The Right Brain

Recession Office Hours

2010-08-04T16:41:00.001-07:00

You would think that reduced business hours would also mean reduced work load.

August 2010 Wright e-News

Build - Then Design

2010-05-01T15:49:00.000-07:00

Many of the public projects these days are design-build, a good project delivery method if the construction and design teams partner well together. By having the design team and the construction team to collaborate from the start, the final design can perform better, be easier to build, and cost less.

No matter how heated the rush to "git 'er dun", I've never seen a build-then-design approach that didn't end in disappointment.

May 2010 Wright e-News

Solar Project

2010-06-02T17:00:00.000-07:00

Nothing like an extended "solar project" to recharge your batteries.

June 2010 Wright e-News

Pee Vee or Something

2010-06-30T14:01:00.000-07:00

Wright Engineers is part of a design-build team under contract to convert Alcatraz to solar PV electricity. As part of our services, some of our engineers have had to climb all over the buildings. I wondered what it would be like if one of them was "caught" and treated as an Alcatraz escapee.

July 2010 Wright e-News

Rush The Rush Job

2010-04-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

I love the post office scene in the Jim Carrey movie The Grinch where the postmaster is frantically receiving packages at the counter, stamping them as "RUSH" or "HECKUVA RUSH", and then tossing them back over his shoulder.
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With the instant responses that are expected these days via phone, text, or email, almost everything seems to be a "heckuva rush".
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April 2010 Wright e-news

A Pull Contest

2005-07-01T13:12:00.000-07:00

Several years ago, I visited a site where a retaining wall had fallen over because the rebar was not anchored properly and it pulled loose as the wall was backfilled. When I pointed this out at the site to the incredulous contractor, he jumped up on a stump of the wall, grabbed the end of a protruding rebar and pulled as hard as he could. "See", he said, "this bar is solid."
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He obviously had no idea that would have to pull about 18,000 pounds if the bar was properly anchored.
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July 2005 Wright Stuff
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A pull test is used to verify that a rebar is properly anchored.

The New Epoxy Inspector

2005-08-01T14:06:00.000-07:00

This reminds me of the first time as a young engineer I went to a job site to observe epoxy-anchor installation for mislocated anchor bolts. I naïvely assumed that the worker knew what he was doing.
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After returning to the office to report my observations, I discovered, among other things, that you must blow out the holes, and that if you have to pound the threaded rod into the epoxy-filled hole with a hammer something is wrong.
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August 2005 Wright Stuff

Proactive Multi-tasker

2005-10-01T21:50:00.000-07:00

Until the Great Recession caused construction to slow to a crawl, Wright Engineers enjoyed double-digit growth every year, and was twice ranked as one of the fastest growing engineering firms in the nation.
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With that much growth, you have to do a lot of hiring, and though we've been very fortunate to hire the best talent, we've still had to weed out the occasional "proactive multi-tasker".
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October 2005 Wright Stuff

Re-Think Our Green Building Strategy

2005-11-01T14:19:00.000-08:00

...just trying to do my part to make the world a greener place. So far, no one has embraced my brilliant idea for the ultimate in renewable flooring materials.
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November 2005 Wright Stuff.

Twas The Night Before Christmas...

2005-12-01T15:34:00.000-08:00

I tried to imagine a Christmas stocking that captured the essence of each personality. I knew for sure the engineer's stocking had to have a calculator, and that the developer's needed to be fitted with bells and whistles.

December 2005 Wright e-news

Nails At 12" O.C.

2006-03-01T13:17:00.000-08:00

This reminds me of when I first started working construction in the summers with my dad when I was about nine years old. One of my first assignments was to pick up all the straight nails that had been dropped around the site - for 5 cents an hour.
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March 2006 Wright e-news

See It My Way

2007-01-01T14:32:00.000-08:00

Sometimes on Friday afternoons I begin to get eye trouble - I just can't see staying at the office. If there are glasses for that particular condition, I don't want them.
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January 2007 Wright e-news

Just Sign Here

2007-10-01T20:48:00.000-07:00

It's amazing the ridiculously unfair contract terms some companies try to demand that their consultants and subs agree to - things like:

"[insert your name here] shall take all liability and be responsible for any and all costs for anything and everything bad that could possibly happen, even if it has nothing whatsoever to do with anything done by [insert your name here], blah blah blah ten pints of blood blah blah blah pound of flesh blah blah blah firstborn child blah blah blah hand over everything you own..."

October 2007 Wright e-news

Current Business Strategy

2009-08-01T21:32:00.000-07:00

It seems like a lot of people these days are using this type of business strategy. Maybe this guy thinks he can make up the price difference with higher volume.
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August 2009 Wright e-news

Revit?

2009-02-01T16:51:00.000-08:00

Most engineers and architects I know are hopeful that eventually BIM will be the miraculous time-saving wonder tool it's marketed to be, but at the moment it often feels like more of a hinderance than a help - probably similar to the time 25 years ago when the industry was converting to CAD.

February 2009 Wright e-news

Reflected Ceiling Plan

2006-05-01T14:36:00.000-07:00

My dad taught me to measure twice and cut once. But before you measure, make sure you understand the plans.

May 2006 Wright e-news

The Right Brain-in-Training

1999-01-01T17:00:00.000-08:00

The Right Brain was born in February 1999 with the first issue of The Wright Stuff, Wright Engineers' monthly e-news. Each month since, the Wright Stuff has featured a construction industry-related cartoon usually tied to an article in the newsletter or to a current event. Many of them are posted on this site.
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If the Right Brain was born in 1999, they it was conceived nearly 25 years earlier when a much younger Right Brain-in-training sketched a collection of cartoon athletes called "Verbs" (men of action inspired by the PBS TV children's show The Electric Company) and "Turkeys" (their scrawny opponents).
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The drawing at left shows a Verb basketball player doing what the Verbs do: winning and making it look easy.

Go to Helen Waite

2006-07-01T20:57:00.000-07:00

This one's my all-time favorite!
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Inspiration came after dealing with a difficult client who was demanding that we continue to provide services even though his unpaid account was waaaaaay past due.
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If you don't get it, try pointing your finger at someone close by and saying out loud over and over, "You want [insert noun here]? Go to Helen Waite!"
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July 2006 Wright e-news
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(For the record, I did not tell the client to go to Helen Waite - but drawing this was good therapy.)

Fall Protection

2006-11-01T08:56:00.000-08:00

Anyone who's tried to wiggle into a safety harness can relate to this one. Even the person helping often seems to be confused about which strap goes where.

November 2006 Wright e-news

Will Build For Food

2008-11-01T13:56:00.000-07:00

One time back when Wright Engineers was just getting started, as a joke I had a baseball cap embroidered with our logo on the front and "Will Calc' For Food" embroidered across the back.

Another editorial-type cartoon inspired by the Great Recession.

November 2008 Wright e-news

The Right Brain

2010-02-01T12:56:00.000-08:00

You wouldn't know it by most of the cartoons I've drawn (including this one), but I hate the stereotype of the nerdy, pencil-neck-geek number-crunching engineer with thick glasses and an undeveloped right brain. Yet, here I go again, advancing the engineer geek stereotype in another cartoon.

Though many engineers do seem to have a relatively undeveloped creative right brain when compared with their analytical left brain, the best engineers are both very analytical and highly creative.

For reference, I have included a scale drawing of my own brain scan in Figure 4.

February 2010 Wright e-news

Burning A Half-Size Set

2002-05-01T16:17:00.000-07:00

This one accompanied an article in our May 2002 Wright Stuff announcing the addition of a former iron worker to our engineering staff.

A Stray Cat

2002-09-01T09:07:00.000-07:00

No actual cats were harmed in the making of this cartoon.
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Wright Stuff September 2002

Energy Conservation Policy

2004-10-01T09:48:00.000-07:00

I'm just a humble engineer doing my part to save the planet one cartoon at a time.

October 2004 Wright Stuff

Mixed-Use Development Gone Bad

2004-11-01T09:23:00.000-08:00

This one appeared in our November 2004 Wright Stuff. Surprisingly, no one has called asking for the plans for this particular development.