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Top 20 Engineering Interview Questions

October 21, 2022 by Kayla Mitchell

The engineering industry is as competitive as ever for top talent due to recent explosive growth. In fact, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts nearly 140,000 new engineering jobs to be available by 2026. This exponential growth and competitive market means preparing for key engineering interview questions is crucial, whether you are an industry veteran or a student seeking their first job. As part of Blue Signal’s white-glove service, we assist engineering candidates with preparing for their interviews. Our engineering recruiters provide insight into the hiring company, practice potential interview questions, and debrief with candidates after each interview. In order to best understand how to prepare for engineering interview questions, we must first examine the different types of interview questions and why hiring managers ask them.

Types of Engineering Interview Questions

Preparation is key to ensure candidates make a favorable impression on everyone they meet during the interview process. According to a survey from Glassdoor, 88% of hiring managers say that an informed candidate is what they are looking for when interviewing. Taking the initiative to learn and practice responses to potential engineering interview questions will set you apart from other candidates. Hiring managers leverage a myriad of interview questions to gain a comprehensive understanding of the candidate. Each type of interview question has its own purpose and will reveal something specific about the candidate. Ultimately, the interview questions seek to measure the candidate’s skill set and abilities as well as their cultural fit within the current team.

Image of two women seated in chairs at a table - one is leaning in and listening while the other speaks during an interview

Situational Interview Questions

Situational interview questions are based on specific scenarios that could conceivably await someone in the new role. They seek to focus on a given hypothetical situation and how the candidate would handle it. Situational engineering interview questions can be difficult, as a candidate is required to think on the spot. Likely, this is a skill the interviewer may be testing them on. Answering these questions well can prove that an engineering candidate is willing to take the lead, ask for help, stay calm under pressure, and/or make positive choices. Overall, they prove the candidate can overcome any situation they will be faced with in the job.

Competency-Based Interview Questions

Competency-based interview questions are used by interviewers to assess specific attributes, knowledge, and behaviors. For example, a hiring manager looking to understand more about a candidate’s behaviors may ask about different ways in which they used their analytical ability to solve a problem. Alternatively, if it is decision making that the interviewer is looking to assess, they may ask candidates to provide information about how they built strong professional rapport with colleagues to make informed decisions. While these interview questions may often seem to be situational, competency-based questions are far less likely to be hypothetical. This enables candidates to draw directly on real-life examples and be focused on specific competencies rather than a general approach.

Behavioral Interview Questions

Behavioral interview questions are asked to elicit information from candidates on how they would likely handle any range of real-world challenges based on previous, similar circumstances. Whereas situational engineering interview questions decipher how engineering candidates would approach certain scenarios, and competency-based questions prove they have the skills required for the role, behavioral questions determine if candidates possess the desired character traits the hiring manager is looking for. Such interview questions tend to be based on the principle that a candidate’s past behavior is the best predictor of their future behavior. These questions can touch on such aspects such as candidates’ ability to work as part of a team, client-facing skills, adaptability, time management skills, and more.

Top 20 Engineering Interview Questions

1. What is the most challenging engineering project you dealt with? How did you ensure it was a success?

2. Describe a written technical report or presentation you had to complete.

3. What steps do you take to keep your engineering skills current?

4. Why did you choose to study [engineering branch]?

5. Tell me about a time you failed (or succeeded) with [skill]. How did you react?

6. How do you deal with difficult coworkers/clients?

7. Which part of engineering is your favorite? What about your least favorite?

8. Which of your traits make you a stronger engineer? Do any of your traits hold you back?

9. What has been your biggest engineering success?

10. Can you tell me about your best manager and why you thought they were great?

A man and woman dressed professionally shaking hands in an office with word bubbles around highlighting engineering interview questions

11. Describe a time you demonstrated leadership skills at work.

12. Describe a time you used problem-solving skills to figure out a design problem.

13. Describe a time you had to work on a team, and something didn’t go well. What would you do differently?

14. Tell me about a time you got negative feedback on your work. How did you respond?

15. Have you identified and implemented any process improvements that led to cost reductions?

16. What software applications are you familiar with?

17. What programming languages do you prefer? Why do those appeal to you?

18. How would your friends (family, coworkers, professors) describe you?

19. Why are you interested in this role? Why are you interested in working at this company?

20. Where would you like to be in your career five years from now?

Tips and Best Practices for Answering Engineering Interview Questions

It can feel daunting to prepare for a laundry list of potential engineering interview questions. To help ease the anxiety around interview preparation, Blue Signal partnered with our very own Bo Scott to provide insight on how to best prepare for these engineering interview questions. Bo is a Senior Executive Recruiter who specializes in IT, Emerging Technology, IoT, Cloud, Technology Sales, Unified Communications, Telecommunications, and Wireless roles. Based on his experience and expertise in the field, Bo recommends keeping two important points in mind when crafting responses to engineering interview questions. These pieces of advice will help candidates perform well in an engineering interview, and hopefully lead to landing the role.

The first tip is to remember that the interviewer is asking questions specifically about yourself, rather than your team. We all understand it takes a team effort to reach business goals, however, it is vital that you quantify, individualize, and specify your unique contributions to those achievements. Engineers rarely work alone, but they will bring their own strengths and weaknesses into their new team. Engineering candidates must focus on sharing what they have done to bring success to a business, team, or project.

Secondly, Bo emphasizes the importance of answering the engineering interview question that is being asked, rather than providing the answer a candidate believes the interviewer is looking for. This can be a difficult distinction to make. For example, an engineering interview question asking about what you have done is not a chance to share what you think they should do, or what you would do differently. One way to ensure you are concisely and accurately answering the question at hand is to draw examples from your experience to tell a story about your accomplishments – and, if applicable, how those experiences prepared for this potential new role.

While it is likely most of these engineering interview questions will be asked throughout the hiring process, it’s important to be prepared to answer any question thrown your way. Assume these interview questions will also be tailored toward the role’s industry, and area of expertise. Whether on your own or partnering with a recruiter, preparing for the engineering interview questions discussed gives you a critical advantage in the hiring process.

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Filed Under: Blog Posts, Engineering, Recruiter Tips Tagged With: best practices, candidate engagement, civil engineering, engineer, Engineering, engineering interview questions, interview advice, interview best practices, interview performance, interview prep, interview preparation, interview questions, interviewing, job interview, mechanical engineering, recruiter, Recruiter Tips, recruiting, Software Engineering, systems engineering, Top Engineering Interview Questions

Looking to Packaging: COVID-19’s Impact on Health vs Sustainability

September 2, 2020 by Amber Lamb

With the Coronavirus pandemic, there have been unprecedented changes in the economy and global marketplace - impacting all industries in unpredictable ways. Amazingly, businesses have adapted to the needs of the market, creating options like curbside pickup, contactless delivery, and much more to satisfy the needs of consumers, but also keep them safe. With medical teams working around the clock to ensure the health and wellness of their communities, there has been an incredible surge in demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) and other protective materials. Even food and beverage companies rose to the challenge, with some global distilleries shifting production from vodka and gin to hand sanitizer. This change in business strategy on all levels of consumption has resulted in an exponential demand in plastics and packaging products. 

The Global Flexible Packaging Market is expected to grow by over $50,000M USD by the end of 2025 according to Valuates Reports. Packaging as it pertains to its product marketing value on shelves, all the way to how it plays into logistics and long-distance supply chains, will always remain a key piece in our economy. The industry is vast and supports everything we know about the consumer market, making it essential in all product-oriented businesses. However, a strong debate stands between what comes next for the industry with sustainable vs. health conscious packaging. 

 

Product Design Changes, Historically 

For decades, packaging design has gone through several rounds of optimization to better support sustainability, while maintaining convenience and cost-effective product housing. To reinforce sustainable thinking, the industry has deployed design improvements like eliminating unnecessary packaging, increasing the use of recycled content, and helping communicate sustainability narratives like promoting recycling habits in consumers. There has also been efforts toward the increased use of mono-materials as opposed to multilayer packaging, creating higher recyclability of the packaging itself. 

Due to consumer preference shifts as the impact of plastics and other materials on the environment have become more apparent, businesses have altered their packaging practices to appeal to the movement. Companies have worked to decrease packaging weight by 20-50%, resulting in less raw material used. Others have eliminated single-use plastics, or have increased the volume of the packaging to sell more product per unit. For some companies, this takes the form of eliminating packaging completely. While each of these avenues create a lesser impact on the environment, they can simultaneously counteract efforts for product preservation and health safety. 

 

Today’s Market Changes 

Just as the market has shifted to create better sustainability as environmentalism grew within consumer buying habits, it has also worked to assuage health concerns due to COVID-19. Unfortunately, these two key interests have somewhat contrasting ways of being implemented - with concerns over health and safety creating a “temporarily high demand” of single-use plastic materials and packaging. One Head of Packaging and Design for a UK based company speculated, “As we become increasingly more aware of germs being transmitted through surfaces, will we begin to ask ourselves who else has touched that banana or apple, and will we shun these unwrapped products in favor of the relative safety and security offered by a plastic wrap?”

So far, the market supports this theory with a CAGR of 5%. Due to the increased demand in FMCG and pharmaceutical packaging, and rising e-commerce sales and packaging due to lockdowns/quarantining, the global packaging market is projected to grow from $909B USD to $1,012B USD by 2021. 

covid-19-impact-on-packaging-market

Due to pandemic lockdown measures alone, the eco-friendly packaging market has shrunk by 0.2% since March 2020. Then, when considering hygiene concerns, reusable packaging demand has not only decreased but been banned in some cases. States like California, Hawaii, and Massachusetts that previously banned single-use plastic bags are now starting to reverse these bans over the perceived health threat of bringing your own bag into stores. But does this represent a long-term market shift? For the near future anyway, it appears as though single-use plastics such as polystyrene and polyethylene, as well as paper and cardboard packaging solutions, are set to experience a boost in demand. 

 

Job Market and Talent Gaps

As a way to navigate the economic turbulence in the packaging industry, companies have started to shift their segments to support more “essential” customers like those in the medical supply, healthcare, sanitation, and personal or home care fields. With the reduction in travel, car sales slowed and GM and Ford Motor Co deployed factories to produce ventilators. Rather than making plastic products for car parts, their assembly line workers began manufacturing PPE. While some of those skillsets are transferable across industries - including automation and engineering - some machine-focused roles might experience a gap in talent. 

McKinsey Report

Whether it be thermoforming, blow molding, extrusion, injection molding, or polymer casting - there are different processes and machines that are used to specialize in each method of plastic manufacturing. Some companies, in reaction to the market’s demand for “safer” product housing, might look to utilize more flexible packaging types and will need to bring on professionals in flexographic printing or extrusion coating. Without having prior involvement in this space, this transition will call for a whole new skillset. This is where Blue Signal comes in. 

As recruiters in the plastics and packaging spaces, Blue Signal has the industry insights necessary to understand the competitive landscape, and help you attain the talent you need to stay ahead in this explosive-growth market. With a limited number of tenured professionals in the space, can you afford to wait? Contact us today to discuss your options, and get back to what is most important - providing products that keep our communities safe.

Filed Under: Blog Posts, Engineering Tagged With: environmentalism, Health, sustainability

Talent Gaps in Electrical Engineering: Awful or Opportunity?

July 30, 2020 by Amber Lamb

With the 4th Industrial Revolution, there have been expansive job opportunities in emerging technology such as artificial intelligence and data science. Locally, reports show that every 100 tech jobs created in Arizona result in 252 jobs in other sectors. From manufacturing all the way to sales - each job vertical has expanded due to new developments in systems, applications, hardware, and software. However, it seems like much of the allure within these jobs leans more toward high-profile software-oriented companies like Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google (FAANG). In one survey by Deloitte, over 77% of respondents believed there is currently a talent shortage within the semiconductor industry. Without chip designers, system engineers, and other EE talent, those FAANG companies would not be able to operate. Is this cause for concern? Or is there opportunity within this talent gap? 

Issues with the Talent Gap   

Last year KPMG found that 64% of semiconductor executives named “talent risk” as one of the top three threats to their organization’s growth. As technologies like IoT, Artificial Intelligence, and 5G evolve and are streamlined, new enhancements need to be invented to support them and remain competitive. The end of Moore’s Law put this need for innovation into an even clearer perspective. Yet, industry leaders are struggling to react to this need through skill development, education utilization, and developing an overall talent strategy. This means,despite growing demand for semiconductor technology and innovation being developed in this space at lightning speeds, industry leaders are still struggling to attract qualified talent and retain their skilled employees. 

The number of qualified candidates in the industry today are not meeting the growing need. MRL, a recruiting group, estimates that half of the current semiconductor employees are likely to retire in the next 10 to 15 years - with hardly anyone qualified enough to fill those gaps. With people retiring out, and few newcomers - the talent pool is shrinking. In order to keep up with demand and to stay relevant in the marketplace, semiconductor companies need to establish better plans to address the talent gap.

Part o the problem lies within the marketing of the semiconductor space. Today’s STEM graduates want to be on the cutting edge of technology - and are drawn to the allure of big-name software companies which are constantly covered by the industry, and make a visible impact on people’s lives. On the flip side, the direct impact semiconductors, electrical components, and analog technology have on everyday life is not as well-known. Compared to other tech giants, 59% of respondents in Deloitte’s survey said that the semiconductor industry’s career path was just not as attractive. They also found a high rate of turnover in semiconductor companies, as well as a lack of knowledge on how to apply those highly technical skills to grow their career throughout the industry. 

The industry is in need of a recruiting update - with one survey finding that 55% of companies feel unprepared to tackle the issue of attracting larger numbers of young people and graduates. These chip design and electrical engineering-focused companies need to focus on attracting and developing new talent to keep pace with the rest of the tech industries. Particularly, they need to learn how to market to millennials - as they have become the largest demographic group in today’s workforce. 

EE Talent Gap Stats Infographic

Areas of Opportunity 

All of this information seems pretty bleak, however, it leaves some pretty clear action-items on ways to turn this talent gap around. If the semiconductor industry wants to attract more talent, they must work on marketing themselves better to those entering the workforce. If they wish to retain their talent, they need to create more skill development opportunities and establish more career paths. 

A key trait of the career-seeking millennial is wanting their work to have a tangible impact on daily life. That’s why they are so drawn to big software companies; it is easy to find people who use those products and services every single day. Competing with this brand familiarity and accessibility is difficult, over 60% of executives surveyed by Deloitte felt that companies in the semiconductor supply chain suffer from poor brand image compared to those other technology companies. Better employer and industry branding could help reverse this. When it comes to marketing to graduates, it must be made clear the exciting and direct impact semiconductors have on everyday life - whether that be through 5G, IoT, automotive, industrial, or consumer applications. By showing the impact, millennials will come to imagine a satisfying and rewarding career within the space. 

It doesn’t help that the methods are outdated. From slow hiring processes to uncompetitive salary offers, millennials are not lining up for this old fashioned workplace and recruiting model. One microelectronics researcher stated that, “The jobs waiting for them after graduation are often limited and pay relatively poorly. It is much more appealing for these top engineers to go to big internet companies and create applications and software, rather than spend 5-10 years in a small lab doing extremely difficult and expensive hardware research.” From the outside looking in, they are seeing a lack of support and collaboration within these roles, and are having a hard time envisioning a solid career path within the field. To combat these feelings of disdain, a tech recruiting firm out of Europe suggests increasing recruiting efforts at universities and reevaluating what is offered to employees. Initiating R&D projects with universities, providing more mentorship and trainee programs, and other career development opportunities would help engage internal employees while also giving students an inside look into the job. 

As the digital design of systems and applications continually changes, so should the methods by which employers build their roadmaps to keep ahead of the innovation and develop their internal talent. Those within the electrical engineering space today are experiencing some key pain points as well when it comes to entering and staying in the semiconductor vertical. One survey found that 60% of their semicon employees leave their jobs within 3 to 5 years, pointing to an employee retention issue. In addition to regular salary and title evaluations, on-the-job learning, advanced degree training programs, and other career guidance pathways should help retention. 

The United States is not alone in this struggle, with the semiconductor talent shortage impacting businesses all across the globe. China and Singapore have been developing talent acquisition and talent retainment strategies in recent years, and we can learn from them. China is taking the homegrown talent pool approach, and looking to strengthen education for graduates, improve the benefits for their current engineers, and support research and development throughout the STEM sector. Meanwhile, Singapore is using strategies backed by Accenture and their own Economic Development Board to bolster the talent pool. This includes collaborating with the government on building out a roadmap and support stream in preparation of Industry 4.0, implementing new routes for cross-functional learning within the tech space, and forming workforce support in the form of unions and business chambers to develop transition paths. All of these efforts help to create long-term solutions that build the talent pipeline for semiconductor jobs now and in the future. 

Key Takeaways 

It is estimated that the semiconductor industry is the fastest growing electronic component industry in the US. There is significant opportunity there for those that have the knowledge! And, for those who know where to find the talent. Moving forward, retention tactics need to be better emphasized, and marketing efforts better funded. The semiconductor industry has a lot to offer, but has done little in the way of advocating for itself when competing against software and application giants. The good news is, you now have a friend in the business who understands the gap in the market and can help you build your pipeline and strategy to ensure your company comes out on top. Through strategic developments in marketing, education, and recruiting efforts, the semiconductor talent gap can be minimized. 

In Blue Signal’s home state of Arizona, the technology sector is growing at a pace 40% faster than the rest of the nation, with a 5% wage growth. Here, the governor plans to budget $12.5 billion to STEM workforce training and education. Arizona is ranked second in the nation for net new tech business establishments - right behind New York City. By tapping into local talent and Arizona college programs, Blue Signal has a unique opportunity to capitalize on this growing job market and talent pool. We understand the challenges and competition out there and have proven ourselves successful in overcoming these obstacles to help find companies educated and experienced professionals in the electrical engineering space. Contact one of our specialized recruiters today to discuss your opportunities for talent acquisition - some of which might be right in your backyard. 

Filed Under: Blog Posts, Engineering Tagged With: 4th industrial revolution, 5g, automotive, chip designers, consumer applications, digital design, EE, electrical engineering, electronic component, emerging technology, employee retention, FAANG, industrial, Industry 4.0, microelectronics, recruiters, recruiting, recruiting firms, Retention Tips, semicon, semiconductor, STEM, talent gap, Talent Retention, tech business, technology

2018: The Year of User-Friendly Enterprise DAS

June 7, 2018 by Lacey Walters

A recent industry survey by Coleman Parkes found that properties with excellent in-building wireless coverage technology were worth 28% more than properties with poor indoor coverage. The demand for reliable in-building wireless continues to grow. Many older buildings are constructed from materials that block cell signals and create pain points for building tenants. Even buildings with cellular coverage often lack capacity for today’s normal mobile usage. However, building owners have been reluctant to upgrade because of the perception that a DAS infrastructure investment is too costly. This year, that is changing. High-quality DAS solutions are becoming available for mid-sized businesses.inbuilding wireless

Wireless companies are competing heavily for businesses in the “middleprise” sector: venues between 50,000 and 500,000 square feet. While DAS is the default coverage solution for big venues like stadiums, airports, and large enterprises, a full-scale DAS is not usually cost-effective for midsize venues like hotels, malls, and hospitals. They are big enough to need an in-building coverage solution to boost the indoor signal, because poor coverage affects employee performance, productivity, and even the rent that the building owner can charge. However, traditional DAS solutions are often too large and expensive for these venues. WiFi coverage alone is not enough to deal with high data volume, and VoWiFi is not reliable enough for mission-critical telecommunications.

These midsize enterprises sometimes balk at pulling the trigger on a major DAS installation because of price or complexity. Since many companies have a BYOD policy, their connectivity solution needs to support bandwidth-intensive, multi-operator, multi-band functionality. At the same time, it needs to be cost-effective, secure, easy to manage, and somewhat future-proof.

 

Multi-operator Small Cells

Middleprise businesses have traditionally avoided small cells because of their limitation to a single carrier. Installing separate small cells for each carrier looks bulky and is unappealing from a design perspective. At this year’s Mobile World Congress, Baicells introduced their NeutralCell product, a multi-operator small cell technology that promises to eliminate this obstacle.

Shared infrastructure models are gaining traction fast. Today’s mobile user expects uninterrupted coverage, no dropped calls, high bandwidth, and high data speeds. However, MNOs cannot build their networks into every single building. Since building owners often have their own ideas about how much space they want to dedicate to network equipment, NeutralCell, SUMO, and similar emerging technologies will bridge this gap so that midsize venues can improve in-building coverage for all carriers for a competitive price.

Active Passive DAS

Signal Boosters & Passive DAS

One hybrid option that many enterprises will likely opt for in 2018 is a signal booster. While most people are familiar with indoor residential signal boosters, signal boosters in a passive DAS context are new to many enterprise owners. This option works very well for building managers who are struggling with poor indoor cell service, dropped calls, or inconsistent coverage. Passive DAS is a large-scale but simple signal booster that quickly improves coverage without complicated management.

The market often uses the term “DAS” to describe an active DAS system. But a DAS is by definition a distributed antenna system, and therefore both active and passive systems qualify as true DAS. Active DAS transmits signals through fiber cables and can boost and amplify signals as needed. Passive DAS transmits uses a leaky feeder communication system consisting of a coaxial cable that functions like an antenna, with “leaks” all along the length of the cable to allow radio signals to enter the cable along its length.

Since passive DAS costs about six times less than an active DAS system, many smaller enterprises choose it over the top-of-the-line solutions. In addition to the lower price, many enterprises prefer the shorter installation time of passive DAS (1 to 2 weeks). An active DAS can take 6 to 18 months to design and install.

 

5G and IoT-Friendly Network Design

The long-awaited 5G network infrastructure is starting to be switched on in parts of Europe, with America soon to follow. While the carriers themselves will be handling the physical wireless infrastructure 5G, many owners of large and midsize venues are considering timing their upgrades to coincide with new network technology and faster speeds.

Additionally, the number of IoT devices has ballooned to almost 9 billion devices worldwide, and is expected to hit between 10 and 15 billion devices by the end of 2018. The IoT landscape is a very strong incentive for building owners to consider DAS systems. Just 15 years ago, the vast majority of office equipment consisted of hard-linked computers, but today’s workplace depends on BYOD, consumer smart devices of all kinds, and IoT/M2M business equipment. This extra traffic puts pressure on the network. Additionally, middleprise building owners have a huge range of IoT devices customized to make their lives easier: smart utility meters, IoT-based security, smart traffic sensors, and more. The cost savings of smart building technology alone is sometimes big enough to offset the cost of a DAS or small cell solution.

 

Future Outlook

The most interesting aspect of the industry space outlook is the shifting relationship between enterprise customers and MNOs. It used to be that enterprise customers were completely dependent on the MNO to build network infrastructure to improve their connectivity and capacity. This model is still true for the individual cell phone user. But enterprise customers are experiencing such heavy demand pressure that they are no longer waiting around for the MNOs to expand the network equipment to meet their needs.

 

Learn more about our DAS and small cell recruiting specialties here.

Filed Under: Blog Posts, Engineering, Wireless/Telecom Tagged With: DAS, in-building, small cell, telecom, telecommunications, wireless

The Future of America’s Water Infrastructure

October 24, 2017 by Lacey Walters

The US government is planning major public infrastructure spending projects in the next decade. While roads and bridges get the majority of media attention, most water infrastructure across the country is older and more inefficient than transportation infrastructure. Some city water systems still rely on wooden pipes in trenches dug by hand over 100 years ago. Since water infrastructure failures are often expensive, many local governments are planning upgrades. Here’s what to expect.

Water Infrastructure Government Spending in the US has remained mostly flat for years.

Increased Spending on Infrastructure Upgrades

Public infrastructure spending on water management and sewage has remained fairly flat in the past decade. But as many cities push aging infrastructure past its limit, it is likely that this spending proportion will increase.

Part of the reason for this is increased public awareness of environmentally sustainable water management. The severe drought in California and the water crisis drew publicity to increased pressure on the water table in densely populated arid areas. Nearly 7 billion gallons of drinking water are lost every year to leaky underground pipes. In parts of the Northeast, up to 50% is lost on its way to the consumer, due to aging pipes.

Water Infrastructure Technology - Permanent Inflatable Epoxy Liners reduce the time and expense of digging out a leaky pipe.

Epoxy-coated liners are pulled through a leaky pipe and inflated with steam. This reduce the time and expense of digging up and repairing a leaky pipe.

 Water Infrastructure Technology - Platelets are small rubber balls that plug leaky pipes in the same way that red blood cells clot a wound.

Platelets are small rubber balls that plug leaky pipes the same way red blood cells form a clot.

Inefficient infrastructure is a major challenge. A leaking water main requires finding the leak, exposing the broken pipe, and replacing it. In high-traffic areas, this is disruptive and challenging. One new no-dig technique is to insert epoxy-coated liners into leaking pipes and expand them to fill the pipe using pressurized steam. This creates a watertight seal inside the old pipe, saving time and money during the repair process. Another method is to use Platelets — small rubber balls that “clot” leaks in older pipes.

Water quality is another challenge civil engineers face. The lead contamination in Flint went unnoticed for years until the water quality deteriorated to the point that it was visibly brown coming out of the tap. Older infrastructure is subject to corrosion, leaks, and contamination.

New smart meters can detect changes in water quality, pressure, and other factors faster than relying on consumer reporting. These IoT-enabled devices can be installed cheaply into new or existing infrastructure. They quickly alert maintenance teams when there is a problem and provide accurate information about where the problem is.

 

Sewage & Waste Disposal Systems

Civil engineers designing sewage systems have faced the same problem for centuries: the challenge of efficiently sorting and processing waste. The recent “fatberg” sewer clogs in Baltimore and London sewers drew huge media attention to the unique challenges of modern sewage disposal. Cooking grease is one of the biggest culprits causing problems in sewers nationwide. In the future, sewage design is likely to rely on techniques that make grease removal easier and more efficient. Fortunately, recycling plants that turn used grease into biodiesel are growing. Biodiesel conversion may become a profitable way for local governments to offset the cost of upgrades.

 

Smart Technology in Flood Control Systems

Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma called attention to major gaps in flood control and water management systems. As the population grows in coastal urban areas, there is an even bigger need for top-quality flood control and water management systems. This includes more detailed and accurate analysis of runoff and flooding patterns during weather events.

Reservoirs, flood walls, and drainage systems are all industry-standard technology to control floods, but new technology is allowing faster response times and more effective prevention. Low-power IoT devices such as smart sensors, meters, and remotely-activated emergency measures are becoming more widely available at a lower deployment cost. Municipalities are taking the opportunity to integrate this technology into their infrastructure upgrades. Cities such as Houston that recently experienced heavy flooding are likely to approve extra funding for advanced preventative infrastructure to reduce future flood impact. Other coastal cities in hurricane-prone areas of the country (mostly within the South and mid-Atlantic) will likely follow suit.

 

New Water Supply Technology

Sustainable water usage is a major challenge, especially in drought-prone areas such as Southern California and the Southwest. Water use restrictions tend to be unpopular and difficult to enforce fairly. Water infrastructure upgrades will be designed with droughts in mind and incorporate new low-energy desalination and high-efficiency water main designs that prevent breakage.

Geopolitical factors play a major role in the water supply, especially in landlocked arid areas like the Southwest. The Navajo and Hopi Nations have been adjudicating a landmark water rights case in the Colorado River Basin for years. The fate of the case will determine water usage and infrastructure development for Navajos, Hopis, and others living in the area. Over a third of Navajo and Hopi homes have no running water. Part of the issue is a lack of basic water infrastructure, combined with conflict between Native American residents and the mining/energy business owners who use the same water sources.

Water rights in the Colorado River Basin in the Southwest have been the subject of a decades-long legal dispute.

Water rights in the Colorado River Basin in the Southwest have been the subject of a decades-long legal dispute.

For coastal cities, seawater desalination technology is becoming less expensive. New smaller modules measuring less than 5′ x 5’ can desalinate 5,000 gallons of drinking water per day, enough for 50 people per unit. Even a single desalination unit can significantly reduce pressure on the water table, since it reduces the demand for pumping water over long distances and also cuts the amount of water that needs to pass through industrial water treatment plants.

It’s a better time than ever for local governments to upgrade ailing water infrastructure. New advanced technology is available to make the job easier, less expensive, and more efficient to maintain. A nationwide upgrade today is a much-needed investment in quality of life for decades to come.


Read more about our structural and civil engineering recruiting specialties, or set up a consultation to talk about a hiring need.

Filed Under: Engineering Tagged With: civil engineering, construction industry, emerging technology, infrastructure, job market, structural engineering, water treatment

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