House Approves 10-Month Extension, Returns Bill to Senate

The House of Representatives approved an amended job-creation bill this afternoon that would extend Highway Trust Fund authorization until Dec. 31, deposit $19.5 billion of general revenue into the Highway Trust Fund, restore this fiscal year’s highway funding to $42 billion from $30 billion, and offer additional federal support for states and localities that wish to issue Build America Bonds to finance infrastructure construction.

By a vote of 217-201, the House sent the measure (HR 2847) back to the Senate. Senators had approved the bill last week by a vote of 78-19 after overcoming a Republican filibuster. The Highway Trust Fund’s authority lapsed Sunday after the House did not act on the 10-month extension last week and after Sen. Jim Bunning, R-KY, held up a separate bill extending authorization by 30 days. Federal Highway Administration reimbursements to state transportation departments ceased Monday and Tuesday and the U.S. Department of Transportation furloughed some 2,000 employees until the Senate was able to clear the measure and President Barack Obama signed it late Tuesday night.

The jobs measure approved today by the House would be the fifth short-term extension of the 2005 transportation authorization law known as “SAFETEA-LU,” which expired Sept. 30, 2009. Under the fourth extension approved Tuesday night, Highway Trust Fund authorization now lapses March 28. Work continues in Congress on a full six-year surface transportation authorization, which has been delayed over funding concerns.

Today’s House version of the jobs bill includes $15 billion worth of payroll tax breaks for small businesses that hire new workers and Build America Bonds financing support for state and local infrastructure projects. The House amendment adopted today includes a few minor changes from the version passed last week by the Senate. Those changes include reiterating existing federal law requiring state DOTs to award at least 10 percent of their contracts to “small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.” This provision was added to address concerns of the Congressional Black Caucus, CQ Politics reported. Some CBC members had been withholding their support for the measure over concerns it doesn’t do enough to address job creation for minorities.

View the full story at http://www.aashtojournal.org/Pages/030410authorization.aspx.

 

Support Infrastructure Investment in Senate Jobs Bill

Here is your chance to make yourself heard. “Please contact your Senators and ask them to support job creation legislation that invests in infrastructure to not only put Americans back to work but also improve the conditions of the nation’s transportation, water and other vital systems to support our recovering economy.”

Here is the link that will allow you to do this via email- http://message.asce.org/content/ASCEStatement2010StateoftheUnion

After clicking the link, go to the bottom of the page where it says- let your state’s U.S. Senators know. Then just type in your zip code.

 

The Importance of Cross Training for CAD Drafters

There was a time that it would seem being proficient at one discipline would be good enough for a person’s career.  You would master your craft and become an expert in all there is to know.  But it seems that things have changed.  No longer is it good enough to be experienced at a single CAD discipline such as- Transportation, Structural, Mechanical, etc … You now must know two or more of these disciplines to stay employed, or to find employment.  Due to lack of funding and available projects, companies can no longer have multiple drafters who can only do one type of work.   It is easier for them to let those drafters go, and give overtime to the drafters who can do multiple types of work on the projects in the company.  To many of us, this seems unfair and wrong.  I’m sure to some degree that board drafters felt similarly, when CAD started replacing board drafting.

As time goes on, every profession has change.  It is up to the people in that profession to adjust to the changes.  We as CAD drafters are no different.  I’m  not saying there is no value in being a good or great Transportation, Structural, etc. drafter.  In fact, that is a good place to start.  Learn that craft and do your best to do it quickly.   When you are asked at a review where you see yourself in the future,  this would be a good time to broach the subject of cross training in another discipline.  Tell them you would like to continue learning and growing at  your current discipline, but also that you would like to become more versed in other disciplines as well.  This will show the company that you wish to increase your value to them as an employee.   When opportunities arise to work on different types of work, that opportunity will more than likely be provided to you, because you showed interest.

There is no such thing as an irreplaceable person in any field.  To often we work hard for a company just to be replaced by someone not as experienced or for a lower rate of pay.  It is our job as professional drafters to make sure if this happens, we can quickly find another company who sees the value in our skills.  By cross training into multiple disciplines, this will be an easier task to accomplish.

 

Mentors

I’d like to cover a topic close to me.  In this world, we all need help getting started in a chosen profession.  Drafting in the civil engineering field is no different.  I was fortunate to have many people shape my career as I’ve gone along.   But the one person who was most directly responsible for me starting my career was, Bruce Hagen, my mentor.

Now Bruce was not a drafter or even a designer- he was a civil engineer.  At the time I knew him, I had no goals toward a career in drafting or civil engineering.  I was working a dead-end job, and had not done well in junior college.  My then girlfriend(who now is my wife), Kristen, had temped as a receptionist once or twice at the engineering company where  he was vice president.  Now Bruce thought highly of Kristen, and asked if she would be interested in learning cad drafting.  She was not interested in learning cad,  however she said he should consider asking me if I would be interested, since I was much more into things of that nature.  Yes, I think we can all see where this is going… Let’s just fast forward to when I was offered a job at Bruce’s company with no cad drafting experience.

Now some would say he was not my mentor- he was a man that gave me an opportunity in a field in which I had no experience.  He was far more than a mentor.   As my training went along,  he always was watching out for me in my professional development.  He told me pay attention when given assignments, write things down when things are explained, always check my own work, and have the right attitude.  To him, there was nothing more important than having a good attitude.  Bruce passed away some time ago, but his impact on my career has never been stronger.   As I’ve gone along in my career, I’ve acquired other mentors who have helped me to grow and learn in this profession.  Mentors help shape us, guide us and start us going in the right direction.  I urge people in all professions to find a mentor, because they can truly have a positive impact on your career.  This particular post is dedicated to my mentors, for whom I am very grateful- Bruce Hagen, Steve Rogers, Roy Hooky, Bob Malott, and Kathleen Pendergast.

 

Comments, Questions, or Thoughts?

I started this blog to help lesser experienced Microstation CAD technicians and EIT’s.  I would welcome feedback on my blog, and suggestions as to topics or any questions about myself and my background.

 

Becoming a CAD Drafter

Being a CAD drafter is far more involved than just operating CAD software.  To  explain my point, I will give you a brief glimpse of board drafting.  Board drafting was an art form, if you will.   Just as a painter takes paint to an easel, a board drafter would  look at his media (Vellum, Mylar, etc…), and spend time thinking out how to develop his plan sheet.  This was important because plans were done in pen.  A mistake or miscalculation was lost time and money.

Why do I bring this up?   Simply put, I’m a part of a generation of people who came into the engineering community with no previous board drafting experience.   I took drafting in high school, but only for one year. (Though my teacher did say I was good at it.)  I learned my craft of developing roadway plans on the job.  I was taught by a skilled CAD designer who had once been a board drafter.  He made it clear to me that just because a mistake in a cad program is far easier to correct, doesn’t mean I shouldn’t think out the process as if I were working with pen and paper. 

Now to my point-  Too many of us CAD professionals have a tendency to be in a rush to create drawings.  We don’t always take the time to think out all possible problems or issues that may arise when putting together plans.   If we don’t take time and think out the assigned task,  it inevitably leads to wasted time.  Let us all try and become more like board drafters.  I think it will lead to better generated work, and is a good step towards effective time management.

 

The Life of a Redline Drafter

In civil drafting, this is where it all starts- as a redline drafter.  As far as I know, no one is out of the box ready to take on all the needs and wants of setting up plans.  The engineer or designer gives you mark ups, and you proceed from there.  As time goes on, you will build your professional relationship with the redliner.  When they get a feel for what you do best,  they will be able to give you more simplified directions for the redlines.

To get to this, you must never be afraid to ask questions.  You may be intelligent, but if you end up doing something incorrect because you didn’t ask,  they may not be able to see this.  As I was once told by a designer- “There is no such thing as a dumb question.”    Making mistakes can happen, but if it can be avoided by asking a question, then do so.  Take notes when the task is being explained to you.  This way you will only have to ask questions about problems that arise, and not something you have forgotten.  Check your work, print out what you have done, and verify that everything in the task you were given was completed.  The less time a redliner has to spend checking your work, the more they can entrust to you increasingly complex tasks.

Your success depends on your willingness to learn and adapt to the needs of the company you are working for.  If there isn’t any redline work, then ask if there is anything else you can do.  For example- back checking the redlines of other drafters, doing calculations for the engineers, or anything else that may be of help.  Taking this initiative will go a long way to taking you from redline Microstation drafter, to junior drafter, senior drafter and beyond.

 

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