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  1. RocketRed

    Recording Meetings

    Great thread. I have never recorded a meeting, but have had a few recorded, plus any work "on the record" (hearings, etc). Simplest format for me is at the end of the meeting, verify what we touched on the agenda, read out everyone there's action items if they have any, and send the basic...
  2. RocketRed

    How I passed CA PE Surveying Exam WITHOUT a Calculator!

    That's awesome. Way to persevere. I always give a piece of advice to people taking the exam: "Figure out the units and the order of magnitude for the answer before you do anything else". Sometimes the right circle to fill in will jump out before you have to do any real calculations, giving more...
  3. RocketRed

    self employed vs hiring employees

    To follow on with this thread, I find myself in roughly the same position. I am an owner/partner in both a small Civil firm and small Surveying company. Work load is good in both and I need a drafter that I can swing into both companies. I need a person who has both civil and survey experience...
  4. RocketRed

    Overtime

    Great thread. When I first started out I worked for the Federal Government (DoD). My department was split into about 60 branches. The entire department had 600 engineers, with about 1 middle manager for every 10 engineers. Each branch could be forced to work overtime based on production of the...
  5. RocketRed

    Throwing the Surveyor under the bus

    Quick follow up on this: I followed most of the advice here and kept my insurance co up to date. I asked the Owner for a meeting to discuss all of the issues after I showed that our errors did not in any way increase the cost of the process except possibly some contractor admin (possibly)...
  6. RocketRed

    Contractor intends to skip permit process

    I have had a few clients try this. My response is always the same: "I understand why you wouldn't get permits, but on my plans you will see the "Statement of Special Inspections" and it tells you which inspections the jurisdiction has to do, and which need to be performed by a Special Inspector...
  7. RocketRed

    Telecommuting...why is this so HARD TO FIND???

    I would see if you can set yourself up as a short-term contract employee if you want to work telecommuting. Show you are so confident in your ability, skill set, and ability to complete work that you are willing to take some risk in the arrangement. There is no point for the company to pay you...
  8. RocketRed

    Laptop Screen Size

    My laptop is a 17" and the posters above are correct, the screen sucks if you are trying do anything other than send e-mails or type documents. Once you are used to running 2 or 3 screens, a laptop screen is really hard to get used to. Forget about doing anything in CAD except the most minor...
  9. RocketRed

    Zero Rise Analysis - for existing building

    I must be missing something (maybe a portion of my brain). We have been working with a client in a Zone X flood with a historic flood depth about 30" above finished floor. Our scope of work was to design the stop-log system for the door openings. Simple work, we have done this lots of times...
  10. RocketRed

    what is the best connection for this? round timber pile to steel beam?

    Yep. We work a lot around the logging industry and have done a lot of work on wood pile supported: lumber mills, logging and rail bridges and docks and that detail is the one most used. Not pretty, but hard for the average millwright to screw up. In the environments we are working in; pretty is...
  11. RocketRed

    Liability of a PE owning a small construction business

    That is a great point Ron. It is kind of a better way of saying what I said above: A contractor can play dumb a lot easier than an engineer can. It really comes down to the type of work you are doing and how you bid it. In my case, my partner was mostly bidding public work as a contractor. He...
  12. RocketRed

    Liability of a PE owning a small construction business

    Yes, almost exactly. It wasn't me but my partner was a PE for a while and then got into big civil construction for about 10 years, and then did engineering for 15 years, and then opened a civil construction company about 7 years ago. I know they spent a lot of time with the different insurance...
  13. RocketRed

    Sealing designs produced in India

    I'm sure there are situations/designs where this could work, and plenty where it doesn't. Are you a supervisory engineer with direct access to your design team in India? Are you redlining and returning drawings for revision and then approving? This seems like having an active part in the design...
  14. RocketRed

    Throwing the Surveyor under the bus

    beej67 it is funny you should say that for a couple reasons 1) my surveyors are out getting topo for a bus barn facility my engineering firm is working on and 2) I also never throw the surveyor under the bus unless the bus is in the way. I just got a new project in my engineering office for a...
  15. RocketRed

    Throwing the Surveyor under the bus

    Thanks everyone for the insight thus far. It really has been great to have some perfect stranger's perspectives. Since the OP I have taken a little action: Got in the field and verified the information - we indeed had a blow on an invert by a foot. I grilled the field crew mercilessly and it...
  16. RocketRed

    Bridges made of Rail Cars

    We have been involved in quite a few of these and in a lot of cases they are more trouble than they are worth. Best success we have had has been in agricultural or single family residential settings (like one house across a creek). Definitely talk to the county roads engineer before you get too...
  17. RocketRed

    Throwing the Surveyor under the bus

    All great advice coming through. Thank you. We haven't officially admitted anything yet, we haven't gone out to check on the actual blows in the survey. We can't tell from the field notes what went wrong. There could be a number transposed in the engineering or any number of things. Like I...
  18. RocketRed

    Throwing the Surveyor under the bus

    A bit of background about me (somehow this got really long): Through some weird happenings and opportunities I find myself majority owner of a small land surveying company. I am partners in a small Civil/Structural firm which is my day job. Great work, great staff and no problems there. During...
  19. RocketRed

    New Company

    Good Luck with your new biz! If you are the sole employee the good news is that it doesn't take many sales to keep you pretty busy! I do the marketing for a small firm and while a website, an updated SOQ and all of that may get you some calls (especially if you are in a busy city somewhere)...
  20. RocketRed

    Shopping subs, check numbers, and what's the limit on what's "right"

    I see nothing wrong with it at all. If you have a good relationship with your surveyor give them a call and lay out what is happening. If I were in the surveyor's shoes I would much prefer the chance to say no to just calling you in a month and finding out you gave it to Brand X. This happened...

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