The New York State Education Department’s (NYSED) Office of the Professions (OP) is seeking candidates for an Executive Secretary position for the State Boards for Engineering, Land Surveying, Geology and Interior Design.  Under the direct supervision of the Deputy Commissioner for OP, the incumbent of this position will lead, liaise, and coordinate tasks for a broad range of activities related to four professions.  The incumbent will manage the board office staff and will be a key policy advisor to the Deputy Commissioner.

Full Job Listing HERE 

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Note: NYSSPE facilitates posting on this blog, but the views and accounts expressed herein are those of the author(s) and not the views or accounts of NYSSPE, its officers or directors whose views and accounts may or may not be similar or identical. NYSSPE, its officers and directors do not express any opinion regarding any product or service by virtue of reference to such product or service in this blog.

By: Rudi Sherbanksky, PE, F.NSPE

On Tuesday November 17, 2020 at 5:30 PM, NYC DEP Commissioner, Vincent Sapienza PE will make an  online presentation on the topic of the engineering challenges of the Delaware Aqueduct Bypass Tunnel project.  The $1 billion Delaware Aqueduct Bypass Tunnel project, which is the largest repair in history of NYC water supply, is ahead of schedule and on budget.  The 2.5-mile-long bypass tunnel is 600 feet under the Hudson River from Newburgh to Wappinger. When the project is finished in 2023, the bypass tunnel will be connected to structurally sound portions of the existing Delaware Aqueduct on either side of the Hudson River to convey water around a leaking section of the tunnel.  The 85-mile-long Delaware Aqueduct is the longest tunnel in the world, , approximately 11 miles longer than water tunnel build in the early 1980s in Finland.

Registration to this 1 hour (1 PDH) virtual meeting presentation can be made at the following link:  https://nysspe-nyc.org/events/monthly-dinner-social/

The Delaware Aqueduct bypass tunnel repair project was necessitated after discovering two leaking sections of the Delaware Aqueduct; one in Newburgh, and the other in the Ulster County town of Wawarsing since the early 1990s. The leaks release an estimated 20 million gallons per day, about 95 percent of that escaping the tunnel through the leak near the Hudson River in Newburgh. DEP has continuously tested and monitored the leaks since 1992 and monitored the size of the cracks in the aqueduct and the rate of leakage to have remained constant over that time.

The aqueduct bypass tunnel construction began in 2013 with the excavation of two vertical shafts in Newburgh and Wappinger to gain access to the subsurface. These shafts, 845 and 675 feet deep respectively, were completed in 2017. Workers then built a large underground chamber at the bottom of the Newburgh shaft to serve as the staging area for assembly and operation of the tunnel boring machine, and as the location from which excavated rock is brought to the surface by underground trains and a large crane.  Once the bypass tunnel is nearly complete, the existing tunnel will be taken out of service and excavation will begin to connect the bypass tunnel to structurally sound portions of the existing aqueduct. While the Delaware Aqueduct is shut down, work crews will also enter the aqueduct in Wawarsing to seal the small leaks there, roughly 35 miles northwest of the bypass tunnel.

[Read more…]

Mark J. Golden, FASAE, CAE, Executive Director of NSPE highlights the following in the most recent Executive Director Update: May 2020

Although these continue to be trying times, this update (April 15–30) includes some positive news, and we continue moving forward. Please spend a few moments to learn the latest.

• Testing Centers Begin Reopening
• Coalitions Respond to New Tactics of Licensure Opponents
• NSPE Challenges DOT
• States Tackle License Exemption
• New EJCDC Docs, Continuing Education Opportunities

FULL REPORT

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Note: NYSSPE facilitates posting on this blog, but the views and accounts expressed herein are those of the author(s) and not the views or accounts of NYSSPE, its officers or directors whose views and accounts may or may not be similar or identical. NYSSPE, its officers and directors do not express any opinion regarding any product or service by virtue of reference to such product or service in this blog.

NSPE Update from Executive Director Mark J. Golden, FASAE, CAE

The year is just getting started, but there’s a lot to report. Check out the highlights covering January 1–15, 2019.

• How to Stay Current on Leadership Issues
• Court Ruling Preserves PE Designation
• 2019 Legislative Outlook and Webinar
• Challenges to Certification
• New Lineup of 15 Free Courses
• Membership Campaign in High Gear
• Record-Breaking NAFE Conference
• NICET News
• Headquarters Operations

READ FULL REPORT 

Laura Pellizzi, PE, Dave Janover, PE, and Andrew Yarmus, PE

This year NYSSPE had 7 members attend the conference.  Joe Pasaturo, PE, Nikhil Bodhankar, PE, Laura Pellizzi, PE,  Rudi Sherbanksy, PE, Andrew Yarmus, PE and David Janover, PE (a prior NY’er who has now relocated to Arizona) represented NYSSPE.  Marty Gordon from NAFE (and also an NYSSPE member) was also in attendance.  Andrew Yarmus, PE chaired the last NSPE PEC meeting of his term as chair, represented NSPE PEC at the House of Delegates, and was acknowledged as a member of this year’s class of Fellows.  Laura Pellizzi, PE was appointed as NE Region Candidate Screening Committee representative and represented NY at the House of Delegates (report to come).  Nikhil Bodhankar, PE, of course, was acknowledged as NSPE’s Young Engineer of the Year.

Some Highlights:
Board of Directors, 2018–19
The new 2018–19 Board of Directors has been installed—a talented group to lead NSPE into the future.

NSPE has a new app! The NSPE App houses multiple conference events within one app. You only need to download one app to access an archive of conference events at the palm of your hands.  Download the NSPE App to stay up to date with the latest event news and the full conference schedule.  Explore exciting features to keep you engaged throughout the event, including interactive maps, session and speaker profiles, and much more.

2018 NSPE Award Winners
Young Engineer of the Year Award -NYSSPE’s Nikhil Bodhankar, P.E. (Capital District Chapter)

Images courtesy of NSPE and Christie’s Photographic Studios.

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Note: NYSSPE facilitates posting on this blog, but the views and accounts expressed herein are those of the author(s) and not the views or accounts of NYSSPE, its officers or directors whose views and accounts may or may not be similar or identical. NYSSPE, its officers and directors do not express any opinion regarding any product or service by virtue of reference to such product or service in this blog.

NEW FIRESTOP SPECIAL INSPECTION STANDARDS

Firestopping is a critical area of fire protection in commercial buildings to limit the spread of building fires.  This is the reason NYC Department of Buildings changed their new 2014 code to require firestop special inspections utilizing the ASTM firestop inspection standards for all buildings.  According to these standards, the inspector shall provide visual and/or destructive testing for a percentage of the firestop systems.  The New ASTM firestop inspection standards have proven to be an excellent standard to protect the liability of the special inspection agency and general contractors. To reduce your liability these standards need to be adhered to, so NYSSPE has supported firestop special inspection training for its membership.

Firestop Special Inspection Requirement:

Firestopping, is becoming more and more of a hot button item these days.  Why is that? Because of its extreme importance in fire resistive floors and walls.  Firestopping is the use of materials for building; such as ducts, pipes, etc. that prevent flames, heat and gases from spreading through penetrations of ceilings, walls and floors to restore its full fire rating. Not only do many buildings not have the proper firestop systems installed, but we are finding that it is inexperienced workers from each trade installing the firestop systems, leaving their walls, joints, ceilings, etc. exposed and at great risk.  When a building is at risk, people’s lives are at risk of injury and fatality, that could lead to litigation for your company.  To reduce this liability the NYC Department of Buildings has recently required firestop special inspections according to the new ASTM firestop inspection standards. 

Review Some of the Highlights of the New ASTM Firestop Inspection Standard: 

You may be aware that the International Building Code used in the US has included new firestop inspection standards since the 2012 codes were adopted.  These standards were put in place to help increase the efficiency of firestop systems and inspections.  The ASTM firestop inspection standards have been also adopted into the 2014 NYC codes. The two ASTM Standards are E-2174 (Penetrations) and   E-2393 (Joints) that are in place for special inspectors to adhere to.    These two standards are similar and important to understand, starting with Conflicts of Interest.  The firestop inspector needs to be completely independent of and divested from the installer, contractor, manufacturer, or supplier.   [Read more…]