Comments for Public Works Group Blog http://www.publicworksgroup.com/blog An Online Resource for Public Works Professionals Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:55:58 -0500 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Comment on Plan Holder/Bidder List – To Share or Not to Share by JackOTrades http://www.publicworksgroup.com/blog/2012/01/plan-holderbidder-list-to-share-or-not-to-share/comment-page-1/#comment-8043 JackOTrades Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:55:58 +0000 http://www.publicworksgroup.com/blog/?p=3302#comment-8043 At my previous design firm it was our policy not to give out the list of bidders.  I never fully understood why and thought it was a little harsh.  Also, at that firm we had a receptionist who was able to intercept the calls & deny the requests. In my current firm there is no such policy.  We also do not have a receptionist.  I now have a better appreciation of my former firms policy & receptionist because I am innundated with phone calls looking for lists.  I now feel as though I spend too much time helping estimators find work.  This is not my job.    Furthermore, how do I know that this estimator has done a good job pricing the job & how do I know he has all of the required documentation?  Now I have assisted him to give an inaccurate low price out to all of the GC's.    At my previous design firm it was our policy not to give out the list of bidders.  I never fully understood why and thought it was a little harsh.  Also, at that firm we had a receptionist who was able to intercept the calls & deny the requests.
In my current firm there is no such policy.  We also do not have a receptionist.  I now have a better appreciation of my former firms policy & receptionist because I am innundated with phone calls looking for lists.  I now feel as though I spend too much time helping estimators find work.  This is not my job. 
 
Furthermore, how do I know that this estimator has done a good job pricing the job & how do I know he has all of the required documentation?  Now I have assisted him to give an inaccurate low price out to all of the GC's. 
 

]]> Comment on Is the ASCE Infrastructure Report Card Really a Good Idea? by Charles Althoff http://www.publicworksgroup.com/blog/2012/01/asceinfrastructurereportcard/comment-page-1/#comment-7872 Charles Althoff Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:55:32 +0000 http://www.publicworksgroup.com/blog/?p=3207#comment-7872 I too oppose the ASCE report card. Like the author I have many years experience working for underfunded communities who have done very well with the funds available. The principal reason I oppose the report card is that it rates old existing infrastructure against the current standards. As all in the industry know these standards are ever increasing as the years pass. Anything more than a few years old no longer complies. Early in my career one of my assignments was bridge load rating. The standards forced me to rate a perfectly sound cast in place concrete bridge on a remote very low traffic road as functionally obsolete. It didn't have<strong> sidewalks, </strong>and it didn't matter that this bridge was 10 miles off a paved road and saw maybe 1 logging truck a day. This incident was 35+ years ago. While I don't know for sure I'll bet that obsolete bridge is still carrying its traffic today. I'm also sure that the replacement cost has been included in the estimate of funding needed to bring our<strong> "D"</strong> infrastructure up to date. I too oppose the ASCE report card. Like the author I have many years experience working for underfunded communities who have done very well with the funds available.
The principal reason I oppose the report card is that it rates old existing infrastructure against the current standards. As all in the industry know these standards are ever increasing as the years pass. Anything more than a few years old no longer complies.
Early in my career one of my assignments was bridge load rating. The standards forced me to rate a perfectly sound cast in place concrete bridge on a remote very low traffic road as functionally obsolete. It didn't have sidewalks, and it didn't matter that this bridge was 10 miles off a paved road and saw maybe 1 logging truck a day. This incident was 35+ years ago. While I don't know for sure I'll bet that obsolete bridge is still carrying its traffic today. I'm also sure that the replacement cost has been included in the estimate of funding needed to bring our "D" infrastructure up to date.

]]> Comment on About by Parfait Gasana http://www.publicworksgroup.com/blog/about/comment-page-1/#comment-7533 Parfait Gasana Sun, 20 Nov 2011 21:17:30 +0000 #comment-7533 Hi thank you so much for this noteworthy website: I want to showcase a nonprofit website that I recently developed and launched. As a graduate student in economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who researches transportation and infrastructure, I believe we must take advantage of a powerful monitoring/maintenance tool: user input. Currently, local residents, the everyday users of infrastructure, have been unengaged and uninformed in the maintenance of our roads, bridges, water systems, electric lines, and other facilities. They know if a pothole or a sewer backup is found, they must report it to the city, but do they really or let the problem exacerbate until it is an emergency? And what phone number or email address do they report the problem? What about after business hours? And why are web forms hard to fill out, let alone find, on cluttered public works websites? Why can't engaged citizens see the other issues or comments reported to the city to start a conversation, raise awareness, and motivate action? Finally, what should citizens do in order to report on infrastructure beyond the scope of local public works such as highways and bridges (for state DOTs); libraries, and schools (for separate facility managers); subways and buses (for public transit agencies); and many others? And what are their contact information? These questions forced me to develop a one-stop, database-driven website, www.infrainput.org, that encompasses all public infrastructure facilities from airports to water pipes. In an age of social media, forums, and blogging, now local residents can input their issues and ideas in a user-friendly, simple interface. In addition, they can see their entries along with many others local and nationwide (all 50 states including DC and Puerto Rico) through output tables. As the new site gains traction, public works managers, policymakers, and citizens can see all the issues in their local and regional jurisdictions in real-time and hopefully use the targeted entries to tackle our aging infrastructure system. Let me know what you think and if you can pass this along. Thanks, Parfait Hi thank you so much for this noteworthy website:
I want to showcase a nonprofit website that I recently developed and launched. As a graduate student in economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who researches transportation and infrastructure, I believe we must take advantage of a powerful monitoring/maintenance tool: user input.

Currently, local residents, the everyday users of infrastructure, have been unengaged and uninformed in the maintenance of our roads, bridges, water systems, electric lines, and other facilities. They know if a pothole or a sewer backup is found, they must report it to the city, but do they really or let the problem exacerbate until it is an emergency? And what phone number or email address do they report the problem? What about after business hours? And why are web forms hard to fill out, let alone find, on cluttered public works websites? Why can't engaged citizens see the other issues or comments reported to the city to start a conversation, raise awareness, and motivate action? Finally, what should citizens do in order to report on infrastructure beyond the scope of local public works such as highways and bridges (for state DOTs); libraries, and schools (for separate facility managers); subways and buses (for public transit agencies); and many others? And what are their contact information?

These questions forced me to develop a one-stop, database-driven website, http://www.infrainput.org, that encompasses all public infrastructure facilities from airports to water pipes. In an age of social media, forums, and blogging, now local residents can input their issues and ideas in a user-friendly, simple interface. In addition, they can see their entries along with many others local and nationwide (all 50 states including DC and Puerto Rico) through output tables. As the new site gains traction, public works managers, policymakers, and citizens can see all the issues in their local and regional jurisdictions in real-time and hopefully use the targeted entries to tackle our aging infrastructure system.
Let me know what you think and if you can pass this along.
Thanks,
Parfait

]]> Comment on A Day in the Life of a Civil Engineer – Day 62 by A Day in the Life of a Civil Engineer – Day 65 | Public Works Group Blog http://www.publicworksgroup.com/blog/2011/10/civilengineerday62/comment-page-1/#comment-7467 A Day in the Life of a Civil Engineer – Day 65 | Public Works Group Blog Thu, 03 Nov 2011 00:09:09 +0000 http://www.publicworksgroup.com/blog/?p=2958#comment-7467 [...] other day, I wrote about the BRT and Randall Road -  the major corridor that runs through many of the communities in our area. In that post, I [...] [...] other day, I wrote about the BRT and Randall Road –  the major corridor that runs through many of the communities in our area. In that post, I [...]

]]> Comment on A Day in the Life of a Civil Engineer – Day 60 by Pam Broviak http://www.publicworksgroup.com/blog/2011/10/civilengineerday60/comment-page-1/#comment-7442 Pam Broviak Thu, 27 Oct 2011 23:52:36 +0000 http://www.publicworksgroup.com/blog/?p=2928#comment-7442 <p>Ryan</p> <p>I know what you mean - we also were wondering about that. But what the vendor told us is the push button has an infrared trigger on it so it senses when someone walks within a certain distance of it and then starts talking to the person. It tells the person to push the button, look both ways before crossing, or any other message you want to program in.</p> <p>Although I guess people might decide to ignore the sign and try to walk without using it. But those people probably would not have been concerned about having any type of enhancement for pedestrians. And the people who are concerned about alerting cars will push the button to draw attention to their crossing.  We are going to visit an installation in a neighboring city to see it in action! I'll probably mention our experience in a future post.</p> Ryan

I know what you mean – we also were wondering about that. But what the vendor told us is the push button has an infrared trigger on it so it senses when someone walks within a certain distance of it and then starts talking to the person. It tells the person to push the button, look both ways before crossing, or any other message you want to program in.

Although I guess people might decide to ignore the sign and try to walk without using it. But those people probably would not have been concerned about having any type of enhancement for pedestrians. And the people who are concerned about alerting cars will push the button to draw attention to their crossing.  We are going to visit an installation in a neighboring city to see it in action! I'll probably mention our experience in a future post.

]]> Comment on A Day in the Life of a Civil Engineer – Day 60 by Ryan http://www.publicworksgroup.com/blog/2011/10/civilengineerday60/comment-page-1/#comment-7441 Ryan Thu, 27 Oct 2011 23:44:08 +0000 http://www.publicworksgroup.com/blog/?p=2928#comment-7441 I see a possibility of a problem with the "Enhancer" product. Since there is no walk/don't walk sign, then people may not push the button. They might just walk without pushing the button. I see a possibility of a problem with the “Enhancer” product. Since there is no walk/don’t walk sign, then people may not push the button. They might just walk without pushing the button.

]]> Comment on 2011 APWA Conference – Day 2 by A Day in the Life of a Civil Engineer – Days 34 through 38 | Public Works Group Blog http://www.publicworksgroup.com/blog/2011/09/2011apwaday2/comment-page-1/#comment-6838 A Day in the Life of a Civil Engineer – Days 34 through 38 | Public Works Group Blog Mon, 26 Sep 2011 22:16:30 +0000 http://www.publicworksgroup.com/blog/?p=2664#comment-6838 [...] the APWA conference in Denver. You can read a short summary of my day on the post before this one: 2011 APWA  Conference – Day 2. There are a couple extra items I probably should have added to this post, but they really deserve [...] [...] the APWA conference in Denver. You can read a short summary of my day on the post before this one: 2011 APWA  Conference – Day 2. There are a couple extra items I probably should have added to this post, but they really deserve [...]

]]> Comment on Does Civil Engineering Have a “Next Paradigm?” by Failure: The Key Ingredient to Learning | Public Works Group Blog http://www.publicworksgroup.com/blog/2011/07/does-civil-engineering-have-a-next-paradigm/comment-page-1/#comment-6485 Failure: The Key Ingredient to Learning | Public Works Group Blog Wed, 17 Aug 2011 00:42:07 +0000 http://www.publicworksgroup.com/blog/?p=1922#comment-6485 [...] opportunities. We explored the results of not innovating with the rest of the world in the "Does Civil Engineering Have a Next Paradigm?" and in "The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again?) of Engineering Consulting [...] [...] opportunities. We explored the results of not innovating with the rest of the world in the "Does Civil Engineering Have a Next Paradigm?" and in "The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again?) of Engineering Consulting [...]

]]> Comment on The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again?) of Engineering Consulting Firms by » A Few Good Reads (8/15/11) Hydraulically Inclined http://www.publicworksgroup.com/blog/2011/07/riseandfallofengconsultant/comment-page-1/#comment-6481 » A Few Good Reads (8/15/11) Hydraulically Inclined Mon, 15 Aug 2011 13:02:25 +0000 http://www.publicworksgroup.com/blog/?p=1915#comment-6481 [...] The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again?) of Engineering Consulting Firms (by Pam Broviak, Public Works Gr... So professionals in other fields such as planning began working with GIS, and eventually a whole new profession was formed by people who saw the value in learning and using GIS. Only in the last decade did most engineering consultants begin using GIS in their everyday operations. And I would guess there are still some that either still don’t use it or are just starting to train or hire staff now. What would have happened if consulting firms had realized the value early on and embraced GIS as one more deliverable? The lesson here is no one can expect to be successful forever doing the same thing over and over and ignoring new changes and innovations. [...] [...] The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again?) of Engineering Consulting Firms (by Pam Broviak, Public Works Gr… So professionals in other fields such as planning began working with GIS, and eventually a whole new profession was formed by people who saw the value in learning and using GIS. Only in the last decade did most engineering consultants begin using GIS in their everyday operations. And I would guess there are still some that either still don’t use it or are just starting to train or hire staff now. What would have happened if consulting firms had realized the value early on and embraced GIS as one more deliverable? The lesson here is no one can expect to be successful forever doing the same thing over and over and ignoring new changes and innovations. [...]

]]> Comment on Does Civil Engineering Have a “Next Paradigm?” by civil engineering - SCHOOL GUIDE – SCHOOL GUIDE http://www.publicworksgroup.com/blog/2011/07/does-civil-engineering-have-a-next-paradigm/comment-page-1/#comment-6436 civil engineering - SCHOOL GUIDE – SCHOOL GUIDE Tue, 02 Aug 2011 21:35:08 +0000 http://www.publicworksgroup.com/blog/?p=1922#comment-6436 [...] Does Civil Engineering Have a “Next Paradigm?” | Public Works …Description : His post makes me wonder, are the technological changes in our society so far-reaching and significant that they could actually change civil engineering as we know it? And if so, how? I see some signs of the change that …http://www.publicworksgroup.co .. [...] [...] Does Civil Engineering Have a “Next Paradigm?” | Public Works …Description : His post makes me wonder, are the technological changes in our society so far-reaching and significant that they could actually change civil engineering as we know it? And if so, how? I see some signs of the change that …http://www.publicworksgroup.co .. [...]

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