In this Edition
Construction
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QE2 in a Storm
Geoff Canham, Editor
The Fed wants to pump more money into the economy by purchasing Federal bonds, but people at home and abroad are questioning the plan. What is it about this idea that has people complaining? In this article we look at the dispute around QE2 and look at how the recession is receding - or not.
IPD Part 2
Gordon Beveridge
IPD has been talked about a lot recently, as we did in our previous newsletter. This time we complete our look at whether IPD is really something new, or a variation on something that has been around for a long time.
We have LEED as a sustainability rating for buildings, and the Sustainable Sites Initiative for site works, but what sustainable rating system is there for civil engineering projects, such as waterways, roads and bridges?
May 2011 should see the launch of PRISM (Project Rating for Infrastructure Sustainability and Management), developed jointly by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) and the American Public Works Association (APWA). It will be administered by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure, a nonprofit joint-venture.
Similar to LEED it will be a points-based system, administered online, and will have four levels of certification. But it is also designed to be a flexible system, adapting to fit a wide range of project sizes and complexity. Training and certification of practitioners will also be made available online.
The rating system will address such issues as project management, community outreach, economic impacts, ecology and resource management, and it is intended that the system will provide a basis for substantiating regulations related to sustainability for civil engineering projects.
Design consultant: Katie Levine of Vallance, Inc.