INTRODUCTION TO CIVIL ENGINEERING
A definitive guide to holistic development of the civil infrastructure over project lifecycle
The field of civil systems engineering has been around since the 1970s, but has reached unprecedented levels of importance to global development. The world's civil infrastructure is generally aging and inadequate, and is in desperate need of revitalization and expansion. However, as demonstrated by the experience of civil infrastructure managers and engineers worldwide, the traditional approaches to civil engineering are no longer adequate. In addressing the various phases of infrastructure development, future civil engineers must be well equipped with the requisite analytical tools and a vision characterized by efficiency, holism, sustainability, resilience, and ethics.
In Introduction to Civil Engineering Systems, Dr. Samuel Labi makes a compelling argument for the use of systems approaches for the development of civil engineering systems. In navigating through this well-organized text, you will appreciate the various phases of infrastructure development over their life cycle; from needs assessment to planning, design, construction, operations (including maintenance and monitoring), and retirement. Along the way, you will build the toolkit needed to supplement the domain knowledge in your branch of civil engineering. These essential tools include:
- Modeling and simulation
- Risk and reliability
- Multiple criteria analysis
- Cost engineering and economic analysis
- Systems dynamics and real options
- Network analysis and decision analysis
Each chapter of this interdisciplinary text contains case studies and analysis of real-world case studies. The end-of-chapter summaries, resources, and exercises provide opportunities to crystallize the acquired knowledge and open pathways for your further intellectual inquiry.
Introduction to Civil Engineering Systems is the most comprehensive book in this growing field. Educators, consultants, and planners, public and private sectors of civil engineering and infrastructure systems will find this text to be an invaluable resource for understanding and implementing systems perspectives.
