During 1988–1989, a consortium of civil engineering departments of New York City colleges and universities administered by the Center for Infrastructure Studies at Columbia University undertook the development of a preventive maintenance management system for the Department of Transportation in the City of New York. The participating schools were: Columbia University, City College, Cooper Union, Polytechnic University, and Pratt Institute. The system that was developed covered a total of 1,426 bridges. The system concentrates on those bridges in “good” or “very good” condition although it makes it clear that preventive maintenance must also be performed on “fair” and “poor” bridges until a steady state is reached. The study established the requirements to protect the bridges through dirt and water control, steel protection, roadway surface maintenance, maintaining mechanical and electrical components on moveable bridges, and performing special requirements on the East River bridges. A computer system for scheduling crews, equipment, and material for each maintenance component was developed. The report recommends a total direct staff of 794 persons and an annual budget of nearly $51,500,000.

Water‐quality policies for protection of the nation's water resources stem from federal legislation known as the Clean Water Act (CWA), which has evolved over the past 40 years. The CWA establishes nationwide water‐quality policies and goals, along with programs to control discharge of pollutants. However, Sections 302 and 303 requiring establishment of water‐quality standards (WQS) for all water bodies, and Section 404 “dredge‐and‐fill” permits, affect water availability and allocations under state permits. A review of case studies in the 1980s shows that water availability is directly impacted by CWA Section 404 permit requirements, and indirectly by the CWA linkage to compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Nationwide water‐quality policies, which were initially directed at polluters, have been expanded through the evolution of the CWA, along with implementing regulations and court decisions to now provide for a federal regulatory framework that controls water allocations for beneficial uses and projects for development of water resources. The experience of the 1980s provides a basis for modifying federal water‐quality statutes to reduce potential conflicts with water allocation and availability.

A profession is defined as “an occupation or vocation requiring advanced study in a specialized field.” The urgent question facing the engineering profession today is how much longer we can continue to lay claim to being “professionals” given the increasingly complex natures of technology and our society and the lack of adequate curriculum adjustment to meet the demands of this changing environment. Within the past 20, even 10, years, our world has changed drastically. All of these technological advances have mandated inclusion in the engineering curriculum of related coursework. However, much of this additional coursework has been added in the postbaccalaureate curriculum, and the addition of this technical material, which has been accomplished in the undergraduate curriculum, generally has been implemented at the expense of the “nontechnical” courses in the curriculum. This paper presents ideas regarding the expansion of the basic engineering curriculum and the courses necessary to provide a complete education for professional engineers.

During the past 15 years international competition in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) markets has increased significantly. The Office of Technology Assessment published a report in 1986 that addressed competition in the international AEC arena. This paper presents an assessment of the U.S. position in international competition based on the OTA report and discusses action that should be taken at the national level to ensure U.S. competitiveness for the future. The paper defines the concepts of physical‐systems technologies and data‐intensive technologies. The United States enjoys a strong position in data‐intensive technologies due to breakthroughs in the application of computers to AEC problems. Similarly, high‐technology (e.g., lasers and advanced electronics) developments in the United States have been applied to the AEC sector to improve construction techniques. On the other hand, new physical‐systems technologies (e.g., automated construction systems for tunneling and concrete placement) have been developed predominantly outside of the United States. The position of the United States versus the international competition in terms of data‐intensive and physical‐systems technologies is presented in this paper.

In the public sector, contract awards are typically made to the “lowest responsible bidder.” This term is defined by many contract‐awarding authorities as the contractor with the lowest bid who provides the bonds required by contract. Numerous professionals believe this approach is an inefficient and ineffective means to procure construction services. This paper provides a description of the competitive‐bid process along with a more complete definition of lowest responsible bidder. The definition incorporates bid responsiveness and bidder responsibility—criteria to measure both are outlined. A review of surety bonding is presented. Agencies have been dissatisfied with contractors' performance and quality of work under traditional procurement procedures. As a result, they have investigated and developed prequalification procedures. The potential role of these procedures are presented along with a comparison between surety bonding and owner contractor prequalification. A brief discussion of prequalification versus postqualification is also described.

In many statistical analyses for the development of engineering design models, the use of a 5% level of significance is based on tradition. Stepwise regression analysis, using the 5% level of significance, is applied to measured data from engineering systems. The results demonstrate that the commonly used 5% criterion can lead to an incorrect model under certain conditions. Specifically, models with either irrational or inaccurate regression coefficients or too many predictor variables may result. The application of the 5% criterion in stepwise regression analysis is critically assessed, and the conditions under which problems occur are identifled. An alternative decision approach, based on an analysis of the partial F statistic, is developed. This approach enables decisions in stepwise regression analysis to be made using engineering criteria rather than the arbitrarily selected 5% Using the method developed herein with measured data from engineering systems results in models judged more rational than those developed using the traditional approach.

Paper investigates the problems associated with quality in projects designed and/or constructed by international firms in developing countries. These problems make the task of achieving and maintaining quality in the constructed project difficult to accomplish. Possible solutions are enumerated, including selection of an efficient project team, preplanning, adequate communications, knowledge of local conditions and limitations, clear and concise contract documents, an adequate payment system, and use of peer review. Comparisons are also made (in tabular form) between the writers' recommendations for developing countries and information presented in the ASCE Quality in the Constructed Project manual concerning the following areas: owner, project team, contract agreements, communications, payment system, and peer review.

The nature and goals of a creative‐design course for undergraduate engineering students are discussed. This course is designed to encourage creativity. Freshmen learn to use the basics of scientific, behavioral, and humanities courses in the analysis, synthesis, and evaluation that go into the design and building of a product. Students realize that in any solution to an engineering problem, complex decision‐making is involved and there can be more than one solution. Emphasis is placed on good oral‐ and written‐communication skills. Paper outlines the course organization and discusses its modification. Unique criteria for evaluation and grading are listed. Students have given high marks in their evaluation of the course. Limitations of the course are listed. Examples of group projects and the resulting products are described. Observations listed are a result of over 15 years of experience in teaching the course.