Engineering Management Institute

Nick Heim

Tips to Run a Successful Software Pilot Project at Your Firm

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This is a guest blog by Nick Heim, P.E.

Software Pilot ProjectCivil engineers are designers and builders of everything related to infrastructure: roads, bridges, dams, ports, and many others.

While construction and maintenance of any asset happens in the physical world, there is a lot of work in the digital world that accompanies it.

In my last blog post, we talked about a few tips to discover and ultimately implement technology in your civil engineering firm.

Today, I would like to go into more detail about running a software pilot in your civil engineering firm.

Note: For more information and insights related to this blog post, please refer to Episode 6 of the AEC Engineering and Technology (AECTECH) Podcast.

1. Understand What a Software Pilot Is

In the context of civil engineering firms, a software pilot is a type of software testing where a user group trials the software prior to it being deployed firm-wide.

Software Pilot Project

Due to the nature of our field (project work, field conditions, etc.), a software pilot is more involved than testing the technology 100% from the comfort of your desk.

This means that the software will need to be tested under a variety of conditions and may be more resource-intensive than a typical office-based pilot.

That being said, let’s talk about a few tips that can help your firm run a successful software pilot project!

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AECT 006: How to Run a Successful Software Pilot Program (for AEC Professionals)

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software pilotIn this episode, I talk about how to run a successful software pilot project at your firm by reviewing the three main stakeholder types, the design criteria for success, as well as the costs and other factors involved in this process.

Engineering Quotes:

software pilot

software pilot

Here Are Some Key Points Discussed in This Episode About How to Run a Successful Software Pilot Program (for AEC Professionals):

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Discovering and Implementing New Technology in Your Civil Engineering Firm

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This is a guest post by Nick Heim, PE

New TechnologyCivil engineers are designers and builders of everything related to infrastructure: roads, bridges, dams, ports, and many others. While construction and maintenance of any asset happens in the physical world, there is a lot of work in the digital world that accompanies it. 

Today, I would like to talk about a few tips to discover and ultimately implement technology in your civil engineering firm. 

Note: For more information and insights related to this blog post, please refer to Episode #1 of the AEC Engineering and Technology (AECTECH) Podcast. 

1. Identifying Technology That Can Make a Difference

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AECT 01: 5 Steps to Successfully Introduce New Software to Your Company

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Introduce New SoftwareIn this episode, I introduce you to the host of this show, Nick Heim, P.E., a field and virtual design and construction (or VDC) engineer at StructureCare, and we outline five steps that you can take to choose and introduce new software in your company.

Engineering Quotes:

Introduce New Software

Introduce New Software

Here Are 5 Steps to Successfully Introduce New Software to Your Company:

1. Identifying software that can make a difference. Envision what the business will look like in the next few years, and then find the technology to fit it.

“The most important part of making a business case to use new technology at your firm is to start with a problem, then point out the inefficiencies that technology is designed to improve. Tracking things such as expanding collaboration from Project Services teams to the field, or qualitative feedback such as a better client experience, can begin to make the technology a business decision rather than a nice-to-have.” ~ Brian Vizarreta, Solutions Marketing Manager, StructionSite

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Technology’s Role in Civil Engineering Inspection — Autonomous Drafting

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This is a guest blog by Nick Heim, P.E.

Autonomous DraftingCivil engineers are designers and builders of everything related to infrastructure: roads, bridges, dams, ports, and many others. While new construction of any asset gets a lot of attention for several reasons, that asset must be maintained over its lifespan — and civil engineers play a critical role in the inspection of it. As the third in a multipart series on technology’s role in civil engineering, I would like to talk about autonomous drafting and how it can improve your civil engineering inspections.

Note: The examples used in this month’s article relate to parking structures, because that is what the author specializes in. The author’s intent is that the technology showcased through these specific examples can be applied broadly to other civil engineering projects.

1. Inspection Drawing Creation

One of the first steps in any inspection is creating an accurate set of plans. Often, requests for existing drawings are not fulfilled, leaving us to create our own. This process is often very tedious and time-consuming due to the scale and repetitive nature of the tasks required.

To remove as much of this manual and laborious effort from your workflow as possible, consider use of software such as Airworks. Given inputs in the form of aerial imagery (Airworks also accepts three-dimensional data, but my experience was limited to 2D imagery), Airworks uses artificial intelligence to identify and autonomously draft common features of civil engineering projects.

Obtaining aerial imagery of your project site can be done in multiple ways, including:

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Technology’s Role in Civil Engineering Inspection: Live Remote Inspection

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This is a guest blog by Nick Heim, P.E.

Live Remote InspectionCivil engineers are designers and builders of everything related to infrastructure: roads, bridges, dams, ports, and many others. While new construction of any asset gets a lot of attention for several reasons, that asset must be maintained over its lifespan – and civil engineers play a critical role in the inspection of it. As the second of a multipart series on technology’s role in civil engineering, I would like to talk about the advantages of live remote inspection and some tips to help your firm implement the process. 

Note that remote inspection is often spoken about in terms of either live/real time, or post-processed (to be viewed later). This article will be focusing on the former. The latter will be discussed in another part of this series. 

Note: The examples used in this month’s article relate to parking structures, because that is what the author specializes in. The author’s intent is that the technology showcased through these specific examples can be applied broadly to other civil engineering projects. 

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Technology’s Role in Civil Engineering Inspection – Aerial Imagery

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This is a guest blog by Nick Heim, P.E.

Civil Engineers are designers and builders of everything related to infrastructure: roads, bridges, dams, ports among others. While new construction of any asset gets a lot attention for several reasons, that asset must be maintained over its lifespan – and Civil Engineers play a critical role in the inspection of it. As the first of a multi-part series on technology’s role in Civil Engineering, I would like to talk about the advantages of aerial imagery and how it can improve your Civil Engineering inspections.

Note: the examples used in this month’s article relate to parking structures, because that is what the author specializes in. The author’s intent is that the technology showcased through these specific examples can be applied broadly to other Civil Engineering projects.

1. Image Clarity

Have you ever been awarded a project, and wanted to do some reconnaissance prior to inspection? I have, and often have been met with disappointment as the quality of free imagery was lacking. Details critical to reconnaissance are typically unclear and do not provide the desired level of clarity.

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Thinking Like an Owner in Your Civil Engineering Projects

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This is a guest blog by Nick Heim, P.E.

Our civil engineering careers revolve around project work. We or our firms tend to be solicited by a client, and perform professional services based on some end goal that the owner establishes. We run calculations, create models and drawings, and package everything up that eventually makes its way back to the owner to fulfill their initial vision. 

This process may involve interaction with other parties, but our work tends to be relatively self-contained and often viewed from our own internal lens — that of the engineer. Today, I would like to share one tip with three examples that can help you think more like an owner — and increase the effectiveness of your civil engineering project work. 

Understand What the Owner Cares About 

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Successfully Navigating a Civil Engineering Career Change

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This is a guest blog by Nick Heim, P.E.

Successfully Navigating a Civil Engineering Career Change - transition

Change is not easy, especially when it is such a large part of your every day and life in general. Taking on a new position or responsibilities can be overwhelming, but there are a few things that one can do to ease the transition. Today, I would like to talk about career changes — and how to make the most of them in your civil engineering career.

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The Benefits of a Career Coach in Your Civil Engineering Career

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This is a guest blog by Nick Heim, P.E.

Many situations in life have us seeking the opinion of others, our careers being no exception. Instead of asking a significant other, coworker, or friend – what if instead we could have someone who is vested in the advancement and growth of our careers give us advice? Today, I would like to talk about some of the benefits of a career coach, and what they can do for your civil engineering career.

1. Providing Unbiased Input

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