I became an Environmental Engineer because I was interested in waste manage- ment and in preserving the environment. I earned a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmen- tal Engineering at Duke University. My advisor encouraged me to explore some non-traditional coursework including ethics and envi- ronmental chemistry and toxicology. I quickly became hooked on solving interdisciplinary problems—a natu- ral extension of environmental engineering.
After graduating, I became a Fellow with the American Association for the Advancement of Science at the US Environmental Production Agency (US EPA). I chose to work at the Green Chemistry Program in the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics. On my first day in the office, one of the Branch Chiefs at US EPA asked me how it felt to know that my degree was obsolete. I must have looked pretty puzzled. He continued, explaining that envi- ronmental engineering is about cleaning up waste at the end of the pipe, but the future is about designing problems out from the start. While of course my mind was trying to figure out how he intended to design out human biologi- cal waste, his words made a lot sense to me.
While in the Green Chemistry Program at USEPA I had the opportunity to work with one of the visionary co-authors of the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry. I also became intrigued with the work of the founders of Cradle-to-Cradle design. I felt inspired and challenged to bring these big ideas into practice in the world. My role was to find ways to translate the big vision and principles of Green Chemistry and Cradle-to-Cradle design into real products and processes. Both approaches advocate using design to avoid problems of waste and toxics in the first place and to create synergistic benefits by design- ing sustainable material and product systems.
I started by helping to create a new non-profit orga- nization in Portland, OR that focused on working with organizations to eliminate waste and toxics through engi- neering solutions. It was great fun to work with a range of individuals from commercial printers, to manufactur- ers of silicon wafers, lighting fixtures, storm water treat- ment technology and anaerobic digesters on dairy farms.
I was at the forefront of the sustainability wave. I am amazed now as I look back and remember how at first people were very resistant to the idea that industry could strive to be simultaneously profitable and benign to the environment. People assumed it would be too expensive but instead, many found that it could save money by:
1. avoiding costs to manage waste and toxics, and 2. driving innovation for the development of new
products.
Since then I have worked with other environmental organizations including Green Blue Institute and Clean Production Action. Finding like-minded colleagues who enjoy creating change is fun and challenging. I led the creation of CleanGredients, a database of green chemi- cals for use in designing environmentally safer cleaning products. With Clean Production Action, I co-authored the Green Screen for Safer Chemicals, a method to help organizations identify safer chemical alternatives.
Along the way, I learned conflict mediation. I did not foresee how valuable that training would become.
It taught me to appreciate and engage stakeholders from very different sectors and to focus on solutions.
Using conflict mediation and facilitation skills along with environmental engineering and chemistry, I found wonderful opportunities to create solutions with other scientists and engineers from government, environ- mental organizations, and industry leading to products
P rofe s s i o n a l P rofi l e
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Chapter 3 Introduction to Engineering DesignSUMMARY
Now that you have reached this point in the text
• You should know the basic design steps that all engineers follow, regardless of their back- ground, to design products and services. These steps are: (1) recognizing the need for a product or a service, (2) defining and understanding the problem (the need) completely, (3) doing the preliminary research and preparation, (4) conceptualizing ideas for possible solu- tions, (5) synthesizing the results, (6) evaluating good ideas in more detail, (7) optimizing the solution to arrive at the best possible solution, (8) and presenting the solution.
• You should realize that economics plays an important role in engineering decision making.
• You should realize that the selection of material is an important design decision.
• You should be familiar with the common traits of good teams.
• You should understand the importance of project management.
• You should be familiar with the concepts of patent, trademark, and copyright.
• You should know why we need to have standards and codes in engineering.
• You should be familiar with the role and mission of some of the larger standardization organiza- tions in the world, such as ANSI, ASTM, BSI, CSA, ISO, CSBTS, SIS, C, AFNOR, and DIN.
• You should be familiar with the role of the EPA and the standards it sets for drinking water, outdoor air quality, and indoor air quality.
• You should be able to name some of the sources of indoor and outdoor air pollutants.
• You should be able to name some of the sources of water pollutants.
3.1. List at least ten products that already exist, which you use, that are constantly being modified to take advan- tage of new technologies
3.2. List five products that are not currently on the market, which could be useful to us, and will most likely be designed by engineers and others.
3.3. List five sports-related products that you think should be designed to make playing sports more fun.
3.4. List five internet-based services that are not currently avail- able, but that you think will eventually become realities.
3.5. You have seen bottle and container caps in use all around you. Investigate the design of bottle caps used in the
Problems
and processes that are more benign for human health and the environment. While in the past, environmen- tal organizations like Clean Production Action worked in opposition to industry, now there are opportunities to partner with proactive companies ranging from manufacturers of cleaning products to major electron- ics firms and retailers to create the positive change we want to see in the world. Examples include Apple,
IBM, Hewlett Packard, Wal-Mart, Staples, Method Home, Seventh Generation, and more.
Engineers are designers. While environmental engineers may not typically work as product designers, no matter where we work in the value chain, we need to design solutions not only with consideration of cost and performance, but with the entire environmental, eco- nomic, and social system in mind.
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Problems
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following products: Pepsi or Coke bottles, aspirin bottles, shampoo bottles, mouthwash bottles, liquid cleaning containers, hand lotion containers, aftershave bottles, ketchup or mustard bottles. Discuss what you think are important design parameters. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages associated with each design.
3.6. Mechanical clips are used to close bags and keep things together. Investigate the design of various paper clips, hair clips, and potato chip bag clips. Discuss what you think are important design parameters. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages associated with each of three designs.
3.7. Discuss in detail at least two concepts (for example, activities, processes, or methods) that can be employed during busy hours to better serve customers at grocery stores.
3.8. Discuss in detail at least two methods or procedures that can be employed by airline companies to pick up your luggage at your home and drop it off at your final destination.
3.9. In the near future, NASA is planning to send a spaceship with humans to Mars. Discuss important concerns and issues that must be planned for on this trip. Investigate and discuss issues such as how long it would take to go to Mars and when the spaceship should be launched, con- sidering that the distance between the earth and Mars changes based on where they are in their respective orbits around the sun. What type and how much food reserves are needed for this trip? What type of exercise equipment should be on board so muscles won’t atrophy on this long trip? What should be done with the waste? What is the energy requirement for such a trip? What do you think are the important design parameters for such a trip? Write a report discussing your findings.
3.10. You have been using pens and mechanical pencils for many years now. Investigate the design of at least five different pens and mechanical pencils. Discuss what you think are important design parameters. Discuss the advantage and disadvantage associated with each design. Write a brief report explaining your findings.
3.11. This is an in-class design project. Given a 12 in.
12 in. aluminum sheet, design a boat that can hold as many pennies as possible. What are some of the impor- tant design parameters for this problem? Discuss them among yourselves. You may want to choose a day in
advance on which to hold a competition to determine the good designs.
3.12. This is an in-class design project. Given a bundle of drink- ing straws and paper clips, design a bridge between two chairs that are 18 in. apart. The bridge should be designed to hold at least 3 lb. You may want to choose a day in advance on which to hold a competition to determine the design that carries maximum load. Discuss some of the important design parameters for this problem.
3.13. Identify and make a list of at least ten products around your home that are certified by the Underwriters Laboratories.
3.14. Create a table showing hat sizes in the United States and Europe.
3.15. Create a table showing wrench sizes in metric and U.S. units.
3.16. Obtain information about what the colors on an elec- trical resistor mean. Create a table showing the electri- cal resistor codes. Your table should have a column with colors: Black, Brown, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet, Gray, White, Gold, and Silver, and a col- umn showing the values. Imagine that you are making this table for others to use; therefore, include at least two examples of how to read the codes on electrical resistors at the bottom of your table.
3.17. Collect information on U.S. standard steel pipes
( in. to 20 in.). Create a table showing nominal size, schedule number, inside diameter, outside diameter, wall thickness, and cross-sectional area.
3.18. Collect information on the American Wire Gage
(AWG) standards. Create a table for annealed copper wires showing the gage number, diameter in mils, cross-sectional area, and resistance per 1000 ft.
3.19. Write a brief memo to your instructor explaining the role and function of the U.S. Department of Trans- portation (DOT).
3.20. Obtain information on the standard sign typefaces used for highway signs in the United States. The Federal Highway Administration publishes a set of standards calledStandard Alphabets for Highway Signs. Write a brief memo to your instructor explaining your findings.
1 4
Continental 51 52 53 . . .
U.S. 6 6 612 . . .
3 8 1 4
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Chapter 3 Introduction to Engineering DesignPublic Law 91-596 91st Congress, S. 219 December 29, 1970
As Amended by Public Law 101-552, Section 3101, November 5, 1990 As Amended by Public Law 105-198, July 16, 1998
As Amended by Public Law 105-241 September 29, 1998
An Act
To assure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women; by authorizing enforcement of the standards developed under the Act; by assisting and encouraging the States in their efforts to assure safe and healthful working conditions; by providing for research, information, education, and training in the field of occupational safety and health; and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that this Act may be cited as the “Occupational Safety and Health Administration Compliance Assistance Authorization Act of 1998.”
3.21. Obtain information about the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC), which sets the standards for han- dling and other activities dealing with radioactive mate- rials. Write a brief report to your instructor regarding your findings.
3.22. Obtain information about the classification of fire
extinguishers. Write a brief report explaining what is meant by Class A, Class B, Class C, and Class D fires.
3.23. Write a brief report detailing the development of safety belts in cars. When was the first safety belt designed?
Which was the first car manufacturer to incorporate safety belts as standard items in its cars?
3.24. Investigate the mission of each of the following stan- dards organizations. For each of the organizations listed, write a one-page memo to your instructor about its mission and role.
a. The European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC)
b. European Telecommunication Standards Institute (ETSI)
c. Pan American Standards Commission (COPANT) d. Bureau of Indian Standards (BID)
e. Hong Kong Standards and Testing Centre Ltd.
(HKSTC)
f. Korea Academy of Industrial Technology (KAITECH)
g. Singapore Academy of Industrial Technology (PSB) h. Standards New Zealand (SNZ)
3.25. Write a brief report explaining what is meant by ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 certification.
3.26. Ask your local city water supplier to give you a list of the chemicals that it tests for in your water. Also ask how your city water is being treated. You may want to contact your state department of health/environment to get additional information. For help in locating state and local agencies, or for information on drinking water in general, you can call the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline: (800) 426-4791 or by visiting the EPA Web site at www.epa.org. You can also obtain infor- mation about the uses and releases of chemicals in your state by contacting the Community Right-to-Know Hotline: (800) 535-0202.
3.27. Collect information on the Surface Water Treatment Rule (SWTR) standards set by the EPA. Write a brief memo to your instructor explaining your findings.
3.28. Obtain the EPA’s consumer fact sheets (they are now available on the Web) on antimony, barium, beryllium, cadmium, cyanide, and mercury. After reading the fact sheets, prepare a brief report explaining what they are, how they are used, and what health effects are associ- ated with them.
3.29. In 1970 the U.S. Congress passed the Occupational
Safety and Health Act. The following is a duplicate of the act, which reads:
Visit the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) home page at www.osha.gov, and write a brief report describing the type of safety and health standards that are covered by OSHA.
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Objective: To build the tallest tower, from an 8 11 sheet of paper and 20 in. of tape, which will stand for at least one minute. Thirty minutes will be allowed for preparation.
1 2
I m p ro m p t u D e s i g n I I
Brainstorming Session
Define the purpose of the brainstorming session and the ground rules.
Examples of ground rules: no criticism of ideas as they are being presented, one person talks at one time and for an agreed upon period.
Choose a facilitator to keep track of ground rules.
Record all ideas where everyone can see them.
Don’t worry about looking foolish, record all your ideas.
It is a good practice not to associate a person with an idea. Think of each idea as a group idea.
After Brainstorming
Identify the promising ideas. Don’t evaluate the ideas in detail yet!
Discuss ways to improve a promising idea or promising ideas.
Choose and list the ideas for detail evaluation.
Evaluate the most promising ideas! Source:Saeed Moaveni
A Case Study: Health Clinic
C I V I L E N G I N E E R I N G D E S I G N P R O C E S S
The Board of Directors of a health clinic recognized that in order to enhance its health service to meet the increasing needs of their city and its surrounding com- munities, they needed to expand the existing facilities adjacent to the hospital.
The health service expansion consisted of a physician office building and a clinic.
The physician office building (POB) was to attach to the existing hospital with the clinic connecting to the POB. The structures were treated as separate proj- ects with two different design teams worked on them. The focus of this case study is the Clinic.
Step 1: Recognizing the Need for a Building
As stated previously, the Board of Directors of the clinic recognized the need for expansion to meet the increasing demand of health service in their city and its surrounding communities. To better serve the people in these communities, the Board of Directors decided to build a new clinic.
Step 2: Define the Usage of the Building
After the Board of Directors recognized that there was a need for expansion to meet the increasing heath services demand, the Board had to define in detail the types of building usage. Parameters such as number of examination rooms, recep- tion areas, laboratory facilities such as X-ray, MRI rooms, staff rooms, meeting rooms, and managerial and maintenance facilities were considered. Anticipated number of patients, visitors, and staff was also included during this decision
making process. The Board also considered future expansions; future expansion potentials, regardless how far in the future they may occur, could impact the planning and design of the current structure.
Step 3: Project Planning
The owner also needed to identify possible building sites. The selection criteria for the site are usually based on economical, zoning, environmental, and other fac- tors. In the case of the clinic, the proximity of the hospital and the future physi- cian office building were the major factors that led to the building site.
Since the clinic was a privately funded structure, the owner could have selected an architect or contractor to initiate the design phase, or requested bids from architects or contractors to lead the project.
Step 4: Schematic Design Phase
During this phase of the design process, the architect designer met with the staff of the clinic to learn more about how the new clinic was to be used. The architect designer and the contractor also learned about the estimated budget.
For the clinic, additional coordination with the architect of the physician office building was warranted since both building shared some columns and foundations.
The clinic was designed as a steel frame structure. The primary supporting components of the building are made of structural steel. The bricks, masonry, wood, etc. are to provide closure and esthetics to the building. When the archi- tect designer prepared the schematic design, usually with multiple alternatives,
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Step 7: Construction Administr ation (CA) Phase
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the designer consulted with the structural engineer on information such as max- imum span length of steel beams. This information would help the architect, con- tractor, and owner to determine a good design and estimated project cost.
Step 5: Design Development (DD) Phase
In the design development (DD) phase, the architect designer laid out the loca- tions, sizes, and orientations of the reception areas, examination rooms, labora- tories, business administration offices, maintenance facilities, entrances to the physician office building and the street. The arrangement of these rooms along with the maximum span length of steel beams are used to determine the locations of supporting columns. These column locations are the basis the architect used to set-up the gridlines. Gridlines are a set of lines running in two directions. As a convention, one set of lines is named in alphabetical order. The second set of lines is named in numerical sequence. When a new gridline is inserted between two existing lines, the new line would either be name C.# or 3.# depending on the direction of this new gridline. The “#” sign represents a number between 1 and 9 depending on the relative location of the new line with respect to the two existing ones. Gridlines are used by the design and construction teams to refer- ence the location of all components in the project.
The structural engineer provided the size of major support components of the building such as beams, columns, and foundations. Non-load bearing com- ponents would be neglected in this phase. However, the contractor would include them in the cost estimate. The mechanical and electrical engineers then provided their preliminary mechanical and electrical designs.
A set of architectural drawings with superimposed structural, mechanical, and electrical information was then provided to the clinic from the contractor. Through multiple review and revisions, the “final” layout of user space and estimated proj- ect cost was approved, the project moved to the construction documentation phase.
Step 6: Construction Documentation (CD) Phase
All the detailed comprehensive designs: architectural, structural, civil, interior, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, etc. were performed during the construction documentation (CD) phase. The project manager who represented the architect during all the construction meetings was responsible for overseeing the comple- tion of the design and document produced in this phase. The project manager also compiled a set of specifications for the project and checked that the design conformed to the current building codes. Each engineering group provided the specifications pertinent to the group. Some building codes requirements included the number of handicap parking spaces, number of exits and their locations, and minimum dimensions of public areas and corridors, in addition to safety require- ments set in the engineering specifications.
During this phase, the civil engineer was responsible for the grading of the surface outside the building such as parking lot, sidewalk, handicap parking signs and other signs, drainage of the paved surfaces to the storm water line, connec- tions from the clinic to the city water line and sewer line.
The structural engineer was responsible for the design of all the load bearing and non-load bearing components and connections. Some of the designs included the sizing of steel beams, steel columns, isolated reinforced concrete footings, bracing necessary to support wind load, steel joists to support the roof and snow loads. In addition, the structural engineers also provided additional design details to support the roof top unit (mechanical system for heating and air conditioning) and x-ray equipment. The documentation of the structural design included a set of very detailed drawings of the layout of the beams, columns, and their sizes;
steel joist sizes and spacing; connections between beams and columns, joists and beams, columns and footings, etc; steel reinforcing details of the footings; masonry wall sizes and steel reinforcements, metal studs spacing. The structural drawings also included special details to support door and window openings, and other architectural components such as canopy at entrances.
Since the clinic and the physician office building share a common gridline and the beams from the clinic at this common gridline were supported by the col- umns designed by the engineers of the physician office building, the structural
engineer at the architects provided design information to the engineer for the physician office building.
Step 7: Construction Administration (CA) Phase
During the construction administration (CA) phase, there were weekly meet- ings between the site superintendent (from the contractor), the project manager (from the architects), representatives from different subcontractors such as elec- tricians, plumbers, steel erectors, etc. The site superintendent was responsible for the logistic of the construction process and all the communications among all the subcontractors, project manager, and the clinic. His primarily responsi- bilities were to ensure the construction progress as scheduled, supplies were avail- able when needed, informed the project manager when concerns or issues arose during construction. Minutes from each construction meetings were recorded by the project manager and distributed to all parties.
Source: Karen Chou