Seaver Lee

Eng Gen 241

3/3/2015
Construction
Each of these organizations are for any engineer, contractor, or designer that is going to
use products with wood, concrete and timber. The use of these products are for constructions
such as buildings and highways. It is important that there are laws and regulations that are
enforced when constructing such structures to make it safe. For example, the American Institute
of Steel Construction has an official manual that workers have to follow. In the manuals there are
information about different types of steel. For example, when an engineer is constructing a
building and is using steel for a frame, he has to know how much load it can handle. There are
also other things such as shear force and the safety factor that should be enforced when
designing.
Each organization has different missions that they are trying to achieve. The American
Institute of Steel Construction is trying to make steel the material of choice in structures.
Similarly the American Concrete Institute is trying to educate and promote the use of concrete.
The American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials are trying to accomplish
efficient and innovative national transportation system. The Forest & Paper Association is trying
to promote sustainable forestry practices. They all are different organizations but have similar
goals for their own products.
Organizations such as AASHTO and CalTrans are use standards given by these
organizations to construct structures that use those materials. It is very important that engineers
are up to date with the rules and regulations. There are manuals on that the organizations sell that

many should have on their person. It is a quick and easy way to refer to any information that is
not known.
On websites such as AASHTO and CalTrans some structures blueprints maybe found.
They are used to see how they were designed. It is extremely important for them to use the
standards given out to ensure the public who use their structures are safe. Most people do not
give a second thought to how much goes into building something such as a bridge.
The structures also have to be able to last for a very long time. With blueprints the workers are
able to keep up maintenance.
Any future engineer should have an idea about some of the materials that are widely
used. That is where the manuals come in. They don't have to memorize every single detail but
just refer back to the manual.