Chapter
Apr 26, 2012
The Influence of Engineering Organization on Design and Construction Processes at Tennessee Valley Authority Dams of the 1930s
Publication: Structures Congress 2011
Abstract
This study examines engineering design processes and organization at the Tennessee Valley Authority in its early years from 1933 to 1936. During this time, Norris and Wheeler dams were constructed and plans and designs were begun for several additional dams. The TVA experience provides insights into how design processes evolved and were managed in a large engineering organization. A particularly innovative decision was the choice to build TVA dams by force account, i.e. by hiring their own employees, rather than by selecting contractors through a traditional bidding process. TVA engineers believed this approach would reduce overall design and construction costs, as well as reduce time to completion. Case studies of civil engineering history, like this one, provide an important tool for introducing students to design processes and engineering decision making.
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Copyright
© 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Apr 26, 2012
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ASCE Technical Topics:
- Business management
- Case studies
- Construction engineering
- Construction industry
- Construction management
- Dams
- Employment
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering history
- Federal government
- Geotechnical engineering
- Government
- History and Heritage
- Infrastructure construction
- Innovation
- Methodology (by type)
- Organizations
- Personnel management
- Practice and Profession
- Recruiting and hiring
- Research methods (by type)
Authors
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Assitant Professor, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309.E-mail: [email protected]
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Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.