August 03, 2011
Experience, Experience, Experience
by Mark Gardner
If you have ever talked to a realtor, you will most likely hear their mantra: Location, Location, Location. Similar to having a house at the right location - near mass transit, nice schools, etc. ; having a blast consultant that has a wide range of experience and knowledge is critical to any project.
Recently in an email from a window vendor, the following was stated in reference to the design pressure, “out of the thousands of calculated military projects we have not seen this extreme of a requirement”. Granted, the design pressure was higher than normally required for a standard military project; however, by no means would this pressure have been considered extreme by a seasoned blast engineer.
This is not meant as a knock on the window vendor’s engineer. However, it is disconcerting to think that within the building design industry there is such a level of discomfort handling a design load that is outside their comfort zone of "normal" air-blast loading. How often does this happen on projects around the country, especially in our country’s most critical assets and missions?
Fortunately at Hinman we have encountered a range of projects types, construction material, threats, standoffs, and all other possible conditions that can define a project. It is important to understand that in blast engineering, experience is paramount. Value needs to be considered in specialized consulting firms, and remembering in actuality, low bid teams will have long term negative consequences to the construction budget.
When buying a house, many factors are considered, Location is key. When choosing a blast consultant, Experience is key.
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