The Internet of Things : Managing Risk & Reward
A hot topic in the industry today is the “Internet of Things” (IoT). The IoT is the use of “smart” devices, transmitters and systems to facilitate the real time transmission of information, control of equipment and optimized operation of systems; often including or via some Internet-based communication network. The objective is to make the information available anywhere, easily and in real time to improve decision making and operations. Information is collected by the devices and transmitted via a wireless network to a centralized and/or cloud-based “head end” and control commands are sent back via the same system. The IoT has been enabled by advances in the miniaturization of computer processing power, the development of interoperable communications and processing platforms and the growing ubiquity of high-speed, wireless, broadband networks. That’s the stuff that puts your email on your smartphone.
Understanding and Surviving Project Complexity
The article Complexity is Often the Culprit in Cost Overruns and Delays was published last year in the MDCAdvisor® (March, 2014) and garnered much feedback. In today’s article we will revisit the Complexity and Systems Thinking topics and foster additional discussion of how and why project failures are driven by complexity. Complexity often arises to frustrate even the best efforts of Architects, Engineers and Contractors working to complete projects on time and budget.
Eastern Regional Business Matchmaking-July 2012
Eastern Regional Business Matchmaking, Philadelphia, PA
MDC Systems’® Robert C. McCue, PE, and Mitch Swann, PE, are attending this exceptional business event at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on July 25th.
Hurricane Sandy – Another Storm, Same Recovery Challenges
In my personal experience, gasoline lines (fuel shortages) and communications problems have been predictable after effects of major storms for fifty years. My first storm recovery effort was Hurricane Agnes in 1972. At the time I was a student at Penn State University (recently released from four years of active duty) and a Captain in the Pennsylvania National Guard based out of Lewistown, PA. During the storm we performed rescue and evacuation work in and around Lewistown and then food distribution and fuel delivery to local municipalities on the I – 80 corridor from Altoona to Scranton. Many roads were destroyed in Central Pennsylvania and many bridges were missing resulting in isolation for many communities.
Standard of Care Engineering: What You Should Know
There are few issues in construction disputes that are more complex than standard of care claims. Architects, engineers, and construction administrators alike have a professional and ethical responsibility to protect public safety. A licensed architect works with a structural engineer, who develops specifications for a project on paper, and those plans should be of sound design and illustrative of a professional level of expertise.
Complexity: A Transient Condition Precedent to Project Failure
Robert C. McCue, P.E.
MDC Systems®
Consulting Engineer
MDCSystems® has been providing Forensic Project Management (FPM®) services for over forty years for industrial, transportation and institutional capital projects. Using this extensive knowledge base, MDC®, develops and conducts seminars for the public and private sectors on many topics including the topic of Complexity and Systems Thinking.
Contractor’s Conduct Negates Pay-If-Paid Clause
Under “pay-if-paid” clauses a subcontractor is not entitled to payment if the owner fails to pay the general contractor, regardless of whether the subcontractor was at fault. General contractors use these clauses to assign to their subcontractors the risk of owner nonpayment.
Design Risk-How to Design a Brave New World
A journey of one thousand miles begins with the first step. However, any journey carries with it some element of risk and possible pitfalls along the way. To better your chances of reaching your desired destination, it is important that the first step be a step in the right direction. Design is often the first major step in executing any project. As that ‘first step’, design is a key component of a project’s overall risk potential. Following is a discussion of some risk elements in the design process.
MDC Systems Engineer Wins Presidential Grant for Best Green Business Idea, Washington, DC
Washington — To Amal Kabalan and her fellow entrepreneurs, the plight of schoolchildren in Guinea presents a fairly basic need that inspired a simple but creative business response. Guineans don’t have much access to energy for light. Kids wear backpacks. Why not attach a solar-powered device to the backpacks, collect energy on the walk to school, and then use the stored energy to power lamps so the children could study at night?
The idea earned the 27-year-old Lebanon native $3,000 in seed money to start the venture with her new business partners — people she had met just days before and who had been selected by Athgo International, a nonprofit organization that sponsored the competition in partnership with the World Bank Speakers Bureau.
Litigation Strategies In Construction Disputes: Being Cost Effective and Winning
John E. Osborn and Eric L. Guhring
Originally printed in The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, October 1999
Why Excellent Inhouse Counsel Facilities Cost Effectiveness And Winning
Cost effectiveness and success in the resolution of construction disputes is determined by a recipe. The recipe is different for each dispute because the characteristics and ingredients of each construction project and the participants and their quality vary widely. It is clear that the quality of inhouse counsel significantly affects the cost and success of the dispute resolution.