Computers in Civil Engineering in the World of Today and Tomorrow

Great effort must continue to be concentrated on improving the state-of-the-art of applying computers to the civil engineering field. Computer-aided engineering methods open new areas for improving building design and lowering building costs. However, the U.S is using only a small percentage of its computer and engineering expertise. A great number of computer programs of all types have been written for building design engineering applications. Yet the computer's role in the design process has changed very little. It is still used primarily to solve mathematical engineering analysis problems. The computer has rarely been applied to architectural design work. Improving the quality of life by enlarging and refining the building industry depends largely on the affordability and on the quality of plans and designs. Civil engineers must move toward more efficient use of computers to help them design and draft, or lose out. More civil engineers are not using computers to design and draft because of the lack of computer programs aimed specifically at the practice of civil engineering and building construction, the lack of information or cost comparisons to demonstrate how much money can be saved by automation, and the high costs of computer hardware. Computer costs have now come down and can free all types of engineers from monotonous tasks which will give them more time to be creative. Engineers can sketch designs on terminal screens and let computers create the final drawings. Computers can assemble parts on circuits and simulate the way they would work. Computers can also convert a design into a coded form to run automated machinery. If engineers are to respond to the challenges of the 1980's, they must improve their capabilities and use their computer resources wisely. Developing more computer software for the practice of civil engineering along with the training of current staff will be a long and arduous task. Much remains to be done to bring the power of today's computers to the civil engineers who work for small engineering firms.