A peek into the world of consultancies
Structural engineers Orlando Taddeo and Davide Pedicone recently devised a student presentation and discussion session. Orlando completed his masters course in earthquake engineering and disaster management at UCL, leading to an invitation from the project director to give a lecture to the current group of structural and civil engineering masters students. Both Orlando and Davide have been acting as mentors for UCL students writing their dissertations.
To help in the understanding of the role of engineering consultants in the construction industry, the lecture provided an outline of the daily tasks an engineer undertakes, and the challenges faced in co-ordinating and integrating the flow of information coming from client, architect and contractors as a project progresses from early stages to delivery. The engineers presented the Greenwich Design District project, which is currently on our desks, to illustrate the potential diversity of structures a project may involve — and the need to both maintain an engineering overview and pay attention to the details.
A discussion followed on how an understanding of engineering first principles combined with advanced analysis can help with the management of such complex projects, and information about the tools we use for calculations, sketches and presentation materials.
