville, AR 72703 PO BOX 1528, Fayetteville, AR 72702-1528
CIVIL+STRUCTURAL ENGINEER IS A ZWEIG GROUP PRODUCT
MARK C. ZWEIG, CHAIRMAN, ZWEIG GROUP LLC
Civil + Structural Engineer (ISSN 23726717) is published monthly by Zweig Group, 1200 North College Avenue, Fayetteville, AR 72703. Telephone: 800.466.6275. Copyright© 2018, Zweig Group. Articles june not be reproduced in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher. Opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of Zweig Group. Unsolicited manuscripts will not be returned unless accompanied by a stamped, self- addressed envelope. Subscriptions: Annual domestic print subscription rate is $15 for 12 issues or $30 for 24 issues. Annual digital subscription is free. All print subscribers receive digital editions in addition to print subscription. Call or write for international rates. To subscribe or update your subscription information, please visit our website www.csengineermag.com/ subscribe/; or mail subscription requests and changes to Circulation Dept, C + S Engineer, 1200 North College Avenue, Fayetteville, AR 72703; or call 800.466.6275.
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FROM THE PUBLISHER
Sometimes I have a variety of thoughts I want to share with Civil + Structural Engineer magazine readers but none of them merits a full page. Here are a few things that have been on my mind: Civil and structural engineers are so honest and ethical that we are unequipped to deal with dishonest/unethical people. We are vulnerable because we are too trusting! That makes it easy for dishonest people to steal from us. Keep your guard up, friends — and be careful what clients you work with, what people you do business with, and who you hire. You need young people! You may not think they can do anything when you hire them, but believe me, you will get out of step with technology, work environment, and more if you don’t have a steady stream of young people joining it — not to mention the energy they bring! The fact is, we old farts may know a lot of stuff, but times are a-changing! And the younger folks are the ones to keep us in tune with those changes. Facilities are a big deal. People may complain when they are jammed together, but too much space will kill the buzz and turn your firm into a morgue. I have seen a couple spaces recently that blew me away. Architects lined up at tables against a wall, each one with about 4 feet by 30 inches deep to work in. With rents costing what they do in San Francisco, Boston, and NewYork City, smaller working spaces will have to become more common. Are you wasting space? Individual people behave in largely predictable patterns. If you are a manager, you need to understand those behavioral patterns for each of the people who work for you. Try not to put them in situations where their expected response would be less than desirable. Get people into the roles that they are most likely to succeed in and don’t jam round pegs into square holes (if you are smart). You know what people are going to do; don’t try to change them. It’s frustrating and futile! “Reply to all” is a scourge on all of us! What an incredible time-waster this is for everyone. The amount of reading and deletion — or if not deleted, server space wasted — by reply-to-all emails in engineering organizations is staggering. Put a stop to it! You have to address this or it will become part of your organization’s culture! Texting is becoming a bigger and bigger part of how people communicate today. If you are one of those people who “doesn’t text,” you better get with the program and learn how to do so quickly. If you don’t, you won’t be able to be as responsive as you should be today. We have a great issue of Civil + Structural Engineer magazine for you in June! There’s so much in here — we hope you take it all in. And as always, when you’re finished with this issue, please pass it on to someone else. Better yet, sign them up for their own subscription at https://csengineermag.com/subscribe!
On my mind Scattered, brief thoughts on business and management.
MARK C. ZWEIG mzweig@zweiggroup.com
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C+S ENGINEER ONLINE
Civil + Structural Engineer provides news and articles online to supplement content in this print issue. Visit csengineermag.com daily for the latest news and check out the following article posted online with the June 2018 issue:
CONTROL BENTLEY ® LICENSING OVERAGES.
Project Profitability: Project management online training By Howard Birnberg, Association for Project Managers Isn’t technology wonderful? Well, not always, but it does provide project managers with an opportunity to learn, enhance skills, meet continuing education licensing requirements, validate their role/skills as project managers, and meet many other needs. And, much of this can be acquired without leaving your own office or home. Online learning in its many forms can be extremely beneficial to project managers, limit the impact on their billable time, reduce the burden on their already overloaded schedules, and be very cost effective. Webinars are offered by many providers on a huge range of topics. Well- prepared and delivered webinars offer the great benefits of learning without the time burden and expense of traveling. However, there are some negatives to webinars. The face-to-face exchange of information and views obtained at traditional luncheon programs, seminars, workshops, lectures, etc. is difficult or impossible with webinars, even with conferencing capabilities such as Skype. As with webinars, there are numerous providers of online courses. Some are simply expanded webinars; others are fully developed professional development courses offered by well-known universities. There also are some drawbacks to online courses. The registration cost is much higher than webinars and the time commitment greater. The opportunity to mingle and exchange experiences, opinions, and information with classmates is more limited than with in-person classes. For civil and structural engineers living or working in more remote locations, on long-term assignment to job sites or client offices, or seeking specialized training and education, webinars or online courses may be the only viable alternative.
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engineering our future
What it means to be a principal: Part 1 First of a multi-part series exploring what it means to be a principal in today’s AEC firm.
Firms in the AEC industry have a lot of titles for staff, and the meanings of those titles vary widely. As you would expect, the number of titles typically increase as the firm grows. The title of principal is no exception to this rule as there is no universal job description for this role. The one caveat in this group is that the vast majority — 93 percent — are owners in their firm. So the industry views the title of principal as the acknowledgement of being an owner. It is important to note that we should be flexible as to the job duties, but clear and intentional as to what it means to be an owner. Becoming an owner should not be viewed simply as a promotion, but rather an acceptance of the risk and reward of being a business owner. Too many view ownership as a rung on the career ladder that must be achieved. Frankly, there are a lot of current and aspiring owners in the industry that do not have the investor temperament or the character to be a good principal, partner, or owner. To be an owner, you must act and think like an owner. Here are some interesting stats from Zweig Group’s recent Principal, Partners, and Owners Survey that should give you a better sense of what being an owner can mean for you personally and professionally: 41 percent of principals have signed a non-compete agreement — This means that if you leave the firm under certain circumstances, you may not be able to take a job where there is a perception of competition. 49 percent of principals have signed a personal guarantee for some or all of their firm’s debts — This means that your personal assets are at risk if the company runs into financial stress. Many aspiring owners do not understand the risk this introduces into their personal lives. 49 percent of owners have their stock value tied to how they leave the firm — This means that a portion of your investment in the firm could be reduced if you leave the firm or have certain life circumstances that require liquidation. Typical conditions include leaving to compete, divorce, death, and retirement. I hope this introduction to being a principal, partner, or owner in your firm expands your perspective of this important career decision and that you view it as more than a milestone.
CHAD CLINEHENS, P.E., is Zweig Group’s president and CEO. Contact him at cclinehens@zweiggroup.com.
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Blueprint for better Blueprint for better
Lincoln Buffalo Jackson Springfield Portland Bisbee Lincoln Buffalo Jackson Springfield Portland Bisbee New York New York
cities. cities.
Join us at A’18, where some of the most creative architects, designers, and firms will share how they’re creating their own blueprint for better to make a difference in cities all over the world, like New York City and Bisbee, Arizona. creating their own blu print for better to make a diff rence in cities all over the wo ld, like New York City and Bisbee, Arizona. Join us at A’18, where some of the most creative architects, designers, and firms will share how they’re
Early bird ends April 25. Register now! conferenceonarchitecture.com Early bird ends April 25. Register now! conferenceonarchitecture.com Advanc rate ends May 23. Register now! conferenceonarchitecture.com
events
JUNE 2018
AEC Business Development Training June 22—Miami
ITS America 27th Annual Meeting June 4-7—Detroit
Specifically developed to help design and technical professionals become more comfortable dealingwith clients and promoting the firmand its services. https://zweiggroup.com/seminars/aec-business-development-training SuperPile ’18 June 27-29—New York Presentations on the latest developments in augered cast-in-place/drilled displacement piles, drilled shafts, driven piles, ground improvement, helical piles and tiebacks, marine foundations, micropiles, testing and evaluation of foundation systems, and seismic and lateral loads. www.dfi-superpile.org
Themed Transportation 2.0, the Intelligent Transportation Society of America conference focuses on topics such as automation, connected vehicles, and cybersecurity, as well as educational sessions and presentations on the future of mobility and cutting-edge technology exhibits and demonstrations. https://itsdetroit2018.org AEC NEXT June 5-7—Anaheim, Calif. Six technology tracks and more than 50 conference sessions explore the latest trends and best practices for designing, constructing, and managing AEC projects smarter. Exhibits showcase the latest products and emerging technologies. www.aecst.com Intensive course in all aspects of managing a professional service firm, including business planning, marketing/business development, accounting, financial management, project management, leadership, mergers and acquisitions, ownership transition planning, and recruitment and retention. https://zweiggroup.com/seminars/the-principals-academy The IBC annually attracts more than 1,200 bridge owners and engineers, senior policy makers, government officials, bridge designers, construction executives, and suppliers from throughout the U.S. and abroad. https://eswp.com/bridge/bridge-home HxGN Live June 12-15—Las Vegas The Principals Academy June 7-8—Aspen, Colo. July 19-20—Quebec City, Canada Oct. 25-26—Charleston, S.C. International Bridge Conference June 11-14—National Harbor, Md. Hexagon’s annual cross-industry technology conference welcomes thousands of business leaders from around the world to attend educational keynotes and sessions, and to enhance their skills with interactive training. https://hxgnlive.com/2018 Real Marketing and Branding for AEC Firms June 21—Miami Designed to bring clarity and distinction between marketing and sales (business development), this coursewill aid all levels of staff to understand how to market the firm and build the brand in their respective roles. https://zweiggroup.com/seminars/real-marketing-and-branding-for-aec-firms
JULY 2018
International Conference on Transportation & Development July 15-18—Pittsburgh Discover the latest innovations and learn more about major technologies and their impact on transportation and development. Network with infrastructure planning, design, operation, and management professionals and get up-to-date information about federal and state policies and initiatives that are shaping the profession. www.asce-ictd.org Excellence in Project Management July 18—Boston Tutorial and case study workshop sessions present critical areas every project manager should know from the perspective of architecture, engineering, and environmental consulting firms. https://zweiggroup.com/seminars/excellence-in-project-management 36th International Conference on Coastal Engineering July 30-Aug. 3—Baltimore Academic and technical exchange on coastal-related studies covering a wide range of topics, including coastal waves, nearshore currents, coastal structures, sediment transport, coastal morphology, beach nourishment, natural hazards, and coastal management. http://icce2018.com
AUGUST 2018
2018 North Carolina Drone Summit and Flight Expo Aug. 5-7—Greensboro, N.C.
Keynote talks, panel discussions, and contributed presentations cover the spectrum of commercial and public safety UAS applications. A Flight Expo will showcase drone mission capabilities by flying demonstration missions onsite during the conference. www.ncdronesummit.com
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StormCon Aug. 12-16—Denver
KEEP YOUR PROJECT COVERED WITH CLEARSPAN STRUCTURES
Billed as the largest event in North America dedicated to stormwater and surface water quality professionals. Includes a technical program and an extensive exhibition. www.stormcon.com Wetland Construction: Principles, Planning, and Design Aug. 22-24—Hillsborough, N.J. Introduction to the fundamentals of functional design, including the means to rapidly assess the distribution of hydrology on a site and create useable hydrographs for presentation of a wetland design. www.cpe.rutgers.edu/courses/current/eh0604ca.html
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SEPTEMBER 2018
33rd Annual WateReuse Symposium Sept. 9-12—Austin, Texas
Learn what’s working, what’s new, and what’s next in water reuse at the nation’s only conference dedicated solely to advancing the policy, technology, innovation, and public acceptance of water reuse. https://watereuse.org/news-events/conferences/annual-watereuse-symposium 2018 Zweig Group Hot Firm + A/E Industry Awards Conference Sept. 20-21—Dallas Comprehensive business conference for leaders and aspiring leaders of AEC firms in the U.S. includes topics on technology, leadership challenges, business planning, marketingmethods, recruiting and retention, and growth strategies, as well as success stories of Zweig Group award winners. https://zweiggroup.com/2018-hot-firm-conference WEFTEC and Stormwater Congress Sept. 29-Oct. 3—New Orleans Water Environment Federation annualwater quality technical conference and exhibition, providing extensive educational opportunities and access to the field’s most cutting-edge technologies and services. www.weftec.org
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NOVEMBER 2018
Vectorworks Design Summit Nov. 4-6—Phoenix One-on-one sessions with Vectorworks software experts and breakout sessions exploring detailed workflows and best practices. www.vectorworks.net/design-summit Trimble Dimensions International User Conference Nov. 5-7—Las Vegas Learn how Trimble hardware, software, and service solutions maximize productivity and boost profitability across agriculture, construction, geospatial solutions, transportation and logistics, and multiple emerging industries. https://trimbledimensions.com
OCTOBER 2018
Designing Cities 2018 Oct. 1-4—Los Angeles An expected 800 officials, planners, and practitioners will meet to advance the state of transportation in cities. https://nacto.org/conference/designing-cities-2018-los-angeles National Coastal Conference Oct. 30-Nov. 2—Galveston Island, Texas The theme of the 2018 conference, Resilient Shorelines for Rising Tides, focuses across the entire physical coastal and estuarine system to promote best management practices, while learning the latest science, engineering, and policy needed to maintain and improve the health of beach-front and estuarine shorelines and ecosystems. http://asbpa.org/conferences/future-meetings
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on the rise
Awards, promotions, and new hires
Charles Gaddy, P.E., P.G.
Michael Carter
Charles Gaddy, P.E., P.G. , joined Freese and Nich- ols, Inc. as a senior environmental project manager in Fort Worth. Freese and Nichols expanded its asset management services with the addition of Michael Carter , senior asset management project manager in Fort Worth. Nina Reins, Ph.D., P.E. , joined the firm as a senior project manager in New Orleans. She is a water resources engineer with expertise in river mod- eling, coastal restoration, and utilities rehabilitation. Freese and Nichols expanded its North Carolina team with the addition of three water/wastewater engineers: David Malinauskas, P.E. ; Brian White, P.E. ; and Marsha Leroux, E.I.T. Malinauskas and White are senior project managers in Raleigh, and Leroux is a project engineer in Greensboro. James Naylor, P.E. , joined the firm as water treatment discipline leader serving the North Texas, West Texas, and Oklahoma markets. Gail Farber , former director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, joined Arup’s Los Angeles office as a principal to lead the growth of its infrastructure practice in Southern California. Atkins, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group, appoint- ed Rear Admiral Katherine L. Gregory , United States Navy (retired), former chief of Civil Engineers and commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Com- mand, as executive consultant in its Atkins Nuclear Secured business. Robert Hunter, P.E., CME , joined T&MAssociates’ Mount Laurel, N.J., office as division manager, Site Development, where he will lead site development initiatives and oversee all phases of projects from acquisition to development. Brown and Caldwell expanded its water reuse prac- tice with four key hires. Kati Bell, Ph.D. , joined the firm as managing director of water strategy based in Nashville, Tenn. Melanie Holmer joined Brown and Caldwell in the role of national water reuse leader based in Sacramento, Calif. Allegra da Silva, Ph.D. , joined the firm as regional water reuse leader based in
Denver. Melissa Meeker assumed the role of Rocky Mountain area leader based in Denver. Pape-Dawson Engineers, Inc. hired Francisco Guer- rero, P.E. , as a new practice leader of water and waste- water in the Water Resources department in its Austin, Texas office. Paul J. Tyrell, P.E., P.L.S., LEED AP , a civil engi- neer who is currently providing project management services for numerous high-profile transportation ini- tiatives in the Boston area, was promoted to vice presi- dent of STV and will serve as deputy project manager for the $1 billion Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Green Line Extension. Matt Dunagin, P.E. , will serve as environmental leader and project manager for Thomas & Hutton’s Atlanta service region. He will operate out of the firm’s upcoming Dunwoody and Covington, Ga., of- fice locations. Kirby McCleary, P.E. , joined Walker Consultants as director of Forensic Restoration and Building En- velope. McCleary will oversee Walker structural and building envelope restoration projects in the metro- politan Washington, D.C., area. Brad Hartjes, P.E. , joined raSmith’s Appleton, Wis., office as a senior project engineer with comprehensive experience in water resource, municipal, and site de- velopment projects in Wisconsin and Illinois. Cory Horton, P.E., CFM, CPESC, ENV SP , joined ra- Smith’s Madison, Wis., office as a senior project man- ager, bringing 20 years of experience with municipal engineering, water and natural resources, and develop- ment projects. Bradford Meyer, P.E. , joined the firm in Brookfield, Wis., as a project engineer within the land development services division. Urban Engineers promoted Gregory May, P.E., LEED AP , to vice president. He serves as the firm’s national practice leader for rail and transit.
Nina Reins, Ph.D., P.E.
David Malinauskas, P.E.
Brian White, P.E.
Marsha Leroux, E.I.T.
James Naylor, P.E.
Gail Farber
Robert Hunter, P.E., CME
Kati Bell, Ph.D.
Melanie Holmer
Allegra da Silva, Ph.D.
Melissa Meeker
Francisco Guerrero, P.E.
Paul J. Tyrell, P.E., P.L.S., LEED AP
Matt Dunagin, P.E.
Kirby McCleary, P.E.
Brad Hartjes, P.E.
Cory Horton, P.E., CFM, CPESC, ENV SP
Bradford Meyer, P.E.
Gregory May, P.E., LEED AP
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MANAGEMENT FILES
Burns & McDonnell’s new 350,000-square-foot
headquarters expansion offers a compelling example of the firm’s design-build capabilities.
when things go wrong, has design-build poised for big things as the public sector confronts its ailing infrastructure, and as the private sec- tor develops real estate for various uses. An important player in the design-build industry is Kansas City, Mo.- based Burns & McDonnell, a 5,700-employee-strong power firm with more than 50 offices across the globe. Fresh off the completion of a 310,000-square-foot, $75 million world headquarters expansion, and in the middle of a three-tower construction project for VanTrust Real Estate in Kansas City, Burns & McDonnell is all about, and will con- tinue to be all about, the design-build delivery model.
Design-bid-build. It now seems almost quaint, the idea of hiring one firm to design a project, going out for bid, and then hiring another firm to build it. An enduring business model used to deliver much of what we see nationwide, design-bid-build, entrenched in state procurement laws — and for many projects, simply the right fit — is by no means going away. But as public-private partnerships (P3s) increase, and as owners look for more efficient ways to deliver their roads, bridges, water treat- ment facilities, and retail and residential structures, a refined delivery method — design-build awarded on a best-value or low-bid basis — is increasingly gaining market share. A response to the demands of speed-to-market, and in part driven by the effort to manage or transfer risk, design-build is lauded for its abil- ity to cut through the clutter of getting a project out of the blueprints and into the ground. One team, design-as-you-go, best value, and per- haps most importantly, less finger-pointing between concerned parties Design-Build The delivery method is gaining market share in both the public and private sectors, but design-bid-build will remain. By Richard Massey
“We typically don’t build what we don’t design, but we will design things that we won’t build,” said Ken Schaefer, the Burns & McDon- nell project manager for the headquarters expansion, in summing up the firm’s approach to the industry. “We’re an engineering firm at heart.” An old firm with a long and impressive list of projects to its credit, Burns & McDonnell is charting new territory for itself with the de- livery of cutting-edge office buildings. The headquarters expansion, packed with amenities, delivered in 2016, and under construction when
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Burns & McDonnell is in the process of building three mid-rise towers at the Overland One location in south Kansas City.
the design phase was still in its infancy, is the perfect calling card. The company gives building tours to a broad range of clients and po- tential clients that span each of the firm’s business divisions. Visitors include dozens of Fortune 500 companies, developers, members of the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA), the Kansas City AIA, com- munity and civic groups, company alumni, building product manufac- turers, and even high school and college students. That’s a new chapter for a company historically associated with the construction of power plants and refineries. Indeed, the headquarters expansion helped land the job for Overland One, a 14.3-acre, south Kansas City development that will build-out to three mid-rise, Class- A towers totaling 350,000 square feet. One tower has already been completed and sold to Creative Planning, a wealth management firm; a second tower is under construction and a third has yet to be started. Burns & McDonnell also recently won an important contract for a global company, the details of which could not be disclosed as of press time. But, according to Burns & McDonnell, they went into the RFP process as underdogs and walked out as winners. “We kind of threw them for a loop when we proposed,” Schaefer said. Architect Clint Blew, RA, the lead designer for the Burns & McDon- nell headquarters expansion, has the same assessment of the win. “I’d
like to think we weren’t the favorites going in,” Blew said.
Blew, who has 20 years of experience on the design-bid-build side of the industry, said that through design-build, not as many problems reach the owner’s desk. Among the design-build team, there’s still plenty of hair-pulling, he said, but not as much as what happens between the design firm and the building firm under the traditional delivery method. “I’ve seen the gamut,” Blew said. “I can see the value in [design-build] because I did something else for 20 years. The other side is not all bad, but I wouldn’t go back to it if I didn’t have to.” As Burns & McDonnell continues to make its way in the design-build space — and as it eyes another major expansion at its world headquar- ters that would see an additional 142,000 square feet to accommodate as many as 800 employees — anecdotal evidence and industry research show that design-build, in general, is on a dramatic upswing. From a Shake Shack in Dallas to the San Francisco International Air- port, from a High Tech High School in New Jersey to student housing at the University of California, Irvine, and from highway widening
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csengineermag.com
Burns & McDonnell's headquarters provides clients and potential clients an example of the firm's design-build capabilities.
in Chesapeake, Va., to a residential subdivision in Bethlehem, Pa., design-build seems to be everywhere. While traditional design-bid-build still has the largest chunk of market share, a 2016 survey by the DBIA, the organization’s latest available, confirms the tilt toward design-build as the preferred method for de- livery. From 2002 to 2016, according to the survey of 35 departments of transportation, completed design-build projects have increased by a hefty 800 percent, from 140 to more than 1,300. Among respondents, 87 percent indicated they would use design-build in the future. The survey also shows that 95 percent of surveyed DOTs use design- build on highways, 65 percent on bridges, and 9 percent on rail. In addition to standard construction and maintenance, design-build is use- ful in post-disaster scenarios, and was instrumental in recovery efforts in the wake of 9/11, as well as hurricanes Katrina, Sandy, and most recently, Harvey. As design-build gains in popularity, it’s only natural that more and more firms will enter the fray. With that being the case, firms testing the waters for the first time must take pains to protect themselves, said Dan Knise, president and CEO of Ames & Gough, an insurance brokerage that writes policies for about 1,200 AE firms. “It creates another avenue for someone to make a claim against an architect or engineer,” he said. “Now you’re in contractual privity.” Also, Knise said, designers leading design-build projects are respon- sible for delivering a product with a warranty, which is an extra li- ability. Saddled with the responsibility of delivering on time and on budget, design-builders have to carry a surety bond, something usually reserved for the contractor. “You’ve opened up the pathway to liability,” he said. “There’s risk here, but there’s potential for rewards. [Firms] need to go into it with their eyes wide open.”
In addition to writing policies, Ames & Gough also serves as the in- surance advisor for the states of Texas, Virginia, and Pennsylvania — states that authorize design-build programs. From his vantage point, Knise has a bird’s eye view of what’s hap- pening in the industry. Design-build and P3s go hand-in-hand, and more often than not, P3s are also design-build, with construction firms typically leading the joint venture. Larger projects, Knise said, will increasingly be the purview of design-build. From a historical perspective, Knise sees the irony of design-build emerging as a “modern” form of project delivery. The model is actually a rediscovery of something much older — the “master builder” model prevalent in the Middle Ages. As a case in point, James of St. George led the design-build teams for King Edward I’s fortification program in Wales, work that included the castles of Harlech, Conwy, and the colossal Carnarvon, among others. “In many ways, we’re turning the clock back to the way they used to do it,” Knise said. As with P3s, design-build in the public sector is regulated at the state level, creating a patchwork of legislation across the country. Based on a 2017 State Statute Report by DBIA, state authorizations are widely varied. In Ohio, for example, all state, local, and educational institutions are authorized to use design-build, and the Ohio Department of Transpor- tation is authorized to use the delivery model on projects totaling $1 billion annually, according to the DBIA report. In Iowa, the Board of Regents, which oversees the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and the University of Northern Iowa, has design-build authority; while in Wisconsin, legislation to authorize design-build died in committee last year.
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In Texas, meanwhile, the DOT is authorized to use design-build on up to three $150 million-plus projects annually, but local gov- ernments with a population less than 100,000 are not authorized to use design-build. In an area devastated by Harvey, that’s a problem. The DBIA brought the issue to Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s attention in a September letter written by Lisa Washington, the organization’s executive director and CEO. “Given the enormity of the reconstruction challenges facing Texas, the state needs the ability to innovate, building stronger and smarter, while also maximizing project dollars and delivery times on vital post-Harvey projects,” Washington said. “The need is immense and the response must be equal to that challenge. As governor, you have the emergency authority to ensure design-build can deliver in Texas just as it has in so many other communities rebuilt after a disaster.” According to the DBIA, Abbott did not expand design-build au- thorization for Harvey recovery. The common criticism of design-build is that it weakens competi- tion, is only good for large projects, encourages favoritism, and that it paves the way for large out-of-state construction companies to come in and take work from local firms. The DBIA, of course, dismisses those criticisms, pointing to the fact that design-build projects take place across the spectrum, from projects like the $3 million Shake Shack in Dallas, to the $1.4 billion Northeast Water Purification Plant in Houston, cur- rently the largest design-build project in the country. (see page 18) The Federal Highway Administration is quantifying the role design-build is having on highway construction. While its report concluded that design-bid-build will be in use for many years, preliminary results of the study are illuminating for design-build. According to the survey of 291 projects completed between 2004 and 2015, alternative contracting methods — which include de- sign-build-low bid, and design-build-best value — are employed across all project sizes, save time, accelerate cost certainty, and increase project intensity. The study found that design-build-best value projects have the highest levels of agency-directed change orders among alterna- tive forms of delivery. However, the study also found that more than half of the change orders were implemented when the project award was lower than the engineer’s estimate, meaning the change order could have brought increased value to a given project. That’s essentially what happened in Boston, where the Massachu- setts Bay Transportation Authority is building the 4.7-mile exten- sion of the Green Line to the suburbs of Somerville and Medford. Having previously fizzled — the original joint venture, White- Skanska-Kiewit, was booted from the project for various reasons
DESIGN-BUILD AT-A-GLANCE Design-build contracting is a method of project delivery in which the design and construction phases of a project are combined into one contract, usually awarded on either a low-bid or best-value basis. This can provide significant time savings compared with the more traditional design-bid-build approach in which the design and construction services must be undertaken in sequence. Benefits include: • Cost savings • Schedule reduction • Reduced litigation • Risks associated with design errors and omissions are transferred from owner to the design-build team Source: U.S. Department of Transportation
DESIGN-BUILD STATISTICS Of the states using design build: •
95 percent use design-build for highways 65 percent use design-build for bridges
• •
9 percent use design-build for rail Completed transportation design-build projects: • 800 percent increase from 2002 through 2016 Design-build advantages: • 34 percent faster delivery • 11 percent less schedule growth • 93 percent of projects on-time or ahead of schedule Value range for design-build projects: • From $25 million and less to more than $200 million Notable design build projects: • U.S. 90 Bridge, Bay St. Louis, Miss. ($283 million) • State Route 42, Greene County, N.Y. ($14.1 million) • Long Island Railroad & Metro North MTA, New York ($634 million) • Chevron Headquarters, Covington, La. ($79.8 million) • I-35WBridge, Minneapolis ($265 million) • Pentagon Reconstruction, Arlington, Va. ($501 million) • Carlsbad Desalination Plant, Carlsbad, Calif. ($583 million) • Union Station, Denver ($374.8 million) • Mesa Towers, Irvine, Calif. ($96.7 million) Progressive design-build: • Uses a qualifications-based or best-value selection, followed by a process whereby the owner then “progresses” toward a design and contract price with the team. Potential obstacles to progressive design-build: • Restrictive procurement regulations • Awarding without full completion on the overall design-build contract price • Owners may be uncomfortable in exercising the “off ramp” in the event parties cannot reach commercial agreement on the design- builder’s proposal • Subcontractor procurement challenges • Lack of interest in changing approaches Source: Design-Build Institute of America
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in 2015 — the transit program was reignited late last year when GLX Constructors, a Flour-led consortium that includes Middlesex Corp., Herzog, Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Inc., and STV, won the bid with a $1.08 billion proposal. Coming in well below the cost ceiling of $1.3 billion, GLX was able to re-include Green Line features such as station canopies, public art, and a portion of walking and cycling trails along the tracks, according to accounts published in The Boston Globe. That Flour and Balfour Beatty, two of the top design-build firms in the nation, would be spearheading a marquee project in a marquee market should come as no surprise. Likewise, CH2M and CDM Smith are part of the joint venture on the Northeast Water Purification Plant in Houston, and Kiewet Corp. subsidiary Kiewit Infrastructure West Co., led the joint venture on the $583 million Carlsbad Desalination Plant in California. In Burns & McDonnell’s own back yard sits Black & Veatch, a super-firm in its own right. But that’s the playing field for design-build, and Burns & McDonnell is comfortable with the compe- tition and the stakes. “We compete against those guys all the time,” Schaefer said. “You win some and you lose some. It’s all about relationships. You have to understand the people who are going to be in the room [when you propose] and know what their wants and needs are.” Schaefer concedes that there are plenty of owners out there who just don’t want to give design-build a try. But there are plenty who do, and when they take the plunge, the results are increasingly predictable. “Once they do it once, they want to do it again,” Schaefer said. The Burns & McDonnell headquarters expansion is crammed with amenities and, according to Brittney Swartz, a landscape architect for
the expansion project, the design-build delivery model made it possible to put the bells and whistles into the final product: A 20,000-square- foot child care center, crucial as the firm looks to recruit more women, a coffee shop, a 250-seat auditorium, a 2,500-square-foot rooftop event space, and a full-service pharmacy are the headliners.
How does all this get coordinated during an aggressive construction schedule that came in under two years? Constant communication and education among the various business units involved, Swartz said. The building also has 60 conference rooms, reclaimed white marble from the abandoned Beth Shalom temple formerly on the site, hack- berry wood veneers and ceiling panels, 100-percent LED lighting, 300 tons of recycled steel and metal, a fully automated blind system, and electric vehicle charging stations. The facility was designed to accom- modate the Phase Two expansion, and both buildings can be converted for another tenant should Burns & McDonnell ever move. In the end, Burns & McDonnell got everything it wanted out of the building. “There are opportunities that come up through the process, and because we’re a [design-build] team, it’s easier to work it in,” said Swartz. RICHARD MASSEY is director of newsletters and special publications at Zweig Group and editor of The Zweig Letter. He can be reached at rmassey@ zwieiggroup.com.
Northeast Water Purification Plant
The City of Houston’s Northeast Water Purification Plant in Humble, Texas, is the nation’s largest design-build project. The $1.4 billion project led by Houston Waterworks Team, a design-build joint venture between CDM Smith and CH2M, will increase treatment capacity from 80 million gallons per day (mgd) to 400 mgd by 2024. The project comprises pumping and conveyance of water from Lake Houston; an intake pump station; twin, 108-inch transmission mains; pre- and post-treatment chemical addition; ozone treatment; filtration; finished water storage tanks; and a high-service pumping station.
The Northeast Water Purification Plant in Houston is currently the largest design-build project in the United States.
Source: City of Houston
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Dallas September 20-21 zweiggroup.com/2018-hot-firm-conference/
management files
Basically, the first inventor to file a patent application now wins any controversy over inventorship of a given invention. More important, the first-to-file framework offers a less reliable grace period against prior art that predates patent filing, which makes it even more critical for patent applicants to file their applications as soon as possible. If a civil or structural engineer conceives of a useful invention, filing an application as soon as possible — before any public disclosure — comprises the clear best practice. However, commercial realities often make this best practice easier said than done. Startups and inventors working in accelerators may need to disclose their inventions quickly to potential investors to stay afloat. Sales forces, always notorious sources of public disclosure, will disclose as much novelty as they can as quickly as possible to make sales. Such business pressures can prematurely force public disclosures of inventions to third parties. Although public disclosure of an invention prior to filing does not always kill patentability, it will in many situations. Public disclosure before filing can create lethal prior art, though patent law does provide some protection. The 2011 America Invents Act provides some cover to inventors relating to public disclosure that they make themselves for up to 12 months following that disclosure. But this limited grace period may not provide ironclad protection, and inventors should think twice before disclosing subject matter prior to filing. Similarly, nondisclosure agreements may provide some protection against public disclosure, but only to the extent that contractual obliga- tions may dissuade another party from disclosing information. Inven- tors relying on nondisclosure agreements must realize that if a third party discloses an invention prior to patent filing in violation of the agreement, the inventor may have only a contract claim against the
Cutting through the complexity Understand basic patent filing rules for civil and structural engineering inventors. By Stephen L. Keefe, P.E., Esq.
U.S. patent law provides a successful patent applicant with a legal right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering to sell, or importing his or her claimed invention. Global patent law comprises a patchwork of territorial rights, with almost all nations offering similar exclusive patent rights. When it comes to pushing a patent application to grant, patent offices worldwide tend to reward inventors who can present their invention’s novelty in terms of tangible structure. Applicants who claim their inven- tions using well-defined features clearly different from the prior art can look forward to an increased probability for success during patent pros- ecution. Because civil and structural engineering technologies rest on such clear structure, these disciplines arm their inventors with a natural advantage in obtaining patent protection. In contrast, more abstract fields struggle with patent law’s aversion to vague, intangible features. First to file Most of the world has operated on a first-to-file regime for decades. The U.S. came a little late to the first-to-file game with the America Invents Act in 2011, which replaced the old American first-to-invent system.
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