Industry Axis

The Northland Christian School administration organized an Open House for staff, parents and students to visit their new school, currently under construction. The administration offered time slots on September 18th, 19th and 21st to tour the construction site. Teachers showed off their future classroom areas, students enjoyed seeing the construction equipment and building materials. Taking their first walk down the corridors and entering in to their classrooms in a construction environment is a different experience. We hope that students are inspired by the rawness of the building and seek a future in Construction, Architecture or Engineering.

The school will open with 400 students from Pre-K to 12th grade. In order to reduce the amount of money the school will need to finance, they are currently fundraising to provide furniture and items needed for each classroom. Sign up to sponsor a room or purchase a desk on the Northland Christian website.  http://www.northlandchristianed.com/newbuilding

The Fort Wayne office of Needham DBS welcomed Annie Nielson for a summer internship. Annie is an undergrad student at Brigham Young University studying Civil Engineering and will receive her Bachelor of Science Degree in December 2017. She will enter in to the Master Degree program immediately after graduation. We hope to have her back again next summer.

Needham DBS provided event sponsorship for the Building Contractors Association Summer Bash on August 10, 2017. The theme of the event is "Building Bridges Between Generations." This event brings together BCA young professionals with the regular membership to provide networking opportunities in a fun, casual setting. Over 130 members filled the Old Barn at Salomon Farm for the 3rd annual Summer Bash. Guests enjoyed picnic fare, refreshments, games, and live entertainment by musician Adam Strack.

The TCA announed today that the Tilt-Up Convention & Expo in Miami will continue as scheduled.  The hotel and convention center in Miami suffered some landscape damage but otherwise withstood the sustained winds and storm surge from Hurricane Irma.  The Miami airport is reopening today and travel will be back to normal by the time of the convention.  The convention will begin on Thursday, September 28.

Jeff Needham will be presenting "Structural Design of Composite Tilt-Up Panels" on Saturday, September 30.  

This year has been tough for our projects in the hurricane regions.  The strength and durability of tilt up construction in strong sustained winds and projectiles has performed very well.

Tampa Premium Outlets closed on Saturday, September 9 in preparation of Hurricane Irma and reopened on Tuesday, September 12. "Due to weather conditions, individual retailers will determine if they will open. With thousands of Floridians without power, the center is open to the community, offering people a place to visit, take advantage of dining options and amenities, charge their phones or just take a break from the overwhelming events that have taken place because of Hurricane Irma."

Orlando Vineland Premium Outlets closed on Saturday, September 9 in preparation of Hurricane Irma and reopened on Tuesday, September 12.  "Due to weather conditions, individual retailers will determine if they will open. With thousands of Floridians without power, the center is open to the community, offering people a place to visit, take advantage of dining options and amenities, charge their phones or just take a break from the overwhelming events that have taken place because of Hurricane Irma."  

Timothy D. Bengfort, PE completed coursework for his Master of Science in Civil Engineering from University of Kansas in December 2016. Graduation ceremony for fall and spring graduates was held on Sunday May 14, 2017 at 10:30 am. Tim graduated from University of Kansas in 1997 with his Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering with a Structural Engineering focus.
The Lenexa office personnel joined in a surprise congratulatory celebration. Jeff Needham presented him with a special bonus for his hard work and commitment to push through coursework and meet his educational career goals. A huge shout out to his family for their patience and understanding for the hours of work he put in to his Master Degree.

Houston Premium Outlets located in Cypress TX, on the NW corner of the outer loop closed at 1 pm on August 26th as Hurricane Harvey makes landfall and remained closed until noon on Friday August 31st however many of the retailers remain closed until they feel it’s appropriate for their employees. The shopping center has opened to provide residents a place to visit with electricity, restaurants and others services.  

Our heart goes out to all the residents of Houston and the surrounding communities that have endured so much over the last week.  Prayers for helping hands and gracious hearts as the cleanup process begins.

The Tanger Outlets located in Texas City TX closed at 5 pm on Friday August 25 as Hurricane Harvey was developing into a Category 4 Hurricane with sustained winds up to 130 mph.  The store reopened September 1 with special store hours.  Many retailers remain closed due to staffing conditions but power and services are available.  

Needham DBS designed the project in 2011 for 130 mph winds and used tilt up concrete panel construction.  Prior to Hurricane Harvey making landfall, Needham was in concact with the Architect and Tanger Site Manager to discuss necessary precautions related to the storm.  The roof was designed to a higher level of uplift that code with Factory Mutual Global Risk wind parameters at perimeters and corners to keep the roof in tact.  The tilt up wall panels perform extremely well in sustained winds and are durable for projectiles so the design team was not concerned about the structure itself.  Testing and maintaining scuppers and overflow scuppers for high intensity rainfall projections was key.  The site received an estimated 37 inches of rain.

Craig M. Scherschel, PE, Needham DBS, was recently elected to the position of President-Elect of the Indiana Structural Engineers Association (ISEA). Craig will serve as President-Elect from June 2017 to May 2019 after which he will serve ISEA as President from June 2019 to May 2021. He previously served as Secretary of ISEA from June 2015 to May 2017.

Needham DBS sponsors a table at the 2017 Evening in Paris – A Modern Masquerade, a fundraiser for Academie Lafayette, a French Language Immersion Public Charter school in Kansas City MO.  The event was held at the Uptown Theatre on April 29.

Karen S. Hand and husband, Brian, chose steampunk themed costumes while guests Jeanie Abbett and Kyla Benjamin sported Art Deco style costumes (masks designed and created by Jeanie Abbett). Guests Bing and Mary Yzon were the superhero duet, Green Lantern and Black Canary. Needham DBS hosted four Academie Lafayette teachers Benoit Combreas (Oak music), Leila Sammou (6th), Yannick Mauvois (Oak PE) and Pascale Mauvois (5th). Guests participated fundraising events including the Wine Pull, Tombola, silent auction and live auction taking home lots of goodies. 

Needham DBS 2017 Advertising Campaign - Ad 2

Needham DBS fully supports the Build with Strength campaign.

The Concrete Promotional Group (CPG) launched Build with Strength (BWS) in the Kansas City market on February 16, 2017 with the help of Michael Wymant, NRMCA, Senior Director Building Innovations. Build with Strength supports the use of concrete in Mid-Rise Construction projects and is focused on reminding developers and owners of the benefits of concrete in building construction. Multiple meetings were hosted and included a CPG members only kickoff, Nooniversity with Architects and Happy Hour with Engineers.

Needham DBS 2017 Marketing Campaign - Ad 1

In the February 2017 issue of Structure magazine, the Structural Forum section contains a passionate debate on the complexity of ASCE 7-16. (For non-engineers, this is the standard that prescribes loads for buildings and is adopted into building codes.) It has become increasingly complex since its inception in 1982 and author Jim DeStefano argues that it is time for this to stop. He states that there is no evidence that more complex loading data actually creates a safer structure. He recommends "we take back our profession".

On this point I strongly agree. In fact, it has been my experience that increasing complexity leads to less safe buildings due to misapplication of code criteria. The code is so complex that for many simple structures it is far easier to just use older procedures and just slightly over-design the building. In most cases, it has little impact on the cost of construction.

What do you do when you need to brace over 100 tons of concrete panels 70 feet in the air, and the longest standard brace available will only reach up about 45 feet? You design, fabricate and deliver your own custom bracing system!

Needham DBS was hired to design precast concrete panels as part of a value engineering effort for Crossland Prefab & Crossland Construction, Inc. at the Grove Performing Arts Center in Grove, Oklahoma. The project consists of load bearing precast panels for a FEMA safe room (storm shelter), a 1,200 seat auditorium, and a 70 foot tall stage area. Working within practical fabrication, shipping and erection limits, Needham DBS leveraged 3D REVIT modelling to layout almost 160 concrete panels containing over 2,600 embeds coordinated with structural steel, MEP and architectural models. Accommodation for structural framing, mechanical duct openings, architectural reveals and details, even special panel lap details for missile protection in the safe room was all performed in 3D for streamlined coordination and detailing.

Needham DBS celebrates three employees who passed the October 2016 NCEES professional engineering exams.

Jeremy Stech passed the NCEES Principles of Practice of Engineering (PE) Exam.  The PE civil/structural exam is a civil breadth and a structural depth examination. The breadth exam contains questions from all five areas of civil engineering. The depth exams focus more closely on a single area of practice in civil engineering. Examinees work all questions in the morning session and all questions in the afternoon module they have chosen. The exam is an 8-hour open-book exam. It contains 40 multiple-choice questions in the 4-hour AM session, and 40 multiple-choice questions in the 4-hour PM session.

Karen Hand, P.E. gave a 2 Hour Presentation titled “Tips for Successful, Profitable and Safe Projects...From the Desk to the Field” at the Johnson County Contractors Licensing Seminar. The seminar was held at the Overland Park Convention Center on October 24, 2016. The seminars are held twice each year. Contractors are required to take coursework to maintain their contractor licenses in Johnson Country. The presentation was sponsored by CPG, Concrete Promotional Group.

Abstract: As a structural engineer I have noticed a concerning decline in quality of design and construction documents. The purpose of the presentation is to address areas of concern and bring those to light so that you can plan for more successful projects. Thinking big picture in addition to narrowing in on details can allow you to view projects differently.

Needham DBS has scheduled to exhibit at two trade shows in early 2017.  Come by and visit if you are in the area.

The first show will be the Construction World Expo in Fort Wayne, Indiana on February 22nd and 23rd. The Expo will be held at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.

Shulthis Stadium in Independence, Kansas is lays claim to be the location of the first night game in organized baseball under permanent lights. The game was played on April 28, 1930 between Independence KS and Muskogee OK teams in the Western Association League.

Originally constructed in 1918, the grandstand at the park was in dire need of rehabilitation for years. Citing the amount of deterioration and the cost of restoration, the Unified School District moved forward with a plan to replace the grandstand with a new structure that would be a close replica of the original building. It would once again become a functional structure for athletic events held at the school while honoring the grandstand’s historical significance.