If your property has a retaining wall that’s 10 feet or taller and faces a public right-of-way, the New York City Department of Buildings requires that it be inspected by a qualified engineer. According to Rule 103-09, which went into…
One of the many things I love about RAND is how it offers ongoing education for its employees, from lunch-and-learn seminars to topical movie viewings to company-sponsored field trips. A group of my RAND colleagues and I recently took advantage…
Based on the popularity of our UP Band competition last spring, RAND recently held another Step It UP competition—this time as a RAND Gives Back fundraiser for our favorite charities. Each participant had a daily step goal (10,000 steps minimum;…
Parking garages are a reliable source of revenue for a building, as well as a useful amenity to residents who park their cars there. But parking garages are also exposed to toxic fumes, snow, ice, rain, and cold temperatures, all…
Five times we’re charmed. As recognition of a firm that supports, inspires, and empowers its employees, RAND Engineering & Architecture, DPC was named one of the 2014 Best Places to Work in New York City by Crain’s New York Business…
Short-term fixes rarely bring long-term relief, especially when it comes to building maintenance. Case in point: the Kensington House, a 195-unit co-op at 200 West 20th Street in Manhattan, which had been doing patchwork repairs for years in a futile…
Rarely does a repair project go exactly as planned, which is why it’s critical to have a contingency plan. And sometimes the contingency plan itself needs a contingency plan. Such was the case on a structural rehabilitation project that RAND…
Water is a formidable foe, and keeping it from infiltrating a building is a constant battle, as one New Jersey cooperative knows all too well. RAND recently completed a major exterior repair program at Northbridge Park, a 14-story residential co-op…
Last week RAND held its second annual blood drive in partnership with the American Red Cross. Following the success of our first ever blood drive last year, at which we collected a respectable 19 units, this year we opened up…
Two weeks after I joined RAND as a Senior Structural Engineer this summer, I received an email from our human resources manager announcing this year’s New York Canstruction competition and inviting RAND staff to participate. Canstruction is a design and…
With the high price of oil relative to gas and the phasing out of No. 6 heating oil by 2015, more and more property owners are converting their building’s heating plants from oil to gas-burning systems. Owners and managers are…
Today is SteelDay, an annual event sponsored by the American Institute of Steel Construction to educate the public on how the structural steel industry contributes to building America. As an engineering student in college, every day was steel day for…