When the project is completed, the project manager will walk through the building with
the client and the superintendent to go through a “punch” list. The punch list identifies areas
that need to be completed certain ways or adjusted. Finally, the building inspector must approve
the building, before it can be occupied.3.2 Sustainability in Design*
This is a good place to say a few words about sustainability in design. In the past few years, you
have been hearing or reading a great deal about “sustainability.” What does sustainability mean
and why is important for you, as future engineers, to get a good grasp of it? To start with, it is
important to know that there is no universal definition for sustainability and sustainable engi-
neering. It means different things to different professions. However, one of the generally
accepted definitions is: “design and development that meets the needs of the present without com-
promising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
As you know by now, engineers contribute to both private and public sectors of our soci-
ety. In the private sector, they design and produce the goods and services that we use in our daily
lives; the same goods and services that have allowed us to enjoy a high standard of living. We
have also explained the role of engineer in the public sector. Engineers support local, state, and
federal missions such as meeting our infrastructure needs, energy and food security, and national
defense. Increasingly, because of worldwide socioeconomic trends, environmental concerns,
and earth’s finite resources, more is expected of engineers.
As future engineers, you are expected to design and provide goods and services that
increase the standard of living and advance health care, while addressing serious environ-
mental and sustainability concerns. In other words, when you design products and services,
you must consider the link among earth’s finite resources, environmental, social, ethical,
technical, and economical factors. Moreover, there is an international competition for engi-
neers who can come up with solutions that address energy and food security and simultane-
ously address the sustainability issues. The potential shortage of engineers with training in
sustainability — engineers who can apply the sustainability concepts, methods, and tools to
their problem-solving and decision-making processes — could have serious consequences for
our future. Because of this fact, in recent years, the engineering organizations including the
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the American Society for Engineering Educa-
tion (ASEE), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) all have come out in support of sustainability
education in engineering curricula.
The civil engineers play an increasing important role in addressing the climate change
and sustainability issues that are being discussed nationally and internationally among pol-
icy makers and politicians. The following American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) sus-
tainability statement is a testament to this fact: “The public’s growing awareness that it is54 Chapter 3 Introduction to Engineering Design
Source:Excerpted and adapted from Board of Direction Views Sustainability Strategy as Key Priority, ASCE News,
January 2009 Volume 34, Number 1, http://www.asce.org /Content.aspx?id=2147484152Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).圀圀圀⸀夀䄀娀䐀䄀一倀刀䔀匀匀⸀䌀伀䴀圀圀圀⸀夀䄀娀䐀䄀一倀刀䔀匀匀⸀䌀伀䴀