There is a lot of money in shit and garbage aka waste water and waste disposal.
Engineering is not about solving math problems, it's about coming up with a solution to the owners problem and then communicating it effectively. For example I determined the factor of safety to be less than unity under seismic loading conditions OR I expect the structure to fall down in the design earthquake.
Anything worth doing is worth doing right, and if it's worth doing it's worth getting paid for. That being said I work for the love of the job and would do it for free if I could. The work is the work and you can't control that but if you don't love the job then get a new job.
The client is paying for a professional opinion as we didn't make the widget that broke that was the manufacturer or contractor, we just think it was built to meet the design intent.
Ignorance is bliss but knowledge is power. Always remember you may only know just a little more than the owner. Continuous learning is a minimum requirement for any profession.
Karl Terzaghi said
I produced my theories and made my experiments for the purpose of establishing an aid in forming a correct opinion and I realized with dismay that they are still considered by the majority as a substitute for common sense and experience.
Ralph Peck said
An instrument too often overlooked in our technical world is a human eye connected to the brain of an intelligent human being.
Be redundant in handling water. Water, in geotechnical engineering, is, basically, your enemy.
Use engineering terms in specifications, not common vernacular (i.e., do not use "common fill" unless you actually specify it)
One may think that a pipes maximum capacity is when the depth of flow within the pipe is full (i.e. 1 x D), however, a pipe has its highers capacity when the depth of flow within the pipe is 0.96 x D (cant remember exactly..) due to additional friction loss.
It got me out of a jam once and hence ive never (completely) forgotten it....
As a corollary to EireChch, most highway culverts are controlled by inlet conditions and will never run full. As a result, a smooth interior pipe doesn't have more capacity than corrugated.
My glass has a v/c ratio of 0.5
Maybe the tyranny of Murphy is the penalty for hubris. -
It's a little irrelevant because the pipes' inlet and outlet are submerged and it's below the water table, so there's little gradient. I've never specified watertight joints, only soil tight. Of course, soil tight usually ends up water tight.
This is what I learn from school and from work. Use a large safety factor when you are dealing with soil and water. Over design is better than under-design. Leave large gradients for water to run. Inspect the plumbing before it is covered with concrete. For structures, never trust your calculations. Never remove the form work for concrete earlier than it sat. Take enough time for the precast to sit in the yard before it is shipped. Include impact and dynamic loads in your calculations.
disclaimer: all calculations and comments must be checked by senior engineers before they are taken to be acceptable.
During the first week of my first engineering job my boss, who had been an engineer for >30 years, asked me to name the three most important things to consider in civil engineering. After staring at the blank look on my face for 10 seconds, he answered his own question:
You’re part of a team. It’s you and the people on the floor or the field. Remember your designs are useless without them. But they will probably still function pretty well without you.
