2010 AISC Specification & Commentary 5

[JAE]

I'm not sure convincing local code officials to only adopt codes ever third edition or so would help.

This is because in different cities/states/countries, whatever, the local folks will prescribe their choice of a particular issue of a code. That will most likely be different than other locations who prescribe different editions of the code.

So if I do business in more than one jurisdiction, which I'm sure most engineers do, then I still will have to buy copies of, and learn all about, all the different code editions.

My city adopts the 2006 IBC. The next city over adopts the 2009. I have a project in the adjacent state and they are sticking with the 2003 IBC. Some places take the IBC and re-write it to suit their needs.

So even if my own city only adopts the code every third edition, I still have to know all the others.

 

[dhengr]

Adopting every third edition of the new codes would be a significant improvement as far as most practicing engineers and local building officials are concerned. And, I suspect we wouldn’t have a lot more infrastructure falling down around us because of this. Certainly, we will always be dealing with different codes or variations on them in different locations, we’ve always been doing that. But wouldn’t it be wonderful if the rate of change slowed down in as many locations as possible, to a rate where we could learn to use the new version proficiently before it became outdated, or before we got bit in the a$$ by some obscure change that we hadn’t really noticed.

Isn’t it true that your state essentially dictates the adoption of the new code, with some local modifications just to show their independence, and then the cities and counties are more or less obliged to live with this adoption, however well they enforce it? If a few of the states you are registered and practicing in decided not to adopt the newest edition of the ICB and thus the latest refed. versions of AISC, ACI, etc., that wouldn’t be a real big burden on you would it? There aren’t many people who use or have to deal with the codes these days who are happy wit h the rate of change, cost, lost production in relearning, and confusion, for so little improvement in the final product produced; and that includes everyone from engineers and local building inspectors to city, county and state building officials.

The people who make their living producing this junk aren’t going to slow down unless we say and do something, they’ve got a good thing going, at our expense and to our detriment. Our state legislators and state building commissioner will likely adopt the newest editions, because it must be gooder, it’s newer, what do they know, unless we educated them about the true facts of the matter. And, then this slow down might catch on, and we could get back to doing real productive engineering, instead of spending so much time and money just trying to keep up with code changes and software changes.

 

[HgTX]

No one want a new code, unless you're someone who's annoyed with a particular provision of the code, and you know it's going to change, but it can't be changed for another five years, and then you're pissed off that the rate of change is so slow.

I don't know about AISC, but I serve on some of the welding code committees, and everything that's changed in there is because someone found a problem--a case the code writers didn't think of 20 years ago, some unclear language that people keep misinterpreting, a new material that's introduced, whatever. On a 5-year code cycle, with the door to new changes closed two years before the publication date to allow for multiple levels of balloting and then the whole proofing and publishing process, that means anywhere between 2 and 7 years to see something fixed. And people bitch about that too.

Hg

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[SAIL3]

How did we get into this mess, anyway?
I believe that the root cause lies in the mentality of the engineering community themselves as a whole(me included).
We are who we are and every organization that makes a good living
piggybacking on the work of an engineer knows this.
So how did we end up this way?
The following is a plausible explanation.
Wheather you believe in creation(which I do) or the evolutionary theory, both hold a clue to our curious behavior.

Creation: God blessed the engineer with this awesome gift of being able to bring to bear on a technical problem such logic, talent,insight, perseverance and quest for the truth. In His wisdom, He knows that if this gift was ever let loose in other areas of the profession or society as a whole, total chaos and mayhem would shortly follow.The glue that holds society together, this grey area, this social lubricant that enables man to live with fellow man rests on tolerance, halftruths, nuances, a wink and a nod and taken to it's extreme may be called diplomacy.
Not so with the engineer with his relentess quest for truth and
distain for ambiguity.So God has limited the awesome talent to a very narrow area in society in order to achieve the greatest good for the most people(Pareto principle).
So instead of whinning about the limits of our profession,let us be grateful that God has chosen us to render this great good to
our fellow man.
Result.....acceptance, peace, serenity.

Evolution Theory: Ever since man discovered the first tool, there was an immediate advantage and payback to the inventor/engineer.
This encouraged more of the same behavior. Through many cycles of this discovery/reward down through millenium, nature honed a very powerful and effective tool until you find in the 21st century a class of the human race that is devoted soley to the solving of
technical problems.So far so good, until recently, when machines began to replace man and his function in society. Make no mistake about it, this model holds some dark and cruel truths as many species became extinct when they were of no more use to nature or lacked the ability to change and adjust.So will the computers eventually replace engineers?.As we sense the computer relentlessly closing the gap, those of us who have any experience or expertise in engineering wave these attributes wildly about in the air , looking for some recognition and sense of value and a seat at the table when the dust settles and all of this plays out.Next time you excitedly bring home a brand new computer from
ComputersR'Us with more ram, faster , bigger hd etc.,you may well be,unwittingly, bringing home the seeds of your own demise as an engineer.
Result.....looming change, uncertianty, vulnerability, anxiety, worry, doom and gloom.

The first thing I am going to do when I get off this forum is unplug the computer and ponder long and hard on what I have just stumbled upon.
Now, where the heck did I put that sliderule!!