Nearly 2 years ago, President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) into law and declared its passage a signature win for his administration. The bill was to usher in a new era of investment to strengthen American infrastructure. Here was over $1 trillion earmarked for major construction projects across highways, bridges, rail, aviation, waterways and ports, public transportation and a nationwide network of electric vehicle charging stations. It was America’s most ambitious initiative since President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which attempted to jumpstart the economy after the 2007-2008 recession. Together with the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the two pieces of legislature formed the keystone of the president’s vision of a new era of investment in America.

With the 2024 election season rapidly approaching, Americans are due to hear about the IIJA and IRA again. The president looks to use them as key, transformative wins from his first term, and detractors will attempt to paint the legislation as wasteful spending, misaligned priorities and lacking true impact on the economy. Wherever the truth lies between the two narratives, it is worth revisiting the IIJA’s promises and actual progress from the perspective of a civil engineer, as I will attempt to do here.

A Make-or-Break Moment for American Infrastructure

On the campaign trail in 2020, President Biden consistently hammered home the point that he viewed investing in American infrastructure as a key economic driver for the middle class as the country emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic. Several months before the passage of the IIJA, the American Society of Civil Engineers released its 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, giving the nation’s infrastructure a grade of C−. Unfortunately, 11 infrastructure categories scored a D and only two were worthy of a B.

This was a slight upgrade from the D+ handed out in 2017, but should the richest country on the planet be celebrating? Bridges continued to age past their useful service lives and crumble, airports struggled to meet the nation’s travelers’ needs as post-pandemic travel boomed, lead pipes continued to pose a threat to public health in schools across the country, and public transit agencies in many cities found themselves struggling to dig out of the crippling revenue shortfall caused by the pandemic and lost ridership. With many states facing their own funding shortfalls due to lost tax revenue during the pandemic, the Biden administration felt there was a mandate for action at the federal level and produced what it believed would ultimately become the most consequential infrastructure act since the New Deal.

In the end, the president and Congress were able to hammer out an infrastructure package worth $1.2 trillion over the next decade with an ambitious goal of creating 1.5 million jobs per year during the same time frame. Clearly, it is an ambitious vision. The American Society of Civil Engineers doesn’t think it’s ambitious enough, projecting the cost of failing to fully address the deteriorated state of the country’s infrastructure well over $10 trillion by 2040.

Getting the Funding Flowing

Moving $1.2 trillion through the federal government was never going to be an easy process, but 2 years in, the Biden administration feels good about the progress that has been made. There is a lot of minutiae and red tape to sort through in a federal bill this large and far-reaching, but ultimately the funding will stream out. Dollars are being distributed to the states, but getting it spent on specific projects and out of the planning phase is another hurdle. Lawmakers also want to make sure the funding is being used on projects that have the largest impact on the overall infrastructure network and American mobility—not just pet projects.

Recently, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg addressed the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and gave his take on the progress that has been made in implementing the IIJA.

“One way to think about it is, if our first year was about the bill passing, and the second year was about the programs’ launching, this is about the money moving so we can get the dirt flying,” said Buttigieg.

Unlike past infrastructure bills, where the goal was strictly economic stimulus, the IIJA funding has not been funneled directly to “shovel-ready” projects. President Obama’s infrastructure spending push was driven by the goal of getting people back to work and the economy moving. The optics of having construction crews hard at work on roads and bridges, although not the only point, was a key consideration at that economic moment. President Biden has the luxury of a relatively good economy, easing inflationary headwinds and strong employment numbers. His administration can make sure it is spending the money wisely to maximize the legislation’s impact.

Despite some initial lag in getting money moving and dirt flying, there has already been a very substantial distribution of IIJA dollars. State highway funds have received over $125 million for 30,000 projects, nearly 3,000 bridge repair or replacement projects have been funded, and $9.9 billion has been committed by states for 10,000 new highway and bridge projects. State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) are still working through the process of navigating the IIJA, where a large portion of the funding is in the form of grants. It’s not as easy as pressing a button and receiving federal funding for a project. Sifting through the legalese of the 1,000-plus page document isn’t the easiest process for state and local agencies.

Although the Biden Administration isn’t as hard pressed to see immediate action on its infrastructure spending, the lag in turning dollars into new roads and bridges shouldn’t be allowed to continue much longer. IIJA funding is first allocated in a broad sense—for example, $4.2 billion for California bridges—then is obligated to specific projects before it is ultimately released in outlays. Barely more than 10 percent of the DOTs’ IIJA funding for 2022 was actually turned into outlays, according to Arkansas Representative Rick Crawford.

Every year that passes without fully spending the allocated funding effectively decreases the value of the allocation due to inflation. In the meantime, thousands more potholes and hundreds of additional structurally deficient bridges are added to the list of needed repairs every year. On a small scale, that’s less problematic, but when trying to replace 3,000 bridges, 6 months or a year of inaction could mean that hundreds of fewer projects get built.

Real Progress Is Being Made

The criticism of the IIJA rollout makes many legitimate points, but that shouldn’t take away from what has been accomplished in the 2 years since its passage. The White House tracks projects that have already been funded, and the map of America is dotted with thousands of projects that are underway.

If massive, sexy projects are more your thing than simple-span bridge replacements, such as a local road in rural South Dakota, the IIJA has that too. There is a $5 billion mega grant program to make sure large, complex projects that fall outside the realm of traditional funding methods can be constructed. These are the types of projects, like the Golden Gate Bridge or Hoover Dam, that weren’t getting off the ground in recent years due to the difficult nature of funding them.

In 2023, nine megaprojects received grants:

• $250 million to improve the Brent Spence Bridge over the Ohio River between Cincinnati and Kentucky
• $292 million to help complete the final section of concrete casing for the new Hudson River Tunnel outside New York City
• $78 million for the Roosevelt Boulevard Multimodal Project in Philadelphia
• $150 million to replace the I-10 Calcasieu River Bridge in Lake Charles, Louisiana
• $110 million to replace the Alligator River Bridge in North Carolina that will modernize travel to the Outer Banks
• $60 million to improve the I-10 Freight Corridor in Mississippi

The proposed Brent Spence Bridge between Kentucky and Ohio will receive IIJA funding.

The Engineer’s Perspective

Regardless of your political leanings, President Biden’s IIJA is a huge win for the engineering community and will keep us busy for decades to come as we work through the backlog of projects. There’s no better job security than crumbling infrastructure and a trillion dollars to be spent fixing it up. While we waited for the funding to materialize, there was a sense of skepticism that this bill would be like all the other attempts to get the politicians to take the state of our infrastructure seriously and not turn it into a cheap campaign promise. President Biden is delivering on his stated agenda and needs to continue promoting the initial success stories of the IIJA. Thousands of projects funded in under 2 years is a pretty good record to stand on.

For the engineering community seeking to maximize the impact of the IIJA on the Americans we serve in our professional role, consider political advocacy. There is a need for engineers who understand the inner workings of the funding process to work with agencies and local leaders in their states to get projects funded.

Lastly, for the American people, the IIJA will continue to have an outsized impact on previously underserved communities. This is not an act strictly focused on huge projects in urban areas. It will be replacing small bridges on local roads that get rural populations to work each day and helping to make those roads safer. There will be billions of dollars spent ensuring access to high-speed Internet in parts of the country that were previously held back by lack of broadband. Reconstructing roads and bridges will reduce the financial burden of deteriorating infrastructure to taxpayers. This is what being an engineer is all about—having an impact on our communities. The IIJA will make it easier and more fulfilling to do our jobs. It’s an exciting time to be an engineer, as we have the rare opportunity to reshape our nation’s infrastructure for the better.

The post Two Years Later, What Has the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Done? appeared first on Engineering.com.

On an unseasonably warm and muggy November morning in New York City, Brazil’s Daniel Do Nascimento made the bold decision to attempt to run away with the annual TCS New York City Marathon. Throwing caution to the wind, the 24-year-old harrier blazed to a lead of over two minutes at the halfway mark, splitting a remarkable 61 minutes and 22 seconds, over a minute ahead of course-record pace. The running world and the thousands of spectators who lined the iconic NYC course were blown away by the audacious pace of Do Nascimento on a day when most runners would have been happy to simply survive the 26.2-mile distance.

As Do Nascimento’s lead swelled and competitors behind him began succumbing to the weather, Do Nascimento’s move began to look less foolish by the minute. Eighteen miles into the race, the Brazilian’s lead held at over 90 seconds—not an eternity in professional marathoning but still quite sizable with fewer than 10 miles of running left on a hot day. On the surface, Do Nascimento continued to look strong despite a slightly slowing pace. Second placer Evans Chebet had taken roughly six seconds per mile off the lead after the halfway point but would need to do better than that over the final eight miles while continuing to hold up against the day’s humidity.

In the war of attrition that was the marathon distance and the humidity versus the upstart runner, sadly, it was not to be.

Daniel Do Nascimento leads the New York City Marathon through 21 miles before succumbing to the heat and humidity. (Stock photo.)

The first cracks began to show when Do Nascimento briefly stepped off the course just past 18.5 miles to use the bathroom. By 20 miles, it was clear that everything was falling apart for the leader. He briefly slowed to a walk before managing to restart himself. A mile later, Do Nascimento’s day would be done. He crumpled to the side of the road just past 21 miles and had to receive emergency medical attention. Remarkably, it still took another 15 seconds for eventual winner Chebet to pass Do Nascimento as he laid on the ground.

Unlocking the Limits of the Human Body

To the most seasoned running fans, Do Nascimento’s mad dash through the famous NYC Five-Borough course on a hot day was an apparent suicide mission, but what if he actually knew his body better than the roadside observer? Marathon runners are extremely dialed in, able to lock into a specific pace, rarely deviating by more than a few seconds when things are going well. Their nutrition during the race is a science—an exact blend of sugars with the right number of calories to fuel a two-hour journey.

Is it possible for an athlete like Do Nascimento to know his body so well that it could inspire the confidence to run at a record-setting pace on a day clearly not suited for records? As most of the field wilted in the hot weather, would training in the sweltering climate of Brazil serve as a secret weapon for Do Nascimento?

If TCS futurist Frank Diana is correct, the answer just might be yes.

Diana envisions technology playing a major role in the future of competitive athletics—beyond the significant role it already plays in the form of biometrics, exercise science and nutrition. The human body, despite what we may think, is a closed system, not at all dissimilar to a busy manufacturing facility, power plant or transportation network. The behavior of all these complex systems can be modeled and simulated to evaluate their reaction to different inputs and variables. The human body is no different.

Digital twins, typically used to model things like bridges, power plants, manufacturing operations and skyscrapers could be applied to the human body. Athletes and their coaches who utilize digital twins can model fitness levels based on laboratory measurements, develop optimal pacing or fueling strategies, or simulate the body’s reaction to different weather conditions. Athletes do know their bodies to an extent—for example, every athlete performs differently in humid conditions or reacts to brief injections of a faster pace in the middle of a race. Fully quantifying these components of athletic performance, versus feeling them out in the middle of a 26.2-mile endurance quest, has significant ramifications for breaking the tape.

“The digital twin of the human is an interesting piece of that story,” Diana said. “How do you look at the nose and the brain and the heart and the skin and then simulate the impact of running? Taking something as complex as a digital twin, and for the general masses, helping folks really understand the possibilities, and applying it to running is a great way to have a conversation about how we can develop new ways to understand the human body.”

For the Greater Good

Athletic performance provides an easy way to center the topic of taking healthcare and understanding of the body from the traditional, physical realm to the digital world. Since the dawn of time, humans have been attempting to best each other in athletic competitions, seeking to determine who is the fastest, strongest and most agile among us. Athletics are an important part of human culture, and we devote a corresponding level of attention to them. What if, however, the technology with which we are viewing athletes could be applied to every person to improve healthcare?

“The linkage between some of the progress has been made in simulating epilepsy through digital twins, and that brain analysis that goes on that ultimately could help in the context of epilepsy is the same kind of brain analysis you could do in the context of running to try to understand what drives a human to move from the pain cave to the flow state. I think the synergies in both directions with the health and wellness pieces is really interesting,” Diana explained.

It’s not just digital twins that could eventually be used to improve athletic performance and overall wellness. Diana also suggests that genetic engineering and even nanorobots and microchips could become common components of healthcare. With that, there is obviously a degree of ethics and morality that need to be evaluated. For example, how can we ensure that athletes from impoverished nations have access to the same level of technology as their competitors from economic superpowers? Is sport fair if some athletes have enough funding to inject temperature-regulating nanobots into their bloodstream while others do not? The same goes for wider healthcare applications. Is there an ethical requirement that the best and newest technology to prolong life be affordable and accessible to all—not just the uber-rich?

“If we look at what history shows us when innovations happen like these, they initially start in the context of a compelling societal challenge that we’re trying to solve. The unintended consequences follow, right? In the context of genetic engineering, when we try to solve childhood disease and/or genetic kinds of issues, parents will ultimately want to do those things, then you’ve opened the window to playing those things to things like competition and other things. It’s really a question of, of one, not just how far we take it, because it’s a big globe,” Diana opined.

Athletics may be the gateway to tapping digital technology to understand the human body, but they’re merely a jumping off point to more important applications like personalized medicine, where each of us interacts with our digital twin and tracks changes in temperature or blood pressure, and preventative care, where cancer cells can be detected far earlier than outward symptoms begin appearing and there can be improved long-term health outcomes. Humanity is on the verge of redefining the way we interact with our bodies, and the advances that come in the healthcare space using new technology—aside from breakthrough drugs—have the potential to be groundbreaking.

The post Digital Twins to Help and Understand Human Athletic Performance? Why not, says Futurist Frank Diana. appeared first on Engineering.com.

Yup, that’s me. You’re probably wondering how I ended up hanging under a bridge over the Mississippi River. I’m a Certified Bridge Safety Inspector.

If you have questions after seeing people hanging under a bridge, in a basket suspended from the long arm of a truck, or have seen people crawling over the steel structure with seemingly nothing preventing them from falling off, I’ve got some answers.

After a long ride in a windowless van with 10 other people into the middle of Louisiana, a scramble over a barrier, I go down a ladder to get on a pier of the Horace Wilkinson Bridge on Interstate I-10, which carries traffic in and out of Baton Rouge. In order for it to continue to do so, the bridge will undergo a rigorous inspection. Our team will spend the next two weeks climbing and crawling over every single inch of the 54-year-old “new bridge,” as it is referred to by locals.

There’s nothing glamourous about bridge inspection—especially during July in Louisiana—but, in the interest of public safety, we carry on.

Making my way out of a shallower floor beam using beam clamps.

Routine bridge inspections identify defects that are reported back to state transportation agencies and commissions to facilitate key funding and maintenance decisions. It was a routine bridge inspection that found a nearly completely severed in-tension member of the Hernando de Soto Bridge in Memphis, Tenn. last year. If that member failed, the entire bridge could have collapsed. A fracture critical bridge inspection requires that every part of a bridge receive a “hands-on” inspection, meaning the inspector must get within an arm’s length of every structural member.

Not a bad view of the city. The dual Greater New Orleans bridges from the highest tower peak of the structure.

Origins of the Federal Bridge Inspection Program

As is the case with most federal policies and regulations, the National Bridge Inspection Program and Standards came about because of a preventable tragedy. On December 15, 1967, the Silver Bridge over the Ohio River connecting Point Pleasant, W. Va., and Gallipolis, Ohio, collapsed during the height of rush hour. Forty-six people lost their lives. The bridge had been constructed in 1928 and featured nonredundant eyebars in tension. High-strength steel was used in the eyebars, which gave the impression that the typical four or six eyebar chain was not required.

From a pure strength standpoint, the Silver Bridge was sufficient to carry the loads for which it was originally designed. The structure was built during a time when the standard family vehicle, the Model T, weighed 1,500 pounds. When the bridge collapsed, the average vehicle weight had ballooned up to 4,000 pounds and vehicle traffic had greatly increased. Deterioration over the life of the bridge had left one of the eyebars cracked and structurally compromised. When it finally gave out, the load transferred to its partner, which also fractured.

Taking notes while completing inspection of the bridge’s top chord.

The Silver Bridge disaster was the first high-profile bridge collapse in the United States during the rise of automobile ownership and the creation of the National Highway System. The collapse resulted in mass casualties. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge in the state of Washington had famously collapsed in 1940 but resulted in no fatalities. Naturally, this failure, which came at a time when Americans had taken to automobiles in large numbers, drew intense scrutiny. Congress acted immediately (must be nice) and passed the Federal-Aid Highway Act in 1968, which established a set of standards for bridge inspection and required states to maintain written inspection reports.

By 1971, further legislation had ironed out the details of the federal bridge inspection standards, which became the National Bridge Inspection Standards (NBIS) and remain in place today. Under NBIS, structures longer than 20 feet that are part of the federally aided highway system must be inspected every two years. These structures form the original National Bridge Inventory. Over the past 50 years, the program has continued to evolve and was expanded to encompass all structures on public roads in 1979. Further guidance on the inspection of fracture critical bridges was passed into law in 1988, prompted by the collapse of the Mianus River Bridge in 1983. The collapse of the I-35 bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis in 2007 was caused by the failure of a gusset plate and made for a nationwide push for a more thorough inspection and load ratings process for specific components of truss bridges.

The NBIS program has been in place for over 50 years and has been largely successful. In the rare case of bridge failure in the U.S., reaction is typically swift and aggressive. Funding, however, remains a major concern. This was apparent with the collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh. The K-frame structure bridge had been placed on a shortened inspection cycle of 12 months versus 24 due to its poor condition. It was also load restricted and its most recent inspection report, which featured numerous recommendations for repairs and maintenance, was not carried out. Fortunately, no one died when the bridge collapsed due to its own weight in the early morning hours of January 28, 2022.

Identifying areas of section loss and corrosion on steel bridges is one of the most important jobs of a bridge inspector. Severe section loss, like what is shown in this picture, can drastically reduce the load-carrying capacity of a bridge.

Spalling and exposed rebar are among the more common defects seen on a concrete bridge. As concrete deteriorates, it can expose a bridge’s reinforcement. As spalling becomes more widespread, structural capacity may be reduced. It is important for an inspector to accurately measure the area of spalling to help determine the extent of needed repairs.

There’s no telling how many lives have been saved by the creation of the NBIS, though we can’t say for certain that the bridge collapse that influenced the NBIS’s creation could have been prevented by a bridge inspection alone. The Silver Bridge, with its nonredundant design, was a ticking time bomb. The cracked eyebar that ultimately brought the structure down was in a location that could not have been seen. Specialized equipment for testing steel and locating cracks had yet to be invented. Therefore, the bridge inspectors the time would not have found the defect.

Sliding out to ensure that the bottom flange weld on a floor beam on the Horace Wilkinson Bridge in Baton Rouge, La. is in good condition.

National Rating Standards

As stated earlier, every bridge over 20 feet in length on the National Highway System must be inspected every two years. In addition, so must bridges of shorter length if specified by the state. Together, they make up the National Bridge Inventory.

Spalling and exposed rebar are among the more common defects seen on concrete bridges. As concrete deteriorates, it can expose the bridge’s reinforcement. As spalling becomes more widespread, structural capacity may be reduced. It is important for an inspector to accurately measure the area of spalling to help determine the extent of needed repairs.

As deterioration advances and the condition of a bridge worsens, it may be necessary to inspect the bridge in 12- or 6-month intervals. As each bridge is inspected and its condition inventoried, the results and corresponding report are utilized by state and federal agencies to allocate funding. Inspections are important not just for keeping drivers and pedestrians safe, but also for ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent efficiently and effectively.

The snooper is the most common way to inspect a bridge superstructure when lane closures are permitted.

The nationwide inspection standards ensure that even small rural bridges are not neglected. These types of bridges make up the majority of structures in the National Bridge Inventory system. Of the thousands of structurally deficient bridges across the country, the vast majority are of the single-span variety. Although the smaller bridges don’t command the attention of their bigger, more traveled counterparts, the smaller bridges are still an integral part of the nation’s transportation infrastructure and contribute to the overall movement of people and goods.

Bridge inspections are broken down into components—deck, superstructure, substructure and culvert—and elements—more specific items such as steel beams, guide rail, signage, bearings and abutments. The element-level items feed into the component ratings, which govern the overall bridge rating. The overall bridge rating is controlled by the lowest component-level rating and is given in tiers of Good, Fair, Poor and Critical. Components are rated on a scale of 0 to 9, where a rating of 9 is excellent condition without a single defect and a rating of 0 is a failed bridge that must be taken out of service.

Ratings of 7 to 9 are considered “Good,” 5 and 6 are considered “Fair,” 3 and 4 are “Poor,” and anything 2 or below is “Critical.” Condition ratings are determined based on the level of deterioration and potential impact on the structure’s load-carrying ability. Advanced section loss, cracking, spalling, unexpected movement or deflection all contribute to a bridge receiving a Poor or Critical rating. These standards are national, so ratings mean the same thing in every state and inspectors across the country evaluate bridges consistently regardless of location. What the individual state agencies choose to do after inspection reports are issued is up to them.

The Job of a Bridge Inspector

To become a Certified Bridge Safety Inspector, candidates must take a one- or two-week course depending on whether they licensed engineers. Individual states may require additional coursework beyond the federal requirements. Additional training is available for inspectors who are interested in inspecting more complex structures like fracture critical bridges or tunnels. Underwater inspections also require additional coursework. Inspectors may become team leaders as their careers progress and they successfully complete inspections and keep up with their training. Educational requirements vary by state. An engineering degree helps but is not required.

Once the training has been completed, the fun really starts. For smaller bridges, the inspector will work entirely on foot, walking the bridge deck looking for cracking and other signs of stress. It’s normal for a certain level of minor cracking to be present in a bridge deck, but as cracks propagate and become wider or concentrated in a single location, it presents a means for water to corrode the reinforcement or leach the strength from the cement. While working topside, inspectors also inspect all of the bridge’s safety features like guardrails, advance warning signs that could indicate a narrow bridge or load posting, and approach roadways for signs of settlement at the abutments. The pavement approaching a bridge is not necessarily part of the bridge, but it should be monitored.

Moving under the deck to inspect the beams or girders and substructure units, the inspector will focus on high-stress concentration zones on the beams, specifically looking for cracks and exposed strands in prestressed concrete beam bridges and cracks, corrosion and section loss in steel superstructure bridges. Defects in the superstructure will commonly be found at the ends of the beams, where shear is at its highest; in the midspan, where moment is at its highest; or under open joints, where leaking water causes corrosion.

At the substructures, which are typically concrete abutments and piers, inspectors look for cracks, spalling and signs of settlement. It’s not always easy or possible to inspect the foundation of a bridge, either the footing or deep foundation, but signs of distress in the exposed stem of the substructure can point to what might be happening below ground. For bridges at waterway crossings, inspectors must assess signs of scour and undermining of the substructure footings. As a stream or river flows past an unprotected substructure, there is the potential for bearing soils to be washed away, leaving a giant scour hole underneath the footing or exposing piles.

While on the job, inspectors will carry an array of tools for assessing the condition of bridge elements, such as hammers for sounding concrete to find deterioration, scrapers and brushes for removing corrosion from steel beams, tape measures and rulers for determining the size of defects. Additional tools may be carried on to the bridge, but those are the most common. To document a bridge’s condition, inspectors use markers and paint for marking defects and zones of deterioration. They quantify the size of defects and give locations so that future inspectors can locate and monitor them.

It is the larger, more complex bridges that provide the most challenges—and rewards. It is to one such bridge in Louisiana that I was delivered, after a long ride in the back of a windowless van.

You have to get up close and personal with a large, complex bridge that cannot be inspected on foot. You have a few options. For bridges that cross major bodies of water or highways, the first option is a snooper truck, which lowers a bucket that carries you over the side of the bridge with a telescoping arm. A skilled snooper operator is a wizard with a joystick who can perform a complicated dance to wiggle the bucket between truss members. Above deck, inspectors make use of a manlift, which can reach as high as 180 feet.

So why was I dangling under the bridge rather than in a bucket off a snooper truck? It was a matter of convenience—for the motorists on I-10, that is. The truss bridges across the Mississippi carry a tremendous amount of traffic. The traffic in an out of Baton Rouge can have traffic jams several miles long during rush hour. Using a snooper truck and manlift would require lane closures, creating even longer traffic jams, plus costing thousands of dollars per day for traffic control.

Bridge inspectors receive certification through the Society of Professional Rope Access Technicians (SPRAT). Bridge inspectors must use a variety of rope skills. They’ll rig rope systems to climb deck trusses, use beam rollers to slide down stringers suspended in the air, or hang from a tension line to view both faces of deeper floor beams. As you might imagine, rope access work is extremely demanding physical work. But I can’t imagine anything more exciting.

Here I am hanging from a harness 100 feet above the Mississippi River. Then walking on the top chord 300 feet in the air. Neither was expected after studying bridge engineering—but nothing could be as rewarding and necessary. A bridge is not a drawing on a page, a model on a screen or a sheet of calculations. Inspecting a bridge, up close and personal, seeing how it behaves in the wind and the waves, brings a wealth of understanding. You don’t get that working in an office.

This article brought to you by your friendly neighborhood bridge inspector, author Joshua Sadlock.

The post Hanging by a Thread: The Life of a Bridge Inspector appeared first on Engineering.com.

As humans, our bodies are constantly providing us with feedback and sensory cues that let us know when something might be amiss. A sprained ankle turns black and blue, swelling up and sending us looking for an ice pack. Runny noses and sore throats are promptly met with a dose of cold medicine, hot tea and chicken soup. We know when we’ve had one too many slices of pizza. Humans have limitations and our systems make sure we do a reasonably good job of not going too far over the line.

When we receive a signal that our body isn’t functioning at 100 percent, we usually work quickly to remedy whatever is causing the problem. The many systems that keep us alive are constantly working together and sending us signals—telling us we need to slow down, rest, put down that second bowl of ice cream—so we can stay healthy and avoid injury.

Eloque looks to continue expanding its network of bridges from the initial installed base with VicTrack to the rest of the world.

Unfortunately, it is not that easy to monitor our built environment. However, that could change if Eloque can successfully grow its unique bridge and asset monitoring solution.

In the United States, bridges must be inspected, at a minimum, once every two years. Bridges that are in critical condition may be inspected as frequently as every six months but even that may not be often enough as proven by the catastrophic collapse of a fracture-critical bridge in Pittsburgh earlier this year. There are thousands of bridges in poor condition scattered across the United States, each suffering from varying levels of breakdown daily. An inspection every year is great but predicting the speed at which a bridge in poor condition will fail is still an exercise in futility.

“This whole project was developed around existing assets, some of which could be 100 years old. That’s where the focus is needed. Oftentimes, old bridges were overengineered for their time but there have been so many changes over the years—the size, weight and length of vehicles has increased. Traffic volumes have increased. Periodic inspections only give you a snapshot every two years — like humans, getting a physical every two years. Our bodies change in two years. So do infrastructure assets. The industry needs a real-time, accurate, data-driven information source,” explained Eloque CEO Campbell Rose AM.

A Central Nervous System on a Bridge

Bridge inspections are valuable for assessing the condition and deterioration of a structure but are simply a picture in time. Inspectors and engineers do not receive a continuous stream of data to inform them about how the bridge is behaving during the 364 other days of the year that it is not being inspected. Without feedback, there is no way to evaluate how well a bridge is holding up to the stresses of loading, no way to predict if a catastrophic failure may be on the verge of occurring, and no way to better plan preventative maintenance based on real-time behavioral data.

A solution that makes it possible to understand the day-to-day reactions and behavior of bridge assets would be a godsend for the industry, enabling engineers to make better decisions, predict deterioration patterns and stop failures before they happen, while also providing transportation agencies with the ability to better allocate their resources.

It is Eloque’s mission to develop that solution and the Australian company appears to be making progress.

“Asset management and engineering best practice are ever-moving goalposts,” said Rose. “It is time for these practices to adopt advances in technology. Doing so will assist in addressing the magnitude of the infrastructure problem—this is the core of the Eloque solution.”

Born out of Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), Eloque utilizes fiber-optic wires to feed data into an analytical model that helps interpret the day-to-day behavior and condition of a bridge. Eloque’s first bridge installations have been in Australia, where the company has partnered with VicTrack, the Victorian government’s transportation enterprise, to install remote-sensing and monitoring devices on 12 bridges.

The monitoring devices are little more than hair-thin wires that measure strain, thermal movements, bending due to moment, live load response, vibration and internal corrosion. The sensors transmit data into an advanced analytical model and dashboard that updates in real time and can be viewed at any time by bridge owners. The real-time nature of the data and dashboard allow engineers to react quickly when a bridge has been damaged or to evaluate the impacts of a natural disaster like a hurricane or earthquake. These wires become the central nervous system of the bridge, informing structural engineers of minute changes in the bridge’s behavior and response to loading that could indicate more serious deterioration.

The wires are simple to install on bridges—the process is no more involved than slapping the wires on the underside of the bridge’s superstructure—and can be scaled up quickly to build a comprehensive asset network. The company will first focus on seeing its product installed on older bridges, where the need is currently great, but the fibers could one day become a standard construction item for new bridges.

How Does It Work?

Strain gauges and similar slap-on devices that measure bridge movements have been around for decades but do not offer sophisticated real-time data or actionable insight into the overall behavior of the bridge to the extent that Eloque’s solution can. There are also highly complex devices and systems that can be installed to monitor bridges and transmit data back to a central command center wirelessly. Neither of these options tick all the boxes for widespread deployment across an asset network. The most basic strain gauges can be installed as quickly as Eloque’s wire but lack the same analytical capabilities. Conversely, high-tech devices capable of measuring movements, vibrations or load response are costly and not scalable across hundreds or thousands of bridges.

This is the Eloque solution—a perfect melding of the ease of installing a standard strain gauge with the computational power of complicated measuring devices. It is practical for installation on a large network of smaller rural bridges that are not frequently inspected. These are the bridges that are out of sight, out of mind—unlike iconic structures such as the Golden Gate Bridge or the Sydney Harbor Bridge that are monitored around the clock.

While the solution seems simple, it is anything but. Eloque’s platform works as a result of thousands of hours spent by some of the finest minds in structural engineering and computational methods and artificial intelligence. The Eloque dashboard is a confluence of the rapid advancements in wireless connectivity, data science, AI and structural and finite element modeling. It is a multidisciplinary approach required to solve the most complex challenges in bridge engineering.

Ozan Celik, Eloque’s principal structural analytics engineer, broke down the complex mathematical models that his team has worked tirelessly to develop.

“We are looking at these bridges both at the component level—girders, abutments, decks, girders—as well as global behavior. Since we have so many sensing points on one fiber, we are able to deploy our hybrid system, fiber-optic sensors in a very dense sense right now. That gives us the opportunity to look at each component of the bridge almost like the output of a finite element model where you load your system, you look at your components like a heat map and then see where your stresses and strains are distributed,” Celik explained.

“This is the computer modeling part. What we are doing is looking at it from the actual performance side, because sometimes real life is quite different from the theoretical design. Sometimes the components and the global behavior of the structure can be a little different. There was a gap between the understanding of these two sides, so we are trying to bridge that gap with data taken from actual bridge behavior.”

With enough data, Eloque believes it will be able to predict bridge behavior across typical classes and categories of structure, especially simple-span structures that are the most common. The ultimate goal is to be able to effectively model and predict the behavior of a very high volume of bridges. The pilot projects in Australia have been focused on installing the sensors in a way that most effectively captures bending moment, shear forces and deflections, which will be used to develop key performance indicators that can be used by stakeholders to evaluate their bridges and plan maintenance.

“Those metrics are going to change over time statistically. We can create long-term trends and those long-term trends can be forecasted to feature because your data is coming in continuously. We will have an adaptive system which is continuously creating statistics showing the current condition of your structure in terms of your internal forces. If you are monitoring a crack, how is that crack is propagating?” Celik said.

“We are a young company. These are the first metrics we are looking at. But as we get this data, we are also training models. We are getting into machine learning. We are training our models to make these predictions based on the actual data that’s coming from the specific bridge. Forecasts are being made using statistics at this time but also with informed, trained models. So, in that sense, we are creating a model of that bridge that is continuously updating itself to make predictions for the future or to tell us about the current state.”

The Road Ahead

The need for a solution like the one offered by Eloque is obvious in the bridge engineering and asset management world and the company has a clear runway to continue expanding its growth—first in Australia and then in the United States. The plan is to ramp up deployment in Australia to over 100 bridges by the end of 2022 while launching pilot projects with state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) in the United States.

The technology will first be used on bridges, targeting aging, single-span structures with issues that have the greatest potential to be diagnosed and addressed with remote monitoring. Beyond bridges, there are applications waiting to be built for railroads, highways, mining operations, dams and reservoirs, tunnels and ports—the list goes on. Right now, however, the focus is strictly on bridges. Eloque will also work to develop new monitoring capabilities, such as chloride levels, which is another major concern for concrete structures.

Converting the bridge industry, an industry that is somewhat wary of new technology for inspection, is the next big hurdle for Eloque but Rose believes he has the selling points nailed down. Eloque’s monitoring is not designed to replace routine bridge inspections but rather to supplement them and help them become more refined.

“You may get the data once a week. You don’t need to necessarily monitor every second. You keep your inspection force but you direct it to where you see a bridge that’s got an abnormal strain developing. Rather than go look at the whole bridge, the end-to-end solution can zero in on a specific location of a beam because it seems to be showing more strain than it should be. Our solution gives the inspector some very direct ability to know exactly where to go once they get in the field,” Rose said.

All in all, the Eloque technology is an exciting development for the bridge industry that has the potential to allow transportation agencies to overhaul their inspection processes, better predict maintenance and avoid failures in their older, more remote assets that often do not receive frequent, focused attention. As the world’s infrastructure ages and governments are forced to scrutinize their transportation budgets, Eloque has a much-needed solution to help keep the public safe, reduce wasted spending and target the proper infrastructure maintenance before it becomes too late.

The post Eloque’s Solution for Aging Infrastructure Moves into High Gear appeared first on Engineering.com.

Barcelona-based BCN3D has been developing 3D printing hardware and software since its founding in 2011. On March 2, BCN3D debuted a new resin-based 3D printing technology called Viscous Lithography Manufacturing, or VLM.

VLM represents a breakthrough in 3D printing, with the potential to give users complete control over every stage in their additive manufacturing processes, according to BCN3D’s press release. Additionally, as the name suggests, VLM can use resins that are up to 50 times more viscous than those used in current resin-based 3D printers.

What Is VLM and How Does It Work?

BCN3D’s patented VLM process is similar to other resin-based 3D printers, but with one big difference: the amount of resin used in each step. VLM works on thin layers of photopolymer resin, one at a time, rather than an entire vat of resin at once. The thin layers are transported from a material reservoir by a transparent film and then hardened with UV light.

In the VLM process, a roller first picks up the resin from the reservoir and laminates it on the underside of the transparent film. The resin-coated film then moves to the printer’s build chamber and the build plate rises up to meet it. UV light then hardens the resin in the appropriate shape, and the build plate lowers to peel the resin from the film. Any excess resin is recirculated into the material reservoir, which cuts down on wasted resin, according to BCN3D. The film returns to the material reservoir and the process repeats itself.

Advantages of VLM

On the surface, this new process might not seem particularly beneficial. But the VLM approach has several distinct advantages. Because resin is not required to flow into place, VLM printing allows for much higher resin viscosities than current printing methods. BCN3D says this will enable the use of new resins that are stronger and less brittle. These resins can be made even stronger with the use of additives.

The VLM process also makes it possible to implement multi-material 3D printing. With a second film mechanism and resin reserve, VLM can introduce different material layers without cross contaminating the different resins.

VLM conceptual schematic showing how multiple materials can be used on a single part. (Source: BCN3D.)

Another advantage of VLM is that it decouples build volume from the size of a resin vat. The limiting factor in VLM is the size of the LCD light screens for hardening the resin.

“If 3D printing is to be the future of manufacturing, and what leads us towards local production, customization, control of supply chains and sustainability, all the players in the industry should be pushing in this direction,” said BCN3D CEO Xavier Martínez Faneca in the press release.

Where VLM Has Been Tested

BCN3D is in the process of commercializing VLM, but several test cases already show the potential of the technology. Motorsports team Prodrive used VLM to print parts for its high-performance off-road racer competing in a two-week challenge in Saudi Arabia. The harsh conditions of the desert required strong resins. Prodrive used VLM to produce the rear light trim on its prototype racecar, and the parts proved to be highly durable in the extreme conditions of the race, according to the company.

“So far it looks very promising, and I predict we’ll be using VLM for all our polymer additive manufacturing before long,” said Callum Harper, design engineer for Prodrive.

Glass manufacturer Saint-Gobain has also been taking VLM for a test-drive. The company needed a quick fix after discovering a problem in over 7,000 of its robotic machines that position and weld wire for defogging systems. Saint-Gobain solved the problem in seven days using VLM to fabricate 7,000 position fixtures at a cost of €0.79 per part, according to the BCN3D press release.

“By currently having this implemented in the production line, the efficiency has already increased by an estimated annual savings of €70.000,” said Miguel Lascuevas, tempering & soldering manager for Saint-Gobain.

What’s Next for VLM?

BCN3D plans to fully commercialize its new technology. The company is seeking partners to begin testing the process and discovering new ways to tap its potential. BCN3D has begun a VLM technology adoption program and is actively inviting companies to apply.

“What we want with such a new technology is to get information from the market,” said CEO Xavier Martínez Faneca to PMM. “Until now, I would say that we have been able to adapt this technology to all the applications that we have been trying internally. But now the important thing is to get information from the actual users of 3D printing.”

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With 3D printing working in tandem with traditional manufacturing systems, companies hope to make their operations more efficient and highly scalable while exerting greater control over their products. That isn’t possible if the systems fail to work together and communicate effectively.

The answer is smart data.

The Value of Smart Data

Utilizing smart data will allow manufacturers to more closely intertwine their traditional methods with 3D printing. (Image credit: Materialise.)

Additive manufacturing and conventional manufacturing are two separate ecosystems that increasingly coexist on the same production floor. To realize all the benefits of integrating 3D printing, companies must give their systems a common language, and that language is data. It isn’t hyperbole to claim that an increased understanding of the power of data and analytics has transformed most major industries, and 3D printing and manufacturing are no different. As production environments become digital and new technology is integrated, manufacturers must be able to smartly and quickly analyze all the data generated and break down disparate data sets generated from new equipment, materials and processes and understand their relationship with established practices.

Data is at the heart of unleashing the gains in efficiency, repeatability, scale and control that come with breaking down the walls between conventional manufacturing processes and 3D printing, and Materialise, a company offering software solutions for 3D printing, believes it has the answers the industry needs. Harnessing the power of smart data is needed to increase the adoption of 3D printing, according to Materialise’s Chief Technology Officer Bart Van Der Schueren.

“Widespread adoption of 3D printing has been a slow revolution, but today, companies are looking for efficient ways to adopt 3D printing for large-scale production across multiple sites. Historically, 3D printing and conventional manufacturing processes have been carried out in isolation from each other. Now, we’re seeing the walls between these two manufacturing environments disappear, and access to data and analytics will play a significant role in integrated production,” he said.

If companies can utilize smart data while operating their 3D printers, they will be able to continue scaling and expanding production. Over the long term, this has the capacity to unlock the potential of 3D printing, helping designers and engineers to create better, more useful products with higher levels of efficiency. In this scenario, everyone wins.

An incredible number of data points are created during the 3D printing process because the material and product are created simultaneously, rather than cut and shaped from a sheet of metal or welded or bolted together. Applied correctly, data analytics in the 3D printing environment can lead to reduced scrap rates, improved quality and the prediction of failures before they occur so that preventive maintenance can help to avoid delays and rework. Over a long-term, smart data helps make it possible to identify which processes contribute to failures so that operations can be adjusted.

In the manufacturing world, generating data is certainly not the challenge. A single day on the factory floor can produce hundreds of thousands of data points that can be analyzed. Where expertise is really needed and where value can be unlocked is finding a way to do something with that data. Some of the larger manufacturing firms already employ fully staffed teams of data scientists whose expertise focuses entirely on the 3D printing industry. These companies have their own processes in place to explore and analyze data on their own. They just need the right software tools to help them harvest the data that is being targeted.

However, not every company has a strong data science team or the ability to invest heavily in analytics and software. For these companies, all that is needed are quick and dirty tools that can provide an overview of the data being generated. If they can extract useful data without a heavy investment or deep data analysis and can relay the key takeaways to their engineering staff, then that could be sufficient.

Whose Data Is It Anyway?

The rise of 3D printing has made it possible for manufacturing to take place anywhere that the right hardware and materials are available. With this shift in manufacturing comes rapid gains in the freedom to produce goods efficiently anywhere on the planet. As design information is distributed widely to contract manufacturers and 3D printers, there is another question that needs to be addressed—who owns the data produced?

“Overall, it’s less about the amount of data but rather about collecting the right data, using it the right way and the confidence to keep control and ownership,” explained Van Der Schueren.

Ownership of the data and information related to printing specific products and goods is a sticky issue, especially in heavily regulated industries like the aerospace or medical industry. Companies are also extremely competitive and do not want to see their data analyzed by competitors seeking to gain an edge. Anonymizing data is one way to work around this matter, helping to fuel innovation without sacrificing that edge.

“Most manufacturers will not only claim ownership of designs and processes but also express the desire to control them. They may decide to share some of these insights in order to empower other users, but manufacturers should retain ownership and control. This will enable them to create smarter production processes that allow them to leap ahead of the competition,” said Materialise Executive Chairman Peter Leys.

Ownership of data related to medical products and devices is a delicate issue when it comes to 3D printing. (Image credit: Materialise.)

The Human Element

There’s a fallacy in the tech industry that big data and analytics negate the need for human intelligence and creativity—the idea that artificial intelligence can do it all. Nothing could be further from the truth. A dataset and software platform is merely a tool that an engineer or designer can use to further apply their expertise and develop a better solution.

Machine learning and software can dominate analysis of standard operations where millions of data points have already been processed. It’s in the analysis outside of the standard operational context where the human element is still powerful, according to Kristel Van den Bergh, the director of innovation at Materialise.

“When there is a lot of uncertainty or ambiguity, which is typically the case in the context of innovation, more human skills are required, like creativity, imagination, and intuition. These are two extreme ends of the spectrum and in most cases, automation and human intervention will go hand in hand.”

Leaders in their respective fields will likely drive the strongest innovation in 3D printing and manufacturing when given access to smart data and the right tools to break down the numbers. Learning to work with data will become increasingly important in technical fields as artificial intelligence and automation continue to gain acceptance. Leaning into this trend will allow new leaders to emerge if the old guard is unwilling to apply their knowledge and experience to new ways of working with software.

“Smart manufacturing, based on data, also creates an opportunity for smart people to make a difference. A smart medical surgeon will use his or her experience, personal insights, and interpretation to add an additional layer of intelligence to improve patient treatment. Similarly, in an AM context, adding an additional, personal layer of intelligence to the process allows a company to make a difference and create a competitive advantage,” explained Leys.

Onward and Upward

Collecting data and developing usable datasets will be key in continuing to innovate in the world of manufacturing and 3D printing. As more parts and goods are produced this way, larger datasets will be generated, with insights gained into material behavior, processes and their limitations. Smart data and software will continue to improve as the algorithms are given more data points to crunch. Together with the leading minds in manufacturing, the future is bright for 3D printing and smart data.

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Waterjet cutting machines are integral to manufacturing operations across the globe, harnessing the power of concentrated water jets to cut through metal without affecting the material’s internal structure due to heat, which can result in warping. These machines are used for a wide variety of industries, including shipbuilding, aerospace, rail and the rapid production of machine parts. The technology dates back to the mid-1800s when high-pressure water was used for hydraulic mining and has continuously evolved to the point where waterjet cutting machines can produce extremely intricate cuts and complex shapes.

OMAX has been designing and engineering highly technical waterjet cutting systems for nearly three decades. Now, the company is pushing even further with its new OptiMAX waterjet, its most advanced system to date. The OptiMAX is a versatile and simple system that is designed to allow manufacturers to become less reliant on experienced operators and technicians. Thanks to the company’s software system, the OptiMAX can be operated with minimal training.

The OptiMAX offers water level control, under-bridge lighting and a machine status indicator. The machine is so accurate that it can be used for jewelry making, where extreme precision is required. Waterjet cutting can be performed on aluminum, brass, steel, copper and titanium and leaves a smooth edge with no burn marks or heat-affected zones.

The company highlighted several new and improved capabilities in the OptiMAX, including:

• IntelliMAX software to improve operation and simplify use. The software incorporates OMAX’s proprietary waterjet cutting models for quickly and consistently producing parts.
• The IntelliVISOR center console, which displays key metrics and system monitoring, helps avoid unplanned downtime and optimizes work planning and scheduling.
• The EnduroMAX pump to automatically set the correct pressure, which minimizes fluctuations in pressure, resulting in increased efficiency and longer component life due to reduced wear and tear.
• An upgraded garnet delivery system for minimizing downtime.
• Advanced motion control through the IntelliTRAX drive system that requires less maintenance and improves reliability compared to traditional ball screw and rack and pinon drive systems.

“The OptiMAX represents the pinnacle in abrasive waterjet cutting,” said Arion Vandergon, Waterjet product marketing manager. “It builds upon everything OMAX has learned during the past three decades to deliver the most capable and efficient waterjet cutting system available today, so our customers are able to easily achieve optimal cutting outcomes.”

Combined with the high-end engineering in the OptiMAX system, the software and its ability to leverage big data analytics and artificial intelligence, OMAX will remain a pioneer in the manufacturing industry as it continues to expand into the realm of generative design, augmented reality and robotics integration.

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Share who frequently use digital workflows to exchange information with other functions at their organization. (Picture from Trimble survey, used by permission)

Modern technology and software has captivated every industry and helped it grow and evolve into a more efficient and connected work environment. This is true of the construction industry, where a digital transformation is well underway. Despite the fragmented nature of the world of construction, where there can be dozens of stakeholders, designers, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers, teams are finding a way to connect and share data and project information digitally. Leading the charge towards digital transformation are owners who are pushing project team members to adopt connected construction technology, applications and software to deliver better outcomes for everyone involved.

To better grasp the needs and progress in converting the construction industry to a digital age, Trimble conducted a study of owners and key stakeholders to help guide and inform the industry. Across the board, owners consistently cited increased efficiency, higher quality and faster delivery as key benefits to utilizing digital workflows in their construction projects. Digital workflows increase insight into project processes and operations. Without digital workflows, over 50 percent of owners say they are unable to trace the causes of delays and errors in their project processes – compared to less than 10 percent of owners using digital workflows who say they are unable to track down the source of their mistakes. This lends itself well to future improvements as processes and methods become refined over time.

Within the industry, there is wide variation in the types of tools being used by companies. Larger companies were more likely to make more use of software than small and mid-size companies for their digital workflows, but the number of small companies increasing their utilization of software products is increasing at a higher rate than their larger counterparts. This shows that smaller companies are beginning to see the value in adopting software and connected construction and are quickly catching up to the bigger firms.

Project owners may be widely adopting software to digitize their processes and document storage but forcing their contractors to do the same has proven difficult. Again, this is an area where larger companies have had more success, mandating their contractors towards their own digital workflows. This may because larger companies are able to exert more power over their contractors or are working on bigger projects with more experienced contractors. Financial constraints and lack of training time were cited as key reasons why construction firms are not able to make contractors adopt digital workflows.

For connected construction to take off and reach its maximum potential, data must flow back and forth to both internal and external teams. Here is a bit of a disconnect. General contractors and construction managers – especially the larger ones – and consulting engineers are often using digital workflows to send data and information to external companies on their project team. Usage drops off steeply among specialty contractors, equipment manufacturers and permitting authorities. High levels of satisfaction were reported when dealing with internal departments but lower levels were reported across the board when dealing with external stakeholders. Therefore, progress is still needed to ensure that data is shared freely across the entire team on key projects.

The biggest challenge still facing the construction industry when it comes to going digital, and the likely reason for the cited low levels of satisfaction with connectedness with external stakeholders, is frequent breakdowns in connectivity. Nearly 60 percent of owners experience breakdowns in connectivity with their external teams. General contractors and construction management firms acknowledged breakdowns in connectivity at the highest rate, likely due in part to their higher level of reliance on connected workflows in the first place. Owners were given the chance to list improvements they fell would increase connectivity and better data analysis tools and easier access to data received the most votes. Owners also felt they would benefit from better training and increased support and investment from upper-level management.

Companies are using software to make their construction business more interconnected both internally and externally, but what tasks are they actually using software for? During preconstruction phases, companies are using digital workflows for submittals, procurement and bids, design review, permitting and estimating. In postconstruction, digital workflows have been used for RFIs, project closeout, field inspection and progress reporting, change orders and payment processing.

Seeing the benefits realized using digital workflows, companies are open to increasing their investment in software that makes it possible. The most common benefits mentioned included higher levels of cost predictability, increased efficiency of multicompany processes, informed decision making, higher labor productivity, fewer change orders and safer job sites. Owners hope to invest in software that assists in design review, project closeout and bid procurement.

Chad Foley, Technology Manager at City of Raleigh Municipal Government (Picture courtesy of LinkedIn)

Chad Foley, Technology Manager at City of Raleigh Municipal Government, has seen the benefits of adopting digital workflows within the city’s different construction and engineering groups, including stormwater, roadway and construction management.

“The biggest advantage is standardization: to have different departments do things the same way and stop relying on Excel and emails, as well as getting construction plans, CAD drawings and BIM files off some shared drive or somebody’s thumb drive and having them in one system that anyone can access. Executive-level reporting is another big benefit of having these internal digital workflows. They allow people at the management level to use a dashboard to see where a project is in a workflow at any given time. We are still in the process of building these things, but the goal is to standardize how we do our projects versus the old way in which one department does it one way, another department does another way and it’s all in Excel on shared drives and folders on people’s personal computers,” Foley said.

Growth in connected construction software and technology will continue to grow as owners continue to see the benefits and encourage all members of their external teams to join them. This begins a positive feedback loop, whereas increased investment in using digital workflows in construction will lead to more innovation by the software companies as their sales grow or clients ask for new tools. Likewise, construction companies who lead the charge in digital workflows will win more opportunities and drive adoption in the industry as laggards seek to catch up or risk being left behind for good. It’s a brave, new, connected construction world.

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Siemens Energy has embraced additive manufacturing for its global operations lately, including projects such as prototyping and spare parts production. The company boasts one of the largest fleets of 3D printers in the world, deploying the technology to manufacture gas turbine parts and repair complex components like wind turbine blades. Siemens Energy claims that additive manufacturing is vital in their mission to improve energy efficiency, reduce material waste and cut carbon emissions.

Continuing their aggressive movement into the additive manufacturing world, Siemens Energy has made an investment in MakerVerse, a digital platform connecting industrial clients with additive manufacturing centers and suppliers. Siemens Energy has partnered with ZEISS and venture capital firms, including 9.5 Ventures, to give MakerVerse the financial support needed to continue growing their platform and expanding their footprint to multiple industries.

The long-term vision for the MakerVerse platform is to create a fulfillment platform that connects industrial players to additive manufacturing suppliers dispersed around the world. This will essentially allow a global company like Siemens Energy to connect with an additive manufacturing operation near a key project site and produce spare parts or develop prototypes without having to outfit their own operation. On-demand additive manufacturing helps make the technology more accessible for companies that don’t need a dedicated additive manufacturing center of their own, but would still like access to the technology. Large companies are also afforded the ability to get parts to a remote project located far from their central manufacturing hub.

MakerVerse’s platform currently features polymer and metal additive manufacturing services, with a hope to expand further into CNC, sheet metal and injection molding. The platform works simply and intuitively, allowing a designer to upload a CAD or STL file of a part and select specifications like material and post-processing. After receiving a quote and placing an order, the designer is matched with a partner in MakerVerse’s production network. The entire manufacturing, quality assurance and shipping process is housed within MakerVerse’s on-demand platform, making it a fully streamlined, one-stop shopping solution for part production.

Producers and makers alike stand to benefit from wider adoption of on-demand additive manufacturing. Makers get industrial-grade quality and access to additive manufacturing services like rapid prototyping without having to make a large investment in 3D printing hardware of their own. All suppliers in the MakerVerse network are prequalified and trusted, and the platform offers supplier quality management. MakerVerse also features built-in artificial intelligence that provides design feedback based on manufacturability, along with advice on selecting the right technology and material set. For producers, MakerVerse offers expanded customer reach and an opportunity to work with clients from different industries around the world. The platform is also designed to reduce operational costs by providing assistance with digital sales and marketing. Joining the MakerVerse network is free, and no long-term commitment is required.

Siemens Energy getting behind an on-demand additive manufacturing platform is a clear signal of the company’s intentions to drive further adoption of additive manufacturing in the energy sector and widespread industrial economy. An on-demand platform like MakerVerse lowers barriers to entry into additive manufacturing for smaller companies interested in seeing what benefits they may gain from the technology. Based in Berlin, MakerVerse will launch with an initial focus on the European market. The goal is for the platform to be open to the public by early mid-2022.

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In January of this year, a team of MIT researchers published a whitepaper titled “Reasserting U.S. Leadership in Microelectronics,” which posits that universities must play a significant role in strengthening domestic semiconductor manufacturing capability.

The whitepaper was published in the midst of supply chain shortages that have dominated economic headlines over the past 12 months. One shortage in particular, the semiconductor supply crunch, has resulted in massive headaches for companies around the globe.

The United States has come to rely on Asian nations including Taiwan, China and South Korea to produce most of the chips that go in everything from our smartphones to our cars. These countries have done everything in their power to entice semiconductor companies to build their manufacturing plants, known as fabs, offshore. American companies such as NVIDIA and Apple design their own chips and contract with Asian companies like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to produce them.

It wasn’t always that way, however. In the 1970s, nearly all microchips were designed, tested and manufactured in the United States. Today, the U.S. share of the global microchip market is down to 12 percent, from 37 percent in 1990.

Chips for America

Bringing chip fabs back to the United States is an uphill battle due to the complexity and cost of building a chip manufacturing plant. In 2020, Congress introduced the CHIPS for America Act to provide $52 billion for domestic semiconductor research projects, design and increasing manufacturing capacity. The FABS Act, introduced in 2021, seeks to establish a semiconductor investment tax credit.

The MIT researchers believe that economic incentives on their own are not enough. In their whitepaper, they argue that universities are needed to train thousands of new workers and inject fresh talent into a tech scene that has largely turned its focus towards computer science and software development.

“In this national quest to regain leadership in microelectronics manufacturing, it was clear to us that universities should play a major role,” said  Jesús del Alamo, lead author of the whitepaper, to MIT News. “We wanted to think from scratch about how universities can best contribute to this important effort.”

The argument laid out by the researchers is centered on a belief that United States universities must become centers of innovation and research, doubling as startup incubators. Not only would this have substantial benefits for the economy of the United States—similar to other initiatives such as becoming less reliant on oil from the Middle East—it would also set students up for lucrative careers in a crucial industry with long-term job security.

While semiconductor design and research doesn’t quite have the flair of working at a trendy new software company, it is crucial for the effective function of the United States economy.

“We are already in a situation where we are not producing enough engineers at all levels for the semiconductor industry, and we are talking about a major expansion. So, it just doesn’t add up,” del Alamo continued. “If we want to provide the workforce for this major expansion, we need to engage more students. The only way, in the short term, to provide many more graduates for this industry is expanding existing programs and engaging institutions that have not been involved in the past.”

Universities in the United States are a national resource and pipeline for advancing the country’s economic agenda. The next generation of engineers and entrepreneurs must be given the resources, facilities, networking opportunities and educational guidance they need to become leaders of the resurgence in chip production on domestic soil. All levels of the higher-education system must be engaged in steering promising students into this field and unlocking their potential to help solve one of the most pressing challenges facing the country. The opportunities and need are there, but students must be given everything they need to step up and become part of the solution.

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