Preventive engineering approaches make use of information on how technology affects human life, society, and the biosphere, so as to adjust engineering theory and practice to create a greater compatibility between technology and its contexts. A detailed study of undergraduate engineering education and a variety of new approaches (such as the design for the entire life cycle, energy end-use oriented strategies, the design of healthy workplaces, and sustainable city concepts) demonstrates a largely untapped potential for such preventive approaches. Developing this potential could bring competitive advantages to industry, economic benefits to society, and a better quality of human life within current constraints.

The regeneration of urban areas presents many challenges specific to the area concerned. Although the prime task is one of employment and wealth creation, it is most important to highlight and deal with the environmental issues. The statutory and regulatory requirements on environmental matters are yet to be developed to a stage of issuing definitive and quantitative guidelines. To a large extent, the environmental requirements and standards are still a function of affordability. The British government's policies for the regeneration of derelict, contaminated, and environmentally unfriendly urban areas resulted in the establishment of the urban development corporations (UDCs). The Black Country UDC in the West Midlands, the industrial heart of England, is a prime example of the problems, policies, and solutions implemented to achieve new employment, social and environmental improvements, and a better quality of life.

A liaison program between a university civil engineering department and civil engineers engaged in professional practice can be used to introduce undergraduate students to real engineering problems. A liaison program at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, places second-year civil engineering students on a technical project assignment with a local professional engineering office. This program, implemented as part of a course on communications in civil engineering, has the following functions: (1) It exposes students to the civil engineering profession at an early stage of their undergraduate education; (2) it provides an introduction to engineering problem solving; (3) it involves students in a real civil engineering project that is motivated by professional practice; and (4) it stresses the importance of communications skills in civil engineering. The program has proved to be successful in fostering an early association with professional civil engineers outside of a university setting. It also provides the students with an appreciation for the many facets of professional practice, and approaches to the solution of civil engineering problems. The program has been well received by both students and professional engineers.

The facts and trends affecting entry into the civil engineering profession merit the serious attention of all those concerned with providing high-quality civil engineering services to society. An extensive market research study, involving 17 focus groups comprising students, parents, teachers, counselors, engineering faculty, and practicing civil engineers confirmed that the civil engineering profession faces serious image and recruiting problems. The image of civil engineering among students and their adult influencers is unflattering, inaccurate, and almost nonexistent. Precollege mathematics and science curriculums generally do a poor job of communicating the relevance of these subjects, and informing students of the career possibilities in engineering and other technical fields. An intervention program that incorporates heightening the awareness of engineering, technology, and civil engineering; increasing the retention of the pool of students with interest and ability in these fields; and modifying curriculum from kindergarten through college is proposed. A successful program would produce a better informed, more highly motivated, and more diverse pool of civil engineering students and graduates.

In today's competitive environment, businesses must adopt continuous improvement to succeed. As a result, engineering students must become familiar with continuous improvement to function in business when they graduate. The best way for them to learn is by putting these ideas into action in school. This paper presents a plan that shows students how to use their available time effectively, track their progress, foresee problems before they occur, and take action to prevent those problems. The paper is written primarily for students and has applications for all of education. I urge you to pass out copies of it to students you know and at ASCE Student Chapter meetings.

Public projects cannot be planned in a vacuum. Planners must assess the overall impact that proposed courses of action may have on the environment and on surrounding communities, exploring alternative approaches, comparing the environmental consequences of all options, and actively soliciting the input of community members who stand to be affected by the change. This paper presents an overview of environmental legislation regulating project planning in both the United States and the European Community. Although citizen participation, which promotes responsible planning in accord with social realities, is recognized as an important element of the impact assessment process, the appendix in this paper depicts the dangers inherent in requiring planners to open the process to the public. A case study on the Westway highway project in New York City highlights the problem and suggests an avenue for reform.

Academic institutions are under increasing pressure to improve engineering education while faced with decreasing budgets, not unlike the pressure American businesses experience from international competition. Using an accepted strategic-planning outline, formulation of a strategic plan for an engineering department is discussed. As with any department operating within a large structure, academic or private business, entrenched practices and bureaucracy are identified as formidable opponents to change. However, the first line of defense against change may be the lack of consensus building between individuals within the department.

The world is increasingly becoming a single marketplace. To compete well, design and construction firms must better understand international customers and their needs in order to strategically plan to meet those needs. A project conducted by the International Task Force of the Construction Industry Institute (CII) investigated this topic by interviewing a wide range of international client organizations. Interviews were conducted in the Pacific Rim, Europe, South America, The Middle East, and the United States. The objectives of these interviews were to (1) identify significant future needs of the international client; (2) evaluate needs along with the plans/visions of engineering and construction clients to determine trends and expectations of the engineering/construction (E/C) community; and (3) make recommendations to E/C contractors as to how they can better serve clients in the year 2000 and beyond. This paper reports on the findings of this study and the conclusions presented in the CII report entitled “The Future Needs of the Construction Industry's Worldwide Customers.”

As part of its total quality management (TQM) effort, a company specializing in design/build construction established a book club with teams that periodically read and discuss books selected from best-sellers' lists or by recommendation. Team membership is open to all employees in the home office on a volunteer basis. Since the program started in mid-1990, 22 books have been read and discussed by the book club. This process has provided a forum for cross-functional exposure of employees in a nonthreatening environment, and has led to lively discussions about topics in quality, including customer focus, empowerment, leadership, and teamwork. Today these teams are still enthusiastic and members feel that they are contributing to the company through their involvement. This is an idea that can readily be implemented in any organization, large or small. This paper presents the history and the accomplishments of the book club.

Engineers must begin to espouse their role in the world by spending more time, effort, and money on positive public relations. They must know the differences between aspirational, perceived, and actual risk, and depend on certain absolutes to take more control over the use and disposition of constructed works.

The regenaration of major metropolitan areas in the United States has been of major concern to both national and local governments in the United States for several decades. Government has devoted significant energies toward reversing the trend of the flight of middle-class Americans to the suburbs and the abandonment of existing buildings within the cities. Typical of this struggle is the city of Philadelphia, with its long tradition and concern for excellent urban design. Civil engineers address urban design issues as we deal with the technical, economical, environmental, societal, political, legal, aesthetic, and financial considerations related to quality of life.