News

PCS Structural Solutions Promotes Wes Neeley and Kyle Murdock to Associate Principal

PCS is pleased to announce the promotions of Wes Neeley and Kyle Murdock to associate principal.
 

Wes Neeley and Kyle Murdock associate principals
Big Hearts Pledge Drive 2020 - Help PCS Support STEM Learning

PCS Structural Solutions' 4th Annual Big Hearts Pledge Drive 2020
Thank you for your support of this year's virtual fundraiser to support STEM Networks of Washington and Oregon

PCS Big Hearts Pledge Drive 2020
Determination of Pressure Coefficients for High-Rise Buildings of Different Aspect Ratios

As the height of a building increases, the most dominant wind forces on a building change from those on the roof to those on the walls of the building. This concept has been the basis of the dual set of provisions in the ASCE 7 Standard and building codes since the original wind tunnel studies were completed in the 1960’s and 1970’s. According to American Society of Civil Engineers/Structural Engineering Institute ASCE-SEI), “a systematic study using modern wind tunnel test methods for code-based design has not been conducted in over 40 years.”
 

Maker Creativity helps fill the gap during the coronavirus outbreak

By Valerie Hendel | Around the PCS office, we’ve come to expect little surprises in the shape of plastic lizards, turtles, little building models or the faces of our colleagues morphed into superhero merch. PCS’s Sage Cowsert and Evan Olszko are Makers, and despite their work-from-home confinements, their 3D printers are in full swing printing safety face shield parts being used to create personal protective equipment for the face. Creatives will find a way.
 

PPE face shield parts printed from 3D printer
The Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) Tool Takes on Carbon Emissions

The impact of a building’s construction and operations on carbon emissions has been well established by the AEC community. “Buildings, in fact, contribute 40 percent of the CO2 emissions worldwide,” according to the Carbon Leadership Forum. The AEC industry is moving on an imperative to address embodied carbon (EC), the carbon emissions associated with the manufacture of building materials and processes over the life of the building.

partners in EC3 tool
PCS Structural Solutions Promotes Three Staff Members

PCS Structural Solutions promoted three people in its Tacoma and Seattle offices. Jack Pinkard was promoted to senior principal, and Hai Lin and Sunny Sidhu were each promoted to project engineers.

Enhanced Processes: The Evolution of Lean, Collaboration and Efficiency in AEC Project Delivery

Contributors: Craig Stauffer, Alex Legé, Jason Collins, Ted Ryan, Brian Phair, and Todd Parke
PCS Structural Solutions | October 4, 2019

 

Seattle Children's Bellevue Clinic and Surgery Center, the first IPD project in Washington State
If Old Walls Could Talk: Jim Collins Retires from PCS After 41 Years

by Valerie Hendel
 
Jim Collins, a senior principal of PCS Structural Solutions, retires on September 4, 2019. Jim joined then-Chalker Engineers in downtown Tacoma on January 1, 1978—the only employee, he notes, to start on a holiday. It was a fortuitous meeting of energies—a young, new engineer and a city ready to reimagine itself. The city leaders had a new vision for Tacoma and were determined to see the reanimation of its beautiful downtown buildings, and Jim was an energetic engineer ready for the opportunity.
 

Don Scott's Research Catalyzes Development of First Guidance for 'Real' Wind Design

In a long-awaited, historic step toward “real" not cookbook wind engineering, the Structural Engineering Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers recently issued a recommended alternative to the building code’s prescriptive procedures for the wind design of buildings. Properly implemented, the Prestandard for Performance-Based Wind Design, available free of charge for all structural engineers to use, results in buildings capable of achieving wind performance objectives specified in the ASCE 7 design load standard, and in many cases, superior performance, according to SEI.

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