7-29-16

10B — July 29 - August 11, 2016 — Architects & Engineers — Owners, Developers & Managers — M id A tlantic

Real Estate Journal

www.marejournal.com

A rchitects & E ngineers By Dan Schauble, Advantage Engineers Bring your geotechnical consultant to the party

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ar too often, there is a significant commu- nication gap between

suffering, and most impor- tantly, money, by identifying potential issues and providing cost saving measures before construction commences. Some clients find them- selves wasting valuable time and money while dealing with poor soil conditions (or poor design) during a project’s construction phase, which an experienced geotechnical consultant could have ad- dressed if they had simply brought them along to the party. Fortunately, for some clients, they have learned the value of keeping geotechnical consultants on the team dur-

ing distribution and logistics center boom across the Mid- Atlantic region, developers are constructing a tremen- dous amount of flexible and rigid pavement associated with the current real estate industry. In many cases, the approved plans merely reflect a pavement section, specifi- cally a heavy-duty section, which “was used on the last one” with little or no consid- eration to site-specific condi- tions or pavement optimiza- tion concepts available in the industry today. Our team has seen numerous cases where either the pavement section

is insufficient as designed to support the intended loading, or more commonly, the client can realize significant savings through alternative methods to improve subgrade strength, which extend the life of the pavement section and reduce the overall section thickness. Once construction is under- way, it is often too late to cost effectively make any of these adjustments. This is just one example and there are myriad of others where a quality geotechnical consultant’s insight and input at the right time, can lead to significant cost savings and realized project value. The next time you are putting final plans together, receiv- ing construction pricing or developing your construction contingency budgets, contact Advantage Engineers. Our expert teamwill bring creativ- ity, results and value to your project. Dan Schauble is Advan- tage Engineers’ Geotechni- cal Division Director. n Advantage Engi- neers recognized on Engineer ing News-Record Top 500 Design Firms COLUMBIA, MD — For the first time in the firm’s his- tory, Advantage Engineers is nationally ranked on the En- gineering News-Record (ENR) 2016 Top 500 Design Firms. The firm’s ascension to num- ber 459 came as a direct result of their steady growth in the diverse markets they service. In addition, the firm is ranked number 18 on the Top 20 Design Firms in Telecommunications. For the 2nd consecutive year, Advantage Engineers is ranked on ENR MidAtlantic’s 2016 Top Design Firms list. The firm moves to number 42 from number 44 in 2015. “Advantage Engineers’ rank- ing on the ENR Top Design Firms is an indicator of our remarkable growth of the last 6 years and is a true reflection of the hard work and excellence that each of our employees bring to the firm every day. We’ve been successful increas- ing our markets and retaining customers because we place client satisfaction as our num- ber one priority,” said Edward Balsavage , managing princi- pal & CEO. n

ing final plan revisions and project pricing to allow for development and testing of site-specific, value-engineered concepts. Geotechnical con- sultants canmany times iden- tify and address design issues and subsurface “surprises” prior to a shovel hitting the ground. At Advantage Engineers, we pride ourselves on seek- ing value for our clients and finding creative solutions to address design or site- specific conditions, which would otherwise result in excessive cost expenditure. As an example, with the ongo-

when a cli- ent involves geotechnical consultants in a project to request a report and the start of the project’s construction

Dan Schauble

phase. A strong geotechnical consultant can do more than check a box for the client (i.e. deliver a geotechnical report); they can save their client from experiencing a lot of pain,

Creative Engineering & Innovative Solutions

geotechnical, environmental, construction observation & materials testing

www.advantageengineers.com ▪ MD: 443.367.0003 ▪ PA: 717.458.0800 ▪ NJ: 856.231.0800 Advantage Engineers specializes in creative engineering and innovative consulting solutions. We handle it all. We design and manage projects from beginning to end. Throughout our 15-year history, our experience and thorough understanding of the demands of the commercial real estate process have enabled Advantage to provide clients with unparalleled levels of service. You can rest assured that with Advantage your project will be a success.

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