VFD cabling

VFD Cable Selection and Grounding Considerations for Large Industrial Motors Selecting the Right Cabling for Your Project By Brian Literski, PE – Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) are essential components that control the speed of process equipment. They are used with pumps, blowers, or other motor-driven equipment required to run at variable speeds or loads.For some industrial projects that use process equipment, a motor’s horsepower requirements can be up to hundreds of horsepower on a 480V power distribution system. Since VFD output cabling provides the connection from the VFD to the process equipment motor, it is good practice to choose a cable that enhances the system’sRead More →

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deferred maintenance planning for infrastructure projects morrison maierle

How to End Your Deferred Maintenance Nightmares By Rika Lashley, PE – You’re lying awake at night—or maybe having nightmares—worrying about not having the right maintenance plan in place. You’ve heard a million times that proactive planning is the way to go. But if you take the time to create a plan, will it provide you with better sleep? The short answer is yes. There are several things you can do today to establish a better maintenance-cost tracking system. If you start simple, stick to your plan, and consistently keep track of your data, your maintenance plan will not only provide you with a betterRead More →

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welding procedure specifications

Four Types of Welding Procedure Specifications (WPS) By Ken Fields, CET, CWI – Welding Procedure Specifications (WPS) are the parameters and variables a welder must follow to consistently produce sound welds. In the profession, WPS can also go by the names of Preliminary WPS, prequalified WPS, Standard WPS, or simply a WPS. In the end, Welding Procedure Specifications are simply Welding Procedure Specifications. Below is a brief description of the four types of specifications and how they come into play when developing the end product—otherwise known as a qualified WPS—after all the required testing has been completed. 1. Preliminary-WPS A Preliminary-WPS is written by theRead More →

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is it time to upgrade your pump morrison maierle

Is it Time to Upgrade Your Pump? By Kurtis DeShaw, PE – Do you have a pump station with a pump that’s due for replacement? Several factors go into this decision when it’s time to replace your pump and what you’re going to replace it with. There are some common triggers for pump replacement, and some items to watch out for when selecting your new pump. Triggers for Pump Replacement Many factors come into play when analyzing the pumps in your stations. Some common reasons for upgrading pumps we hear most frequently are: Increasing operations and maintenance costs.   The pump performance has diminished.  The pumpingRead More →

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Cross-Laminated Timber Applications for Every Project By Reed Newcomer, PE – Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is seeing increased use by architects and engineers because of the numerous structural applications it can accomplish in a wide variety of buildings projects. While CLT panels are typically used for horizontal elements such as roof and floor elements, they are becoming more common for vertical elements such as walls and cores. In other words, there are CLT applications for pretty much every project in the built environment. What’s So Special About CLT? CLT falls under the mass timber umbrella. While there are similar mass timber products like nail-laminated timber (NLT)Read More →

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deferred maintenance rika lashley

Risks and Consequences of Deferred Maintenance By Rika Lashley, PE – Countless communities in the U.S. are faced with deferred maintenance issues for their water and sewer infrastructure—usually due to budget constraints. Piping that was placed in the ground half a century or longer ago is beginning to fail. Or worse, deposits within this old pipe have the potential for contaminating the water along its route and can run into people’s taps. Equipment installed to treat the community’s wastewater and keep the receiving streams or aquifers safe is being held together by resourceful operators, even though it should have been replaced a decade ago. DoesRead More →

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allendale irrigation and fish screen

Allendale Canal and Fish Screen Allendale Canal and Fish Screen is part of the Flint Creek Water Project, owned by the Montana Department of Resources and Conservation (DNRC) and operated by the Flint Creek Water Users Association. The Montana Department of Justice’s Natural Resource Damage Program (NRDP) funded the project to improve irrigation efficiency and benefit fisheries in Flint Creek. The Allendale Canal is the largest and furthest downstream in the Flint Creek Water Project. It often takes a significant percentage of Flint Creek, especially later in the season when irrigation demand peaks from farms around the Drummond area. Allendale diverts Flint Creek water andRead More →

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vigilante stadium project

Vigilante Stadium Lighting Design Helena Public Schools’ Vigilante Stadium is in Helena’s South-Central neighborhood and home field to both Helena High and Capital High schools. In the fall during football season, it is busy nearly every Friday night as both schools take turns hosting home games and again throughout the spring for middle and high school track meets. The Problem The stadium, with its 1970-era HID lighting system, regularly sent the district’s maintenance staff scrambling for replacement parts that were extremely difficult to find and, in most cases, obsolete. Most of the poles had at least one fixture that did not function, and the lightingRead More →

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pump station solutions morrison maierle

Solutions to Help Accelerate Pump Station Construction Schedules By Kurtis DeShaw, PE – Have you ever been up against a wall with your water distribution system? Has your pump station reached, or even gone beyond maximum capacity? Do you find yourself scrambling to keep up with new developments? If you’re experiencing any of these scenarios, chances are your current pump station might be at the end of its lifecycle and you need to plan for a new one. With all the problems you’re experiencing, you needed that new pump station yesterday. To help facilitate schedules while meeting various needs with future improvements, sometimes you needRead More →

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lighting controls

Beyond the Switch: Understanding Lighting Controls By Brian McDivitt, PE – Ever since the late 1800s, electrical circuits have used simple switches to turn lights on and off. In recent decades, energy codes have been encouraging innovation to reduce the amount of energy consumed by electric lighting. With lighting controls now starting to involve new functionalities such as automatic control of plug-in receptacles, many building owners find themselves wondering: what happened to the basic switch on the wall? The lighting controls components used in a building depend on the needs of the owner and the building’s function and size. Some components can wire into buildingRead More →

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generator oversized

Why is My Generator So Oversized? By Garth Stevens, PE – It’s a warm sunny day, and your facility is at full capacity, with everything humming along just right. Suddenly, the utility power drops out, and everything goes dark. You’re not worried, though, because you have a well-maintained generator that backs up your critical loads. Within seconds, the generator is up and running, and the loads transfer to the backup power. Since you are conscientious about maintenance, you head out to the generator building to check the load on the generator. All the backed-up loads are up and running, and you want to make sureRead More →

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play paxson morrison maierle

Commitment to Our Communities: How a Puddle Became a Playground “It all started with a puddle,” said Maria Chesnut on an afternoon Teams video call when asked about an effort she fondly refers to as her “passion project.” This puddle-come-playground Maria’s referring to is an expansive improvement effort she’s been collaborating on with several other dedicated Paxson School parents and grandparents in Missoula. While dropping off her son and daughter at school, Maria, a senior structural engineer from Morrison-Maierle’s Missoula office, noticed a huge puddle that was blocking a main access to the building and playground. Even as the remainder of the playground dried up,Read More →

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