Tips

It’s a rare project that can be built without the constructor asking the designer some questions. These questions – typically called technical queries (TQs) or requests for information (RFIs) – are important and, while it seems the writing of these should be straightforward, there are a few key qualities that influence their value. Three types of RFIs Before we get to those, at CEA, we say there are generally three types of RFIs: The overlooking constructor RFI The forgetf

Like almost everyone in the engineering field, at CEA we use Excel extensively because it’s powerful, affordable and reduces the time it takes to analyse problems. Our favourite function – and the one we tend to use more than others – is the index function. It allows us to take the values out of a matrix and put them in tabular form – meaning we can combine the advantages of both formats. Starting with a matrix A matrix comes into its own when we’re thinking about how differ

We’ve recently been out in the Tanami Desert helping manage a road upgrade. While it would be tempting to think that 280km north west of Alice Springs you can get away with building a sub-standard road…that’s not the case. Every day, it is a lifeline for the communities and local mine that haul in bulk fuel and other supplies. One of the most critical aspects of any road is the pavement. For this project, the team had to use a natural gravel as the cost of importing a quarry