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REI2004
FOCUS: "Time is Money! Intelligent Modeling with
STAAD.Pro 2004"
The famous Monte Carlos Resort & Casino welcomed
Research Engineers International (REI) and it's
users to its annual conference in Las Vegas Nevada
from July 23rd-24th 2004. The conference was a
great success with an overwhelming number of presentations
and guest speakers. This year's 18th Annual Software
Product Conference followed tradition and included
several presentations, guest speakers (AISC, Intergraph,
Tekla, Desai/Nasr), technical camps and training,
which made this event invaluable for all attendees.
Our users, resellers, partners and staff had the
opportunity to network and learn more about REI’s
programs, share ideas and absorb valuable feedback.
From the opening speaker commenting on the effects
of outsourcing on the engineering industry to
our new Q & A session, REI covered a wide range
of topics making the entire conference informative
for all of our users.
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AeA Keynote Speaker: John Palafoutas
Senior Vice President for Domestic Policy
and Congressional Affairs
AeA (American Electronics Association)
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John Palafoutas is AeA's principal lobbyist
in Washington and is responsible for overseeing
AeA's domestic policy division, including
workforce issues. He has been studying the
effects of job outsourcing on the engineering
industry over the past few years and presented
us the pros and cons of the recent surge
towards job outsourcing as it applies to
the A/E/C environment. REI was proud to
have Ms. Palafoutas speak to our attendees.
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AISC Guest Speaker : Carol Pivonka,
P.E.
Director of Continuing Education "AISC for
the Frugal Minded"
AISC, Inc.
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Carol’s presentation focused on what engineers
can get free from AISC. Her presentation
brought our users up to date on the wealth
of technical information and other resources
AISC makes available to them and how to
obtain them. REI’s attendees also learned
about the new steel design code which will
combine the ASD and LRFD codes sometime
next year. Carol is a licensed professional
engineer in both Texas and Montana and has
spent most of her career working for large
consulting firms. She began her career at
AISC as a Senior Engineer in the Continuing
Education Department and has then assumed
the position of Director of Continuing Education
at AISC, overseeing the continuing education
activities throughout the US while still
running AISC's seminars and programs throughout
the western 13 states. REI was pleased to
have had Ms. Pivonka as a guest speaker.
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Intergraph Guest Speaker:
Robert Christian
Business Development
Intergraph’s PPM division (Process, Power
and Marine) |
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REI was pleased to have had Mr. Christian
present us with the integration of STAAD.Pro
with Frameworks Plus and PDS (Plant Design
System) and how E & C companies in the petrochemical
field can maximize efficiency in managing
their structural and piping models.
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Tekla Structures Guest
Speaker : Amber Freund
Senior Applications Engineer
Research Engineers International |
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REI was pleased to have had Ms. Freund
as a presenter. She presented us with a
unique and increasingly popular approach
to 3D structural information modeling (SIM)
for the building space using a 3D parametric
modeler with STAAD to automate physical
modeling, analysis and design, production
of GA drawings and designing connections.
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CONFERENCE
The STAAD.Pro 2004 release is optimized
for efficient engineering using Intelligent
Modeling. This year's conference focused on
how Intelligent Modeling using STAAD.Pro
2004 can save hundreds of man-hours on all engineering
projects. Some of the heavily emphasized features
were modeling shear walls and slabs using our
new surface element, modeling joists and castellated
beams and automatically performing live load
reduction calcs on floor groups. We also showed
how STAAD is the center of most engineering
processes by demonstrating our integration with
Tekla Structures, LARSA, MicroStation, FrameWorks
and AutoCAD. Our popular technical camps, once
again, allowed our users to obtain one-on-one
support, training and project feedback from
our expert engineers and staff.
Dr. Marwan Kishek and Nirmall Mull from Desai-Nasr,
Detroit, MI gave our users a real-world perspective
on how STAAD was used to design several buildings
and landmarks in downtown Detroit including
the new Greektown Casino. Users also learned
how to maximize STAAD's interoperability features
by creating real-time 3D walkthroughs using
VRML.
Mr. Steven Vicha from Jacobs Engineering, Houston,
TX gave a presentation on how to apply fireproofing
to steel members in order to increase the fire
rating on a building allowing more time for
people to escape. Steven showed how the new
fireproofing feature in STAAD.Pro could
automatically calculate an equivalent load and
weight from various types of fireproofing contours.
TECH CAMPS
Our famous technical camps continue to become
one of the main attractions of the conference.
Their popularity has increased each year and
this year was no different. Our attendees had
the opportunity to meet with our engineers in
one-on-one sessions to learn more about our
programs and share issues and concerns regarding
their current projects. The ability to obtain
personal attention and training has become invaluable
to our users. All attendees can visit our Tech
Camps and ask specific questions, discuss issues,
and share information with the software developers.
The feedback from our users will be incorporated
into future software enhancement and development.
This year's Tech Camps focused on the following:
- Modeling Techniques
- OpenSTAAD
- STAAD Structural Suite - Product Interoperability
(STAAD.foundation, STAAD.etc
and Sectionwizard)
- Advanced Analysis
- Steel and Concrete Design
- Tekla Structures with STAAD.Pro
- Structural Desktop
- LARSA
- STAAD.pipe
DINNER
Our newest tradition to the conference has
been our "themes." This year, REI brought a
little of the past into the future. Our Vintage
Ball dinner reception allowed our users to relax
and have a little fun after days of hard work.
The entertainers and ambiance made the night
unforgettable as everyone had an opportunity
to relax and have fun. The dinner reception
has become our traditional way to "thank you"
everyone for their continuous support and commitment.
Until next year…
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