Celebrating Engineers during E-Week 2015

This week we celebrate engineers and all they do to make our world a better place. In the past 25 years alone, the world of engineering has changed dramatically. Visiting with a group of engineers who have worked at GBA for more than 25 years, I was amazed to hear their stories. They reminisced about using drafting tables and T-squares to draw plans with ink pens and electric erasers.  Have you ever seen an electric eraser?  The drafting tables they spoke of are no longer seen in the office. They’ve been replaced by computers that create 3D renderings and store them in “the cloud” for our clients to see.

Engineers have always been problem solvers and through the advancement of technology, they are able to use their problem solving skills to make our lives better. For example:

• Our water environment group is currently working to help repair sewers that have been in place for more than 100 years.  Did you know we now can line a sewer pipe with a fabric while it’s still in place to avoid having to dig it up to stop leaks which add to the volume of water being treated?

• GBA transportation engineers are involved in design/build highway projects. The design/build method creates a shorter overall project schedule and construction period, saving drivers from extended traffic headaches.

• Structural, mechanical and electrical engineers now design projects in BIM, a building information modeling software that shows in 3D an entire building and all utility systems together to identify and remove any conflicts in construction before they happen.

• The AutoDesk Civil 3D Software helps our engineers prepare construction documents that are automatically updated as design changes are made. The 3D surface data generated from the software can be populated in “the cloud” and then readily downloaded to earth moving equipment fitted with machine controls allowing for more efficient site grading operations.

• Autonomous cars are an engineering feat being created and tested around the world. These cars are being touted as safer and more energy efficient because they remove the human-error element of driving. GPS will become more prevalent to help these cars get you to where you need to go. How will this change how our transportation engineers design roads, bridges and traffic signals?

The list goes on and on about the advancement of technology and how engineers are solving problems to make our world a better place. Where will we be in the next 25 years? Will computers be a thing of the past? Will we commute in cars that drive themselves? With the rapid rate of technological advances, it’s difficult to predict but it will be interesting to sit around a table in 2040 and reminisce about how we used to use Twitter and actually drive ourselves to work.

Whether you are a civil, chemical, computer, electrical, mechanical or any other type of engineer, you’re problem solving skills have helped to make the world a better place. Engineers truly are creating remarkable solutions for a higher quality of life.