Stuart Sheffield, P.E.

So I'm working on a book called "Ultra High-Speed Ground Transportation Systems - Brining Cities Together to Foster Face-to-Face Collaboration". I'm contemplating Best Practices. There is a broad spectrum of performances. Pastor Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life sold so many copies that he reverse-tithed - gave 90% and living off of the remaining 10%. On the other hand, I've seen authors in the hole for upwards of $10,000.00 and garages full of books. Here are some principles I was able to come up with regarding successes: 1. Speak to a significant need of the audience; 2. Include color graphics throughout the book to increase the appeal (This will result in a more expensive product); 3. Get universities, associations, and museums on board during the actual drafting process, because once it's in print, it's too late; 4. Know that the book in and of itself will not sell itself based on its cover - Marketing is absolutely essential; and 5. Once published, give a complimentary copy to each of your points of influence including professors, museums, associations, and high-level government officials who will have an interest in the content of your book. Anything else to add? #civilengineering #transportationplanning #trafficengineering #highspeedrail

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Everybody wants more inclusive, equitable public engagement on infrastructure projects. In this article, my HDR colleague Katie Caskey explains how compensating participants for their time can help make that goal a reality. Agencies are increasingly interested in this strategy but it's still an emerging practice, and it's great to hear from early leaders in the field like Katie. Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/gDmbGXCu #Transportation

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ASPIRE - The Concrete Bridge Magazine recently featured a great article about CONSOR Engineers in their Summer 2024 issue. I’ve been at Consor almost a year. But I’ve found a good place here. Being a company on both coasts, I can add value with my experience in the Carolinas, and the Pacific Northwest. Anyone who has followed my page for a long time knows that I’ve written two articles for ASPIRE. It’s a great engineering magazine, certainly follows my interests. Seeing a company I enjoy working at combined with an engineering magazine I love is a great thing! And the story is interesting. Something I get asked on occasion is, “What does Consor mean?” I was told it comes from the word “consortium,” which is a Latin word meaning "partnership", "association", or "society", and derives from consors ("shared in property"), itself from con- ("together") and sors ("fate") (thanks Wikipedia). I was told it was an expression of brotherhood (or sisterhood). It’s a good name! #civilengineering #bridgeengineering #iworkforconsor

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A few weeks ago, I attended the #ITSVA Annual Conference. It was a great experience to witness firsthand the strides that the Virginia Department of Transportation is making in traffic operations! The interactive session was a great idea! I liked moving from room to room and seeing the different innovations/TSMO strategies. I also enjoyed the Future of Traffic Operations session because it included experienced engineers in the industry but also the perspective of young engineers. I can't wait to see what is coming in #Virginia and looking forward to the new innovations, technologies, and efficiencies that are going to be created. #TrafficEngineering #Innovation #VADOT #ITSVirginia #Transportation #AI #cybersecurity #mobilitysolutions #traffic #trafficmanagement 

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"The Maryland Transportation Authority says it will issue a progressive design-build request for proposals by the end of May for a new cable-stayed structure, with a goal of having the new crossing open as early as Fall 2028". #constructionnews #constructionindustry #constructionjobs #constructioncareers #constructionrecruitment #bridgeconstruction #highwayconstruction #hiring #generalsuperintendent #superintendents #projectmanagers #projectengineers #estimators #civilengineers #applytoday #beauknows #workingforyourtomorrow

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Everybody wants more inclusive, equitable public engagement on infrastructure projects. In this article, my HDR colleague Katie Caskey explains how compensating participants for their time can help make that goal a reality. Agencies are increasingly interested in this strategy but it's still an emerging practice, and it's great to hear from early leaders in the field like Katie. Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/gDmbGXCu #Transportation

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I don't post on here often, but I feel I need make my NC A/E industry colleagues aware of new legislation making its way through committee right now in Raleigh, which (among many other issues) will completely reorganize the NC Building Code Council (which writes, edits and maintains all volumes of the NC Building Code). It will reduce the composition of the state code council from 17 members to 13 members, and most critically ELIMINATE ANY ARCHITECTURAL REPRESENTATION ON THE BUILDING CODE COUNCIL. The proposed 13-member council will continue to include 3 PE's (structural, electrical and mechanical) and will now include 3 commercial GC's along with 3 trade contractors (Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing). This means that essentially GC's will be the ones making ALL of the decisions about non-engineering building code issues (include life safety issues). GC's AND design professionals have an equally vital role in building safety and performance, and having served on the council for 3 years now, I see how BOTH perspectives are necessary to the continued maintenance of the high standards that North Carolina needs to accommodate its ongoing growth. The bill in question is SB 166, “The Building Code Regulatory Reform Act". I would urge anyone who is interested in commenting on this to your representatives to do so quickly. There are many other things in this bill, some of which I feel are good ideas, and others not so much - but this one issue is the most concerning.

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Across our nation, coastal marshes face threats from climate change and erosion. According to my HDR colleagues, Nick Brown, Robert Lewis and other industry experts, sediment replacement is one strategy used to counteract eroding coastal marshes and improve their sustainability. Check out this article published in the ASBPA American Shore and Beach Preservation Association’s journal for a comprehensive breakout of this solution.  https://lnkd.in/eZ4kYUVz

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Across our nation, coastal marshes face threats from climate change and erosion. According to my HDR colleagues, Nick Brown, Robert Lewis and other industry experts, sediment replacement is one strategy used to counteract eroding coastal marshes and improve their sustainability. Check out this article published in the ASBPA American Shore and Beach Preservation Association’s journal for a comprehensive breakout of this solution.  https://lnkd.in/eZ4kYUVz

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Everybody wants more inclusive, equitable public engagement on infrastructure projects. In this article, my HDR colleague Katie Caskey explains how compensating participants for their time can help make that goal a reality. Agencies are increasingly interested in this strategy but it's still an emerging practice, and it's great to hear from early leaders in the field like Katie. Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/gDmbGXCu #Transportation

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I recently provided some structural engineering insight for Chris Edwards' Morning Show listeners on WPTF Radio in Raleigh regarding the tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. While I was happy to be able to share with Chris and his audience, it is typically never a good situation when a structural engineer is asked for an interview with local media, and this was no exception. I was shocked to see the video of the bridge's sudden failure the morning of March 26th, and saddened to know that several individuals lost their lives in this tragic incident. Here is a link to the full interview: https://lnkd.in/eHchx_Aj Container ships are among the largest manmade structures on the planet and it is difficult for our minds to comprehend how truly massive they are. To help put their size into perspective, imagine a 100-story skyscraper lying on its side, floating down a river. The Dali, which collided with a support for Baltimore's Key Bridge prior to its collapse, measures 984ft long which is about as long as the Eiffel Tower is tall -- and is also more than 100 feet longer than the tallest building in North Carolina. The force of impact from such a vessel travelling at just 9mph with its container load was in the millions of pounds of horizontal force, depending on how quickly the speed of the ship decreased due to the impact. In most cases, it would be extremely difficult (and prohibitively expensive) to construct a bridge that can withstand or divert this magnitude of loading. For this reason, modern bridge designs in cargo shipping lanes aim to utilize structural engineering design to build longer spanning bridges that have vertical supports located a safer distance away from the floating megastructures that need to pass by.

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Kristel Shu Bassett, PE, PTOE and I are presenting at the Great Lakes ITE Conference as part of Session 5C on Friday. Come check us out if you want to learn about how Big Data can take your work zone monitoring and decision-making to the next level! See you there! #ThisisITS

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Impressed by my HDR colleagues Chris Behr and Cathy LaFata who were recently interviewed about a new economic method to help assess the value of an infrastructure project for different populations based on income. This groundbreaking research helps infrastructure owners and policy leaders make better informed and equitable decisions on infrastructure funding. Read the interview here: https://lnkd.in/dD-mrtfg #Transportation #InfrastructureEquity

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Advancements in Artificial Intelligence are helping engineers and transportation project planners. Hear from two HDR experts on how AI is being applied in transportation decisions and how industry organizations can adapt and prepare for future advancement. https://lnkd.in/gjNcivp9 #Transportation #AI

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Great AWWA OpFlow article by HDR's Dan Ellison and David Spencer about helping utilities to make cost-effective decisions about infrastructure renewal. It is definitely worth following the link to read! https://lnkd.in/eZ_2M3JA

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PBS’ Survey department is supporting QRS Consulting, LLC with a City Of Walla Walla sediment bypass gate design project, which gave us the opportunity to use multiple offerings from our UAS program as well. In addition to mapping the broader project extents with photogrammetry and lidar using the DJI M300, we also made use of the Skydio 2 + 3D scan. The short video below shows the Skydio 2 in flight, the pilot’s HUD, and the resulting 3D model. This dataset was collected to give the design team access to a “Virtual Inspection” interface (via Nira.app) to better inform design decisions. It was also used to support feature extraction and digitizing for the topographic survey creation, along with the photogrammetry and lidar datasets from the M300. **Full disclosure – The 3D model shown in the video was created from the M300/P1 imagery collected manually. The Skydio 2 imagery that was collected had not finished processing yet. (And in case you’re wondering – Yes, I absolutely get a kick out of tagging DJI and Skydio in the same post 😉 ) With Eduardo Corona-Ibarra & Greg Flowers #uas #gis #lidar #photogrammetry

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Listen to our latest Engineering Matters #podcast on the skills #veterans can bring to our industry.

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How do we drive sustainability in future engineering projects? 🌱🚗 In this week’s episode of The Engineering Project Management Podcast, host Matthew Douglas discussed sustainability and public transportation with guest Erica Antoine, PE, Project Manager at Burns Engineering, Inc. They explored the challenges and advancements in zero-emission public transportation and how project management is crucial in driving sustainability in transit projects. Tune in to drive down the road to a sustainable future with us 🚦 https://bit.ly/TEPMEp047Y How do you incorporate sustainable practices into your engineering projects? Share with us in the comments ⬇️ #Enginner #engineering #Sustaibility #ZeroEmission #PublicTransportation

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