S2E6 | Insights for today’s engineering leaders — June 17, 2022
View online | Subscribe | Forward
Summer 2022 almost here, and with it: Construction Season👋
Welcome to 328 new subscribers. If you’re reading this but haven’t subscribed, join our community of +2,328k smart, fun & edgy construction & engineering experts. 👇
S2E6: We have been grinding on lots:
Pipelines — Yep, whether it’s TransMountain, CoastalGaslink, or Northern Gateway, we’ve delivered thousands of hours to general contractors for excavation shoring, CIP and precast concrete, and field fabrication.
Bridges — Private and Government clients for forestry, municipal for suburban growth, nd even recreational ATV/Pedestrian bridges. We just delivered a Design-Build Bridge in Alberta via JV with a local GC!
Mining — Bull markets continue, and exploration ramps into bulk sampling. Roads, bridges, foundations, and steel buildings are part of that scope — and we love it!
We believe we know what clients want: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Solve the actual problem.
- Quality is a given.
- Do it fast.
+ + + ++ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Sometimes things go wrong, really wrong!
Things just would not go right! Couldn’t get embedment depths, sheets split multiple locations, massive cobbles and boulders impede sheet piles, cut width and DPI thruster space allowed minimal reinforcing, ground water level rising…
And so Arch Engineers were approach to provide a strengthening design that met all the requirements developed from borehole analysis, thruster impact, and failed cantilever sheet pile system.
- Keep things simple
- Make it easy to build
- Time is of the essence…
+ + + ++ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Architects, builders want collaboration, but don’t see eye to eye [+]
Under 20% architects believe contractors propose material substitutions or other changes to serve the client’s best interests. Contractors indicate they best serve clients through ensuring projects stay within their schedule and budget
THOUGHT: Who aligns closest to the Owner’s best interests… Architects of Builders?
+ + + ++ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Study MTC’s ethical carbon sourcing [+]
Slowed building spree frees up supply-chain and land for other projects.
A tree growing in the forest, planted 30 years ago and now standing 50 feet tall, has absorbed 49lbs of CO2 every year. Over a 100-year lifespan, it will absorb 2.5 tons of CO2 and in exchange will release each day oxygen into the atmosphere sufficient enough to supply four people.
Great, but…
There is so much still to learn. MTC components may have certain advantages, but at the same time they may not be the silver bullet for the construction industry’s carbon emission problem. Given the uncertainty of how a tree gets from the forest to the point of final on-site MTC assembly, procurement specialists should demand some sourcing transparency.
THOUGHT: Even after considering best-case scenarios, the end-of-life prospects for MTC components are decidedly poor.
+ + + ++ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Amazon warehouse pullback good for contractors [+]
Slowed building spree frees up supply-chain and land for other projects.
Amazon went on a massive spending splurge during the pandemic in order to capitalize on booming demand for e-commerce and home delivery. In some cases, Amazon bought everything in production for months, putting significant pressure on an already strained supply chain. That was further exacerbated when contractors turned to hoarding materials earlier this year.
Amazon was the largest builder of warehouses over the last three years, totaling $10 billion, or about 6% of the total construction activity, according to Dodge Data & Analytics.
THOUGHT: Will non-Amazon warehouses continue to grow, and if so, will their specific needs be addressed by landlords?
+ + + ++ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Meme-Engineering
+ + + ++ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Materials, labor shortages threaten data center construction boom [+]
If you are an owner, you are paying for it, one way or another.
Inflation, supply chain constraints, and labor shortages create an unpredictable market, which may affect the data center construction sector which has had some strong years.
The nature of most data center projects, which can be located far from cities where land is cheap, creates a need to attract contractors to the area.
THOUGHT: Do the small guys get a chance if they are flexible to travel?
+ + + ++ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
De-launch a ROW access bridge [+]
You have an excavator and a crane, and a 24-hour window to prepare a de-launch design, draft it up and deliver IFC drawings… “go!”
THOUGHT: Sometimes, it’s obvious that a field engineer can pay huge dividends. It can make the impossible, possible!
+ + + ++ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Investigation: Street collapse near Gordie Howe Bridge [+]
Rectification insurance provides a contractor with the up-front cash needed to correct errors and mistakes before they snowball into more serious problems.
NOTE: It is worthwhile revisiting your insurance policies on how to react when things go wrong, sometimes very wrong.
+ + + ++ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Top 10 commercial contractors of 2022 [+]
While the past several years have been difficult for the construction industry due to gnarled supply chains and skyrocketing materials prices, contractors like Turner continue to nab work such as an $800 million Meta data center project.
But now, with fears of a recession looming and a bear market casting a shadow over the economy, according to the Wall Street Journal, the road ahead could continue to be bumpy.
+ + + ++ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Algae-based cement garners attention from AEC industry [+]
Strong Venture Cap firms invest in Algae as key component of a new zero-carbon cement mixture.
Cement is one of the most widely used building materials in the world — the creation process is responsible for 8% of all CO2 emissions. Concrete also consumes 10% of the world’s industrial water supply and burns through the supply of usable sand.
Meaningful: Carbon-neutral and carbon-negative concrete has drawn the attention of companies such as Amazon, which is building its HQ2 with low-carbon concrete.
+ + + ++ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Problem: Winter Bridge Launch [+]
In remote Northern Saskatchewan, local general contractors benefit from some experience.
It was icy and cold in late winter, but this bridge had to go in.
Meaningful: Certainty and Confidence, two most meaningful qualities that an engineer can pass onto their client.
+ + + ++ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Feds announce $247M as part of new Apprenticeship Service for SMEs [+]
Eligible for the funding are SMEs with 499 or fewer paid employees. SMEs will receive $5,000 for each new, first-year apprentice hired, for a maximum of two eligible apprentices per year and can use the incentive to pay for upfront costs such as salaries and training.
THOUGHT: A program is not enough, awareness is not enough, we need to develop actual opportunities — create jobs!
+ + + ++ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Timber fabrication ROBOT to show off its moves [+]
We are just scratching the surface — North American construction industry is lagging behind Europe where construction pre-fabrication is standard practice because of the high cost of labor.
THOUGHT: Construction needs to build more structures at higher performance standards, and because of a constrained labor force, it needs to do more with less.
+ + + ++ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
High pay attracts workers, but construction’s employment gap widens [+]
About 36,000 new employees donned hard hats and reported for work on jobsites in May, but that didn’t come close to filling the 494,000 construction job openings at the end of April, a 40% increase from the number of openings in April 2021
Even turning to modular or offsite construction won’t solve the problem, as that still requires workers skilled in the trades. At a time when other issues plague the industry, the labor shortage seems set to continue for the foreseeable future.
+ + + ++ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
#AwesomeEngineering
+ + + ++ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
@archengineers | Structural Design Engineering
We really like when someone pays for your morning coffee. It’s a dose of goodness in your inbox. Do us a favor and spread that goodness to your friends. Forward this to a friend or send them to archengineers.com
+ + + ++ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
