EPC vs EPCM

EPC / EPCM Definition & Comparison:

Many different terms are tossed around the construction industry loosely describing the different methodology used to design and construct new facilities and turnarounds. Unfortunately, there are no tried and true definitions for the different methods and numerous variations of each of the most popular methods.

Determining the correct form of construction contract to pursue can have a great effect on the cost and risk associated with the construction project. The cost of construction varies inversely with the amount of business risk the “owner / financers” are willing to accept. The less business risk the owner wishes to assume, the higher the cost of construction and management. This follows the “risk-reward” motto for business.

The two most common types of construction contacts are EPC “turn-key” and EPCM. Each of these methods have variations that can be adapted to each project as needed; example (EPCC Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Commissioning, EPCI Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Installation), etc.

EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction): means the company is contracted to provide engineering, procurement and construction services by the owner. Think Design & Construct style contracts, where the project is largely Contractor managed and the cost risk and control are weighted towards the Contractor and away from the Owner. The EPC contractor has direct contracts with the construction contractors.

EPCM (Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management): means the company is contracted to provide engineering, procurement and construction management services. Other companies are contracted by the Owner directly to provide construction services and they are usually managed by the EPCM contractor on the Owner's behalf. Think Professional Services contracts, where the project is largely Owner managed and the cost risk and control is weighted towards the Owner.

EPC and EPCM contracting are both very prevalent types of contracts within the construction industry. Dependent on the level of risk the Owner of a project is willing to accept, budget constraints, and the Owner’s organization core competencies, will determine which method is best for their project.

EPC contracting tends to be more expensive, to the Owner, due to the shift of project risk away from the Owner and to the EPC Contractor. On average, a project’s cost 10% - 20% more using EPC style of contracting than a project using the EPCM style of contracting. This is due in large part to the project’s risk being more evenly distributed between the Owner and contracts / suppliers.

Construction contracting trends have been leaning towards the EPCM style of contracting and away from EPC contracting for several reasons but both methods have their place in business today.

EPCM Advantages:

• Lower Overall Cost
• Staff’s Sense of Ownership
• More Control over Process
• Better for less defined projects with anticipated changes to scope of supply
• Less Legal Litigation (Identify issues early and remedy situation before larger problems arise)
• Owner’s Financing Flexibility

These are just a few of the advantages of EPCM style of construction contracting.

EPC contracting has it place in the construction industry as well. Under certain situations, it makes better sense to use this type of construction contracting than other methods.

EPC Advantages:

• One Stop Shopping "One point of Contact"
• "Hands off" approach to project
• Minimal Staffing Requirements
• Minimal Legal Risk
• Best for Well defined projects with Detailed Engineering Complete before EPC Contractor selected (Minimal Unknowns).

As stated before, these construction contract methods can be tailored to the individual projects / owner’s needs. Some companies can go as far as breaking up each portion of the EPC / EPCM (Engineering, Procurement, Construction / Construction Management) to separate companies. One company can do the engineering; another can do the procurement, while still another can do the construction / project management).

Each company must decide for themselves, with the advice of legal and financial counsels, as to which method of construction contracting is best for their particular project and situation.

souce: http://prodigyengr.com

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Trans-Asia, NorAsian Energy sign farm-in agreement

MANILA, Philippines - Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp. and NorAsian Energy Ltd (NEL) signed yesterday a farm-in agreement in service contract 55 in offshore Palawan.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), TA Oil said NorAsian acquired an 8.18% participating interest in the service contract.

TA Oil did not disclose how much was the acquisition deal for the said shares.

In late 2009, TA Oil started with its data gathering at the SC 55 in West Palawan.

The SC 55 consortium commenced a 590-square kilometer 3D seismic survey in its contract area in offshore West Palawan . TA Oil has a 15% participating interest in SC 55.

SC 55 covers 9,000km2 in the south west Palawan Basin. It is located on a regional oil and gas fairway that extends from the productive Borneo offshore region in the southwest to the offshore Philippines production assets northwest of Palawan .

Aside from TA Oil, Otto Energy owns an 85% working interest in SC55. Otto Energy Ltd., an Australian oil and gas firm holds the remaining 85% of the contract. Otto acquired its 85% interest in SC55 in 2006, through the purchase of NorAsian Energy Ltd. Otto Energy was supposed to farm-out 60% of its interest in SC 55 to BHP Billiton Petroleum Pty. Ltd. but negotiations fell through.

TA Oil is the energy arm of the Phinma Group. The company continues to be active in several exploration projects, particularly in large and high-potential areas. At present, the company is represented in 4 service contracts.

By Donnabelle L. Gatdula, The Philippine Star
Posted at 02/05/2011

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2011: A Year of Opportunity

Jan 19, 2011 - 2011 may go down in history as "The Year of Opportunity." Venture capitalist Saku Tuominen, founder of the Idealist Group, says in the Monocle Small Business Guide 2010/11, "The world is more connected than ever before and production costs, especially on the digital side, are falling dramatically. With a good idea, great implementation and the right timing, practically anybody can challenge anyone these days. Never in the history of mankind have there been so many opportunities for small companies."



Zoltan Acs, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Public Policy at George Mason University, echoes that sentiment: "The world is at a sort of 'ground zero' in its struggle to create hundreds of innovative products -- and in the process millions of jobs -- to deal with an ever-growing population and the demands of emerging economies such as Brazil and China. This struggle has captured the aspirations of thousand of entrepreneurs around the world. Despite the impact of the economic downturn, entrepreneurs are enjoying a renaissance. A global entrepreneurial revolution is spreading like wildfire."


The more you look around, the more you see evidence of this shift. A recent Nokia advertisement entitled "We're All Entrepreneurs Nowadays" reads: "What is your definition of success? Being happy? Solving a problem? Helping others? We all define it in our own way, but what's clear is that, in this new world, the important thing is to succeed on our own terms, and be participants in life, rather than spectators. For the vanguard of micro-entrepreneurs, success means empowerment and the ability to direct their own culture."


Governments and large institutions are getting savvy about the importance of ensuring the success of an entrepreneurial world. The World Economic Forum, The World Bank, and Heritage Foundation are great examples of organizations actively engaged in creating incentives and the right environments in which small businesses and startups can take root, grow and flourish.


In Asia, especially in China and Hong Kong, small businesses going into technology, medical and pharmaceutical sectors are finding government support. The government of the United Kingdom has recently announced a program to create a network of technology and innovation centers to spread knowledge from academic researchers to entrepreneurs.


Want more tips on having a successful 2011? Check these out:

• How to Achieve Your Financial Goals
• 2011: The Year of...
• How to Achieve Your Sales Goals

The GEDI (Global Entrepreneurship & Development Index) is helping by measuring how fast the global entrepreneurial society is spreading. By focusing on the "three As" of entrepreneurial development -- attitudes, activity and aspiration -- the GEDI can help determine what the right time and place is to launch a new business.


I for one have decided that this year is the year to launch and build a business that moves beyond the single-shingle, band-of-one, solo-adviser business model. Am I happy with what Seth Godin termed a shipping list for 2010? Sure, but I know that if I'm simply twice as bold, I can double my impact on the world. And to leave that potential on the table is, well, wrong. I know I can make a difference; it's now a matter of scale and scope. I have committed to bringing Shibumi Creative Works into the world, and help companies struggling with design-driven innovation find their way.


Risky, daunting, difficult? Yes, yes, and yes. Is it a mistake -- is failure possible, or even probable? It's not a question worth considering, much less spending energy on answering. Why? Because it may just be the best mistake I've ever made.


I'm taking a lesson from James Dyson, founder of Dyson, who explains in the same issue of Monocle: "I'm an engineer. And given that I've spent my career making mistakes, some would say I'm not a very good one. It's the best way to learn and we should encourage young people to make more mistakes. Don't be afraid to take risks -- or to swear like a trooper when things don't go your way. Just make sure you learn why for next time."


What would you do if you were twice as bold? Whatever your answer, make 2011 the year you do it!


source: American Express OPEN Forum

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New York state regulators green-light $1.4B Queens power plant

State utilities regulators gave final approval on Thursday for the construction of a $1.4 billion power plant in Astoria, Queens. Now, the company that plans to build it needs to find a buyer for the electricity it will generate.

The Public Service Commission said the plant would replace an older, less-efficient plant.

It would be built in two phases over four years on a 15-acre section of Consolidated Edison’s 600-acre property on the East River that has long been the city’s hub of electricity generation.

“You could see that yellow plume from where we live,” said Anthony J. Gigantiello, an Astoria resident who is president of the Coalition Helping to Organize a Kleaner Environment, or Choke.

He was referring to the emissions from the stacks atop the 40-year-old plant that NRG Energy, a power company based in Princeton, N.J., wants to replace. NRG bought the Astoria plant and another on Staten Island from Con Edison a decade ago.

Mr. Gigantiello’s group formed to oppose the construction of more power plants in the area until some of the older ones that produce the most pollution are shut down. Its primary target was an 800-megawatt plant on the Con Edison site, which was retired last year.

“We’re right in the middle of all these power plants,” Mr. Gigantiello said. “Whenever you close an old generator, we’re all for that.”

He said his group also approved of the plan to replace the 40-foot-tall stacks with some that will release emissions 250 feet from the ground, reducing pollution in the immediate area.

NRG is looking for a buyer to sign a long-term contract to purchase all or a large part of the plant’s output, said David Gaier, a spokesman for the company. Without a buyer lined up, Mr. Gaier said he could not provide a precise schedule for completion of the plant.

Con Edison has no plan to buy power directly from the proposed plant, said Joseph Oates, Con Ed’s vice president of energy management. The NRG plant, which would be fueled by natural gas, would be used during times of high demand. While it would be more expensive to operate than some new plants in the city, the NRG plant could help fulfill the regulatory requirement that plants within the city limits be able to provide at least 80 percent of the city’s peak demand for electricity, Mr. Oates said.

By PATRICK McGEEHAN, The New York Times
Published: January 20, 2011

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10 Ways To Get A Job With Help Of Social Media

Everyone’s talking about using social media for job-hunting. But how, exactly, should you do that?

Here are 10 Ways To Get A Job With Help Of Social Media using three popular online tools: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Let people know you’re looking.

Whether on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter, let your friends and followers know that you’re looking for a job. Even better, tell them what type of job you’re looking for. They may not know of any openings right now, but if they know you’re available, they’ll think of you when a position opens up. That will help you hear about openings before they’re listed on popular job boards.


Don’t be afraid to network on Facebook.

Facebook may be for fun, but don’t make the mistake of overlooking your network there, especially if you already have hundreds of friends. Facebook can sometimes be more useful for job hunting than LinkedIn, because friends who know you personally have more of a stake in helping you. They want you to succeed—so use that to your advantage.


Make sure your Facebook profile is private.

Much of your Facebook profile is public by default, and you probably don’t want a potential employer browsing your personal updates. Under Account, then Privacy Settings, choose “Friends Only.” That way, an employer who Googles you won’t be able to see the details of your profile, your photos, or your personal status updates.


Find information about hiring managers.

Before you submit your resume, look up the hiring manager on LinkedIn and Twitter. (If he’s smart, he’ll make his Facebook profile private.) LinkedIn profiles and Twitter feeds are gold mines of information on individuals. Knowing more about the person who’s hiring can help you tailor your cover letter to their needs and desires.


Hyperlink your resume.

Add the URL for your Twitter handle and LinkedIn profile to your contact information on your resume. (But don’t add your Facebook profile, since that’s private.) Not only does this offer the employer another way of getting in touch with you and seeing how you interact online, it also shows that you’re social media-savvy, a skill valued by many employers.


Be strategic with Facebook lists.

Facebook’s list feature allows you to continue building your network without worrying about professional contacts seeing your personal updates. Under Account, then Friends, create a new list, and customize your privacy settings so professional friends can only see what you want them to see. That way your close friends can still keep up with your photos and personal updates.


Create the connections you need to get the job.

It’s all about who you know, right? Don’t just use the connections you already have. Figure out who you need to know to land a certain job—likely the hiring manager—and make that connection, whether by getting them to follow you on Twitter by retweeting their tweets, or growing your LinkedIn network until they become a third-degree connection. Twitter in particular offers opportunity to connect with professionals who might not otherwise give you the time of day.


Get Google on your side.

If don’t like what pops up when you Google yourself (because you know an employer will Google you), create a LinkedIn profile. Fill out your profile completely and become active on the network. That will help push your profile to the top of Google’s search results, which means a potential employer will see what you want them to see.


Join industry chats on Twitter.

Look for chats that revolve around your industry, or better yet, the industry you want to work in. Joining online conversations helps you keep up-to-date on the industry, meet helpful contacts, and showcase your expertise in your field. You may also want to network with other job seekers through weekly conversations like #jobhuntchat or #careerchat.


Seek out job-search advice.

All three of these networks are great places to find advice on job-hunting and mingle with other job seekers. Join LinkedIn groups that focus on job search. Follow career experts on Twitter, and “like” their pages on Facebook. That way you’ll get tips for your search even when you’re not looking for them.


Posted on January 11, 2011 by Jaspal - gilygily.com

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Does Improving Efficiency Really Save Energy?

by Karl Stephan, Engineering Ethics Blog

You might almost say that what health is to doctors or justice is to lawyers, efficiency is to engineers. Making machines more efficient summarizes a good bit of everything that has gone on in technology and engineering over the last couple of hundred years or so. And if you broaden the definition of efficiency to include useful (or desirable) work performed per unit cost (and not just per unit of raw energy input), then everything from airplanes to zippers has gotten more efficient over the years. Increased efficiency in energy-consuming products has been viewed as the no-brainer answer to the problem of rising energy demands around the globe. Instead of building more coal-fired power plants, conservationists say, just replace X million incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents, and you’ve save tons of carbon at virtually no infrastructure cost. This is all very well, but a recent article in The New Yorker calls into question the universally accepted idea that increasing energy efficiency truly leads to less energy consumed.


A nineteenth-century economist named William Stanley Jevons was among the first to point out that improved energy efficiency in manufacturing iron, for example (Jevons’ father was an iron merchant) doesn’t necessarily mean that you will end up using less coal to make iron in the long run. What can happen, especially when the cost of energy is a large portion of the finished product cost, is that when the price goes down due to smaller energy usage, people start using more iron—so much more, in fact, that even with more energy-efficient production, the total amount of iron sold is so much larger that the industry as a whole ends up consuming more energy than before, not less.


Jevons’ idea obviously applies to a lot of things besides iron. Take computers, for example. The first electronic computer occupied a room the size of a small house and consumed about 150 kilowatts of power. Its computing ability was much less than what a tiny 8-pin embedded microprocessor can do today. On a strict efficiency basis, measured by almost any yardstick—energy consumption, cost, space, weight—today’s microprocessor is thousands or millions of times more efficient. But guess what? In 1946 there was exactly one electronic computer of the type I’m describing (ENIAC, installed at the U. S. Army’s Aberdeen Proving Ground), and today there are many millions of computers of all sizes, plus giant server farms that tax the power-generating capability of the entire power grid of the Northwest U. S. The total amount of electricity devoted to electronic computing has gone from 150 kW in 1946 to many gigawatts today, if you count all the mobile phones on batteries, the computerized cash registers, and so on.

So what’s an engineer to do? Give up on making things more efficient because people will only use more of them? This is a great example of a case where doing the right thing in a micro-environment (a single company or even industry) may lead to complicated consequences in a macro-environment such as the economy of a country or even the globe. In fact, it goes to the heart of what engineering is all about, and makes one face the question of how to justify energy consumption on a fundamental level.


While this blog is not about global warming, there are those who believe that radical reductions in the world’s carbon footprint are imperative if we are to avoid a gigantic creeping disaster that will flood most of the world’s coastal cities, which means, more or less, many of the world’s cultural and political capitals. Oh, and by the way, millions will die prematurely. Although I do not happen to agree with this premise, let’s grant it for the sake of argument. Given an immediate need to reduce energy consumption by a large fraction, what should we do? Make everything that uses energy more efficient? Jevons’ idea says this simply won’t work. In the broad definition of efficiency we’ve been using, improving efficiency often leads to more energy use, not less.


The unpleasant alternative to what looked like a win-win solution—improved energy efficiency and less energy usage—is some form of rationing: either energy taxes, or simple flat-out restrictions on energy use. Many countries practice this already: it’s called power outages. Power is on only at night, or three hours a day, or not for weeks at a time. It’s arbitrary, unfair, and hits the poorest hardest, but it works. The tax alternative has the advantage that it provides some economic incentive for improving efficiency—but if technology really improves to the point that the tax is compensated for, you’re right back where you started. The only sure-fire way to keep people from using energy as much as they want is to put them under the government’s thumb somehow. Cuba, I understand, has raised this process to an art form—if you consider old cars towed by mules artistic.


Don’t get the idea I think efficiency is bad. If I did, I couldn’t very well call myself an engineer. However, Jevons reminds us that, like many other things in life, energy efficiency can be helpful in limited circumstances. But expecting it to solve all the world’s energy problems is not only unrealistic, but probably counterproductive as well.

Sources: David Owen’s article “The Efficiency Dilemma” appeared in the Dec. 20 & 27, 2010 issue of The New Yorker, pp. 78-85.

source: engineeringethicsblog

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Xmas Party 2010

Xmas Party
December 18, 2010
Bayside, New York

watch the videos...

The Volt-Trons


The Great Mechanicals


The AC-DC


The Rudell Lightnings


The Master Builders


The Rudell Kids


The O.F.F. Tandem




more presentations...

.

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Hydro Newscast with Marla Barnes

The Hydro Newscast with Marla Barnes



renewableenergyworld.com

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New York Knicks

New York Knicks @ Madison Square Garden

New York Knicks from Aligzandr on Vimeo.

New York Knicks vs Toronto Raptors

Madison Square Garden

December 8, 2010

New York Knicks vs Toronto Raptors
Madison Square Garden
December 8, 2010

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Russian billionaire spends $400 million on island-based art museum project

Russian billionaire spends $400 million on island-based art museum project
By Zachary Roth, Yahoo!News

A Russian oligarch has paid almost $400 million as part of an ambitious plan to create an art museum and commercial center on an island in the heart of St. Petersburg.

Roman Abramovich is buying an array of crumbling buildings on St. Petersburg's New Holland island, a former military base, reports the Daily Telegraph. The self-made steel and investments magnate, whose fortune is estimated at around $12 billion, plans to convert the 18th-century warehouses into art galleries, housing, retail and hotel spaces, according to a spokesman.

Abramovich, 45, is best known in the West as the owner as Chelsea F.C., the London-based soccer club that he has helped turn into a European powerhouse over the last decade with a slew of high-profile signings. But since taking up with his girlfriend, art-world darling Daria Zhukova, in 2007, he has also become a leading collector of contemporary art. On a 2008 trip to New York, he spent $68 million on Francis Bacon's "Triptych" and $27 million on a Lucien Freud painting. Those big-ticket purchases are fueling speculation that the planned new art gallery could be intended as a home for his collection.

Zhukova, the 29-year-old daughter of a Russian oil magnate, runs her own gallery in Moscow, and is a member of the board of trustees of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Last year, Abramovich bought an $85 million estate on the Caribbean island of St Barts. He also paid a reported $474 million for the world's biggest yacht, Eclipse. Naturally, it's said to have its own art gallery aboard.

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12 States to Split $1.2 Billion in Rail Funds

More U.S. Rail Funds for 13 States as Two Reject Aid
By Michaek Cooper, New York Times
Published: December 9, 2010

Ohio and Wisconsin’s loss of $1.2 billion in federal stimulus money for rail projects will be California, Florida and 11 other states’ gains, federal officials said on Thursday.

Ohio and Wisconsin were among the biggest winners of federal stimulus money this year to build new rail lines in their states; officials in both states had lobbied aggressively for the money in the hopes that it would create thousands of jobs and improve their transportation systems.

But that all changed last month when both states elected Republican governors who vowed to kill the train projects, arguing that they were boondoggles that would leave their states on the hook for subsidies each year to operate the trains.

Now both states, which have been hit hard by the economic downturn, are losing the money. The federal Department of Transportation announced Thursday that it was taking back the $810 million that had been awarded to Wisconsin to build a train line from Milwaukee to Madison, and the $385 million that was awarded to Ohio to build a train line linking Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland. The money will be redistributed to 12 other states, with the biggest winners being California and Florida, which are building high-speed trains.

“High-speed rail will modernize America’s valuable transportation network, while reinvigorating the manufacturing sector and putting people back to work in good-paying jobs,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement announcing the redistribution of the rail money. “I am pleased that so many other states are enthusiastic about the additional support they are receiving to help bring America’s high-speed rail network to life.”

Neither Ohio nor Wisconsin were getting high-speed trains. They were simply getting new train routes that the federal government hoped would form the basis of a new national network of trains, which could eventually be upgraded to high-speed rail. But the new governors-elect questioned who would ride the new, not-terribly-fast trains.

Scott Walker, the governor-elect of Wisconsin, who vowed to stop the train in a campaign commercial, said that the train from Milwaukee to Madison would cost too much money, take the same amount of time as driving and leave many passengers needing cars anyway to get around at both ends.

Mr. Walker worried that the new $810 million train route would leave the state with subsidies of $7 million to $10 million a year to run the trains. Exasperated train supporters, who saw a lucrative jobs project and an environmentally friendly way to travel, complained that Mr. Walker’s position was analogous to turning down a free new car, simply because it would cost money for gas and insurance.

John Kasich, the governor-elect of Ohio, declared “this train is dead” after being elected, and mocked the slow speeds the train was expected to travel.

Both men expressed interest in using the stimulus money to fix and maintain highways and roads in their states instead. But the money was part of $8 billion in the stimulus bill that was directed for building trains and paving the way for high-speed rail in the United States.

Now they are about to find out if the electorate that supported their antirail platforms will still support them, now that it has cost their states $1.2 billion.

This fall, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, a Republican, killed a long-planned commuter train tunnel under the Hudson River that had received pledges of $3 billion from the federal government. He cited concerns about the strapped state’s share of the project’s rising costs. Now the federal government is weighing how to redistribute that money to other transit projects, and has asked New Jersey to return the approximately $271 million already spent on the project.

The biggest winners of Ohio and Wisconsin’s money were California, which will receive another $624 million on top of the nearly $3 billion it has received so far toward the construction of a high-speed train from Los Angeles to San Francisco, and Florida, which will get another $342 million on top of the roughly $2 billion it has received to build a high-speed train between Orlando and Tampa.

Florida’s governor-elect, Rick Scott, a Republican, has said he would take another look at the numbers to see if that train is still viable — at only 84 miles, the route is not considered long enough by many rail experts to be optimally served by high-speed rail.

The other states that will get Ohio and Wisconsin’s money will be Washington, which will get up to $161 million; Illinois, which will get $42.3 million; and Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Oregon and Vermont, which will all get less than $10 million.

Wisconsin will be able to keep about $2 million for work on its Hiawatha line, which Governor-elect Walker has said he supports.

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China’s $62-billion river diversion project might be the next Great Wall

China’s $62-billion river diversion project might be the next Great Wall

I suspect that when the plans for the Great Wall of China were presented to the then Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, he might have remarked at the audacious approach chosen by the engineers. Back then the idea for the wall was to simply fortify their expanding territory, an effort which culminated in the creation of one of the most remarkable world wonder. This time around, engineers are faced with an equally ambitious project albeit with a different set of challenges. The challenge is to reroute some of the country’s waterways and direct them to Beijing. Ambitious? Yes. Practical? Apparently so, given that the communist party appears to have staked enormous prestige on the success of the project, and even allocated a hefty price tag of $62-billion.

The project traces its origin to a comment made in 1952 by Chairman Mao who reportedly proposed that since there was “a lot of water in the south, but not much in the north,” then they could “borrow some, then everything would be OK.” In simple terms, the completed project will channel water from the flood plains of China’s south and the snow-capped mountains of the west all the way to Beijing.

Scope of the project
The project encompasses three major components: The 885-mile eastern line from Hangzhou to Beijing, which mostly follows the route of the Grand Canal and is hoped to be ready by 2013. The middle line, which is supposed to open in 2014, runs 766 miles, although it might be extended. The western section, which is still in the planning stages, would funnel water from the Tibetan plateau. But with serious cost overruns and delays on the eastern and middle routes, there are doubts about whether the third line will be built at all.

Challenges
It is clearly obvious that such a project carries a sizable number of challenges. Nevermind the obviously complicated hydrology and ecological factors, the project has faced objections from environmentalist and preservationists alike. According to one pro-democracy activist, “the project is robbing the water of the rest of China to supply Beijing.”

Objections aside, the project is flowing along as planned.

engineeringdaily.net

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Quotes of the Day: Thanksgiving Day

"Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all." - William Faulkner

"God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?" -William A. Ward

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New Jersey governor voices support for No. 7 subway extension

NJ gov says he'd consider helping fund subway link
Associated Press

TRENTON, N.J. — Gov. Chris Christie, who halted construction last month on a new commuter rail tunnel between New Jersey and New York City, said Monday that he would consider contributing to a cheaper alternative: extending New York's No. 7 subway line under the Hudson River to New Jersey.

Speaking on Millennium Radio's "Ask the Governor" program Monday night, Christie said extending the No. 7 line from Manhattan through Hoboken and onto Secaucus is "a much better idea" than the tunnel that was the nation's most expensive public works project.

Christie scrapped that project because of potential cost overruns, forfeiting $3 billion in federal funds that had been approved. New Jersey could be on the hook to repay the federal government $350 million already spent.

Christie said he hadn't yet spoken with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg about the proposal. Policymakers in Bloomberg's office have been discussing whether it would be possible to extend the line.

"This is an example of what can happen when you decide to take a strong, principled stand on something," Christie said. "If something is necessary, people find other ideas that are more equitable."

Christie said the proposed subway extension has three points in its favor: It would be cheaper than the scrapped tunnel, it would connect to Penn Station and Grand Central Station and would have funding from New York City and state.

He then chided Sen. Frank Lautenberg for not speaking up on behalf of the new idea. Lautenberg helped secure federal funding for the rail tunnel.

The $8.7 billion project to construct a second rail tunnel between New Jersey and New York was 15 years in the making when Christie killed it Oct. 27. Former Gov. Jon Corzine broke ground on the project amid his re-election campaign against Christie. Christie later accused the former governor of rushing the start of the project for political gain; Corzine said he was creating jobs.

New Jersey was expected to shoulder $2.7 billion of the costs, plus overruns. The federal government and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey had each committed $3 billion to the project.

Before the most recent idea goes anywhere, it would need support from Christie, Bloomberg, who's an independent, and New York Gov.-elect Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat. U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., offered his support in obtaining federal funds to make the idea work.

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Architecture & Engineering Trivias "Millionaire Style"

Inspired by the "Cash Cab" post, I looked for more trivias. This set of 15 questions is a mixture of greatest engineering achievements of the 20th century and architecture 101. Just imagine, you are one of the contestants in the popular game show "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" but with no 50/50 or lifelines. Now, take a seat and test your general knowledge.

Question 1:
The Baroque period of architecture is characterized by vivid colours, luxurious materials and elaborate surface textures. Which of these buildings is an example of typical Baroque architecture?

A. The Royal Scottish Academy
B. Lincoln Memorial
C. Solitude Palace
D. St Peter’s Basilica


Question 2:
When a client complained that the roof in his building leaks, this famous architect who had designed the building replied: ‘That’s how you can tell it’s a roof’. Another work of his was the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

A. Frank Owen Gehry
B. Frank Lloyd Wright
C. Michael Graves
D. Aldo Rossi


Question 3:
This invention by Karl Benz in 1886 revolutionized the world of transportation and soon became the main means of transport globally.

A. Airplane
B. Automobile
C. Ship
D. Train


Question 4:
Sharply pointed spires, stained glass and pointed arches are typical for this architecture style. It is mainly associated with cathedrals and other religious buildings.

A. Gothic
B. Rococo
C. Neo-Grec
D. Art Nouveau


Question 5:
There are seven tall buildings in Moscow, regarded as typical examples of Stalinist Architecture. What are these similarly designed buildings referred to?

A. ‘Stalin’s Seven Wonders’
B. ‘Stalin’s Seven Sisters’
C. ‘Stalin’s Seven Brothers’
D. ‘Stalin’s Seven Giants’


Question 6:
The groundbreaking design of this building was created by Danish architect, Jorn Utzon. It is located by the sea, and its roof resembles white sails.

A. La Scala
B. Carnegie Hall
C. Metropolitan Opera
D. Sydney Opera House


Question 7:
The construction of this famous building was completed on November 1st, 1800. It was designed by Irish-born architect James Hoban, who was inspired by the Leinster House in Dublin.

A. Williams Tower
B. The White House
C. The Chrysler Building
D. Federal Hall


Question 8:
This invention was first used in 1969 at UCLA as a means of communication between engineers and scientists associated with academics or government. It was not available for public use until the 1990’s.

A. E-mails
B. The Telephone
C. Two-Way Radio
D. The Internet


Question 9:
The invention of the internal combustion engine greatly increased the demand for which natural resource?

A. Coal
B. Petroleum
C. Natural gas
D. Water


Question 10:
The first use of air conditioning for personnel comfort was in 1902, in which New York City building?

A. Metropolitan Life Tower
B. Empire State Building
C. Woolworth Building
D. New York Stock Exchange


Question 11:
This architectural term, which refers to a free-standing bell-tower, comes from Italian and means 'a high bell tower'.

A. Triforium
B. Campanile
C. Mensole
D. Cellula


Question 12:
In 1908, this city became the first in the United States to institute chlorination of its water. Prior to this the death rate due to water born diseases, such as typhoid fever and cholera, were extremely high.

A. Boston, Massachusetts
B. Chicago, Illinois
C. Jersey City, New Jersey
D. New York City, New York


Question 13:
This Spanish architect designed La Sagrada Familia, one of the most famous buildings in Barcelona.

A. Antonio Gaudi
B. Mario Botta
C. Carlo Scarpa
D. Alvar Aalto


Question 14:
In 1895, this German physicist invented the use of electromagnetic radiation to take images of bones and organs inside the human body, which later led to the invention of the X-Ray Machine.

A. Paul Lauterbur
B. Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen
C. Godfrey Newbold Hounsfield
D. Peter Mansfield


Question 15:
In 1955, Borax III became the first nuclear power plant to utilize nuclear fission to supply an entire town with electricity. Which town was that?

A. Owego, New York
B. Avila Beach, California
C. Arco, Idaho
D. Hahnville, Louisiana

ANSWERS:

1. St Peter’s Basilica. The dome of St Peter's Basilica was designed by Michelangelo.

2. Frank Lloyd Wright. Among Frank Lloyd Wright’s most notable projects are the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Price Tower in Oklahoma. He is also famous for developing the prairie style of architecture in Chicago.

3. Automobile. Karl Benz is credited with the invention of the modern automobile, powered by a gasoline engine.

4. Gothic. Gothic architecture flourished from the 12th century onward. Some of the examples of Gothic architecture are Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris and The Teutonic Knights Castle of Malborg.

5. ‘Stalin’s Seven Sisters’. Stalinist architecture is a term used to characterize the period from 1933-1955. The seven tall buildings were built in 1950s.

6. The Sydney Opera House is surrounded by water on three sides. It was intended to look like a giant sailing ship.

7. The White House. During the War of 1812 the British burnt the President’s House. It was rebuilt in 1819 and was painted white to hide the fire-blackened walls. That is how it came to be called the White House.

8. The Internet. The first TCP/IP wide area network started operating by January 1, 1983. In 1995 the network was opened to commercial interests.

9. Petroleum. Prior to this invention the main use of refined petroleum (crude oil) was for kerosene used in oil lamps.

10. New York Stock Exchange. Engineer Alfred Wolff designed the central cooling system for the building. This first air conditioner only controlled temperature. Later in 1902 Willis Carrier, invented the first electric air conditioner, which controlled both temperature and humidity.

11. Campanile. The most famous campaniles are the Leaning Tower of Pisa and St Mark’s Campanile in Venice.

12. Jersey City, New Jersey. This was the start of the municipal water treatment. Since then water treatment methods have improved further to supply homes with clean safe water.

13. Antonio Gaudi (1852-1926) was born in Catalonia, Spain. His major works include Casa Mila, Casa Baltto and Casa Vicenc.

14. Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen The X-ray machine was one of the first medical equipments used to diagnose conditions of the human body. It sparked a revolution in medical diagnostic tools and led to the invention of CAT Scan and MRI.

15. Arco, Idaho.The discovery of nuclear fission resulted in a new and powerful source of energy. Borax III supplied the town of Arco, Idaho with 2 hours of electricity.

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Civil Engineering “Cash Cab”

By Carol A. Metzner
President, The Metzner Group, LLC and
Managing Partner, A/E/P Central, LLC home of CivilEngineeringCentral.com

One of my favorite television viewing pleasures is Discovery Channel’s CASH CAB. Host Ben Bailey asks passengers in a New York taxi to answer trivia questions on their way to their destination. Those passengers have a chance to win money for each correct answer. Sorry, we won’t be offering cash rewards to our readers BUT do take a break and try to answer some civil engineering trivia questions! If interested, we can do future civil engineering trivia contests. Send me questions and answers that you think can “stump the chumps!” BIG shout out to Jason Vaughn PE who was great to contribute a majority of questions and answers for our test. Let us know how you do! Ready, set, go…

QUESTIONS

1. What famous engineer has the most U.S. patents and how many?

2. Who is “the father of Soil Mechanics?”

3. Name one of the two engineers elected U.S. President?

4. When water flows through a full pipe, the water is fastest in what part of the pipe? The top, middle, bottom, or all the same?

5. What caused the Tacoman Narrows suspension bridge collapse in 1940?

6. Why do golf balls have dimples?

7. What is the longest natural bridge?

8. Why don’t railways use suspension bridges?

9. What was the world’s worst accidental oil spill?

10. What is the longest street in the world?

ANSWERS

1. Thomas Edison – 1,093

2. Karl Terzaghi

3. Herbert Hoover and Jimmy Carter

4. Middle. The edge of a pipe has friction. The friction slows down the water in contact with it. Therefore, the middle is the fastest.

5. The wind.

6. The dimples reduce drag and allow the ball to travel farther than a smooth ball.

7. Rainbow Bridge, tucked away among the rugged, isolated canyons at the base of Navajo Mountain, Utah, USA. It is a natural wonder. From its base to the top of the arch, it reaches 88,4 m (290 ft) – nearly the height of the Statue of Liberty – and spans 83,8 m (275 ft) across the river. The top of the arch is 12,8 m (42 ft) thick and 10 m (33 ft) wide.

8. Suspension bridges are too flexible.

9. Supertankers Atlantic Empress and Aegean Captain collided off Trinidad and Tobago on July 1979; 90 million gallons of oil ended up in the Caribbean.

10. Toronto’s Yonge Street is listed as 1,178 miles (1,896 km) in length — roughly the distance from San Diego, California, to Seattle, Washington.

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Using social networking to drive innovation in engineering

The Enterprise Channel

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Chinese workers build 15-story hotel in just six days

As the United States and China battle over the finer points of currency manipulation at the G-20 summit, American negotiators may want to take note of this startling testimonial to the productivity of Chinese workers: A construction crew in the south-central Chinese city of Changsha has completed a 15-story hotel in just six days. If nothing else, this remarkable achievement will stoke further complaints from American economic pundits that China's economy is far more accomplished than ours in tending to such basics as construction.

Meanwhile, it's easy to imagine the disorientation of Changsha residents who'd gone away, or who just hadn't recently ventured into the downtown neighborhood of the new Ark Hotel: "Honey, I don't remember a hotel there, do you?"

The work crew erected the hotel -- a soundproofed, thermal-insulated structure reportedly built to withstand a magnitude 9 earthquake -- with all prefabricated materials. In other words, a crew of off-site factory workers built the sections, and their on-site counterparts arranged them on the foundation for the Ark project.

Despite the frenetic pace of construction, no workers were injured -- and thanks to the prefab nature of the process, the builders wasted very few construction materials. Below is a time-lapse video that shows the hotel being built from the ground up in less than a week:



Yahoo!News

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Gadgets Are Hot and More Are at Hand

The iPhone “is almost contagious,” says Todd Sutton, project controls manager at Zachry Construction Corp. “One person gets it on the jobsite, and then everyone has them.”

A new MoGo Talk XD case (top), which comes with a built-in headset keeper, makes them even sweeter. Infectious adoption also applies to the iPad, Sutton says. Employees see how much work colleagues get done with them and buy their own. Developers at Motion Computing, whose tablet options include bar-code and RFID readers, say the Apple device popularity is good for tablet computing, because it introduces more people to the form, and many will go on to more powerful machines. In the wings is Golden-i, a heads-up-display and voice-activated, remote-access computer controller from Kopin Corp., is expected to hit the market soon.

source: enr.com

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Tech Tour: Kimberlina Solar Power Plant

A Power Engineering guided technical tour of Areva Solar's linear Fresnel solar power plant in California.

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