March 9, 2023 • 26 mins
Text us with feedback, questions, and guest suggestions.
In this episode of the Florida Engineering Society, Engineering Florida Podcast, host Sam Yates has an in depth discussion with Scott Martin, P.E., President of the American Council of Engineering Companies, and Principal, Project Director and Design Builder Market Leader for Walter P. Moores Structure Group in Tampa, Florida.
We delve into Scott's background , major accomplishments, and project varieties for Walter P. Moore as well as take a look at what is happening with the investigation into the the Surfside Champlain Tower collapse.
The Florida Engineering Society, Engineering Florida podcast, is produced by Yates & Associates, Public Relations & Marketing. Contact Sam Yates, Sam@Yatespro.com.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Sam Yates (00:01):
Engineers are ingenious professional.
Engineers invent, design, verifyand qualify, engineers are the
professionals who make our livesand businesses prosperous and
safe. The Florida EngineeringSociety is proud to put our
engineering professionals in thespotlight so that they may
(00:21):
educate, share information andintroduce you to the world of
engineering that is thriving inFlorida. Here's your host of the
engineering Florida podcast. SamYates, with today's guest
Hello, everyone. And welcome toanother exciting edition of the
Florida Engineering Society inengineering, Florida. It's a
(00:42):
very special podcast and todayto go along with that I have a
very special guest Scott Martinis here. Scott is the current
president of the ACEC ofFlorida. That is the American
Council of EngineeringCompanies. We're going to talk
about that in more detail injust a few moments. But Scott is
also a principal projectdirector design build a market
(01:06):
leader for Walter P. Moore.
That's the Structure Group outof Tampa, Florida. It's a great
organization scattered I'velooked into some of the
projects. And when I look attheir projects, I get this wow
factor. So along with that greatintroduction, I'm going to say
thank you. And wow, glad to haveyou on the program.
Scott Martin (01:24):
Thanks, Sam. Glad to be here. You know, to
continue on briefly about yourintroduction. I always put
everybody on the spot. Firstthing with that. Great, tell me
what you're all about questions.
So share a bit about yourself.
Thanks, Sam. So I'm a nativeFloridian I was born and raised
in Florida and moved around thestate a little bit went to the
(01:45):
University of Florida, graduatedin 1998. And I've been in
structural engineering practiceever since then, I've bounced
around a few small firms andfound myself a lot of people and
around 2004. And I've been thereever since. And really what I've
what I've focused on and whatI've really found a passion
around recently is, iscollaboration being part of a
collaborative team, not just indesigning buildings, and
(02:08):
building some of the some of themost fascinating projects I
think in the country, but alsoin my my time with ACC and
finding ways to be much, muchmore collaborative across the
industry.
Sam Yates (02:19):
You know, I think every time I have a conversation
with an engineer, whether it ishere on this program or in
connection with some of myclients activities, lo and
behold, I turned around andthere's a gator. It's got one
hell of a good engineeringschool, I have to say, ethics.
Scott Martin (02:37):
I'm pretty proud of me again and myself.
Sam Yates (02:40):
Absolutely. Let's let's switch to the company
itself that you work for. Sure.
I know I believe if I recall mymy homework dating back to about
1931, headquartered in Texas,but tell us a bit about the
company.
Scott Martin (02:55):
Sure. So we've been in Florida for at least
3040 years. This is the thirdoffice I believe will be more
open a while ago. But we're aninternational company. We've got
I think 17 offices nationally,everywhere from New York down to
San Diego. We've got a fewinternational offices in Mexico
City, Pune, India, Panama, andsome in Canada. And we really,
(03:17):
we specialize in structures,we've got a civil engineering
group and infrastructure groupin Texas. And we do some some of
that kind of work in the middlepart of the state or middle part
of the country. But we reallyfocus on new design of
structures and diagnostics ofexisting structures, and really
specializing in the wholestructure of a building. And
that goes for not just theskeleton of the building, what
(03:41):
structural engineer wouldtypically design, but also the
enclosure, the scan, the securedesign for secure buildings,
federal buildings, things likethat. And really how they go
together even so we've got aconstruction engineering group
that really focuses on not justwhat a building is going to look
like, but how to put it togetherand partnering with builders to
most efficiently build abuilding. So we're really
(04:02):
structured specialists, as welike to think of us as a firm.
And like you mentioned, I thinkwe do some of these some small
projects, but all the way up tosome of the biggest projects in
the country right now.
Sam Yates (04:12):
You know, as I look at the projects I mentioned
earlier, the wow factor. Tell usabout some of the ones that you
have done here in Florida. Iknow in your neighborhood, the
the Aquarium is one theBuccaneers training facility is
another but these are awesome,very recognizable structures
that you know, we may know itbecause we're talking
(04:34):
engineering, but other peoplemay not recognize the role that
you played in those.
Scott Martin (04:39):
Sure. Well, we were we specialize in sports
structures, aviation structures,higher education, health care
are really our main four servicelines. We do all project types,
but those are the ones we do themost of and in my career here in
Florida. I've done a lot ofcultural facilities. I was the
engineer of record for the DaliMuseum and St. Pete That opened
back in 2011. I'm you mentionedSome of the Bucs facilities we
(05:01):
did the Ice Palace, which is nowthe Tampa Bay Times forum. We
were involved with Raymond JamesStadium, not just when it was
built, but also ongoingmaintenance and expansions that
have happened there over theyears with the Florida aquarium,
not just one that was built butalso as they've expanded and
built out over the over theyears. And I a lot of my resumes
in higher education, I spentabout 10 years doing primarily
(05:23):
higher education work. So labs,student centers. I did that at
USF Marshall Center in Tampa.
done while working for the statefor the international
university. University of Tampa,USF UCF. So my resume tends to
be in Florida tends to be a lotof lot focus on higher ed and
cultural facilities. But we dowe do stuff all over the country
(05:45):
that's very similar to that. Andwe've done we've done most of
Tampa International Airport, andwe've been on quite a bit of
work in Orlando Internationalalso,
Sam Yates (05:53):
Two things pop out, just as we're having this
conversation. One is thecollaborative efforts that
you're talking about, whichrequires something called
leadership. And the other thingthat you were mentioning, is
working with builders, whichbrings up a phrase that not
everybody is familiar with, I amfrom working in that industry.
(06:16):
And it's called Design Build,explain why design build is such
a great phrase?
Scott Martin (06:22):
Well, it's a new way of doing buildings. It's not
that new, it's been around forquite a while. But I think more
and more, as the industry looksto innovate somewhat. I don't
know how much you know about theAEC. industry in general, but
But building design and howbuildings go together, has
relatively remained unchangedfor over a century, especially
in the US. And as projects getbigger, faster and more complex,
(06:45):
the owners want to get in theground, and they want to have
their building immediatelyopened before designing because
even done. Owners andpractitioners like myself are
looking for new ways to dothings. And design build is one
way to do it, where you're notjust following the traditional
model of hiring a design team todesign a building, and then a
build team to build a building ageneral contractor. It's
(07:07):
bringing that team together fromthe beginning. And having the
entire design team and buildteam work together to figure out
the best way to build thebuilding for the owner. And it's
it can result in very successfulprojects that get built quickly,
certainly on time and everythingelse. But it can go wrong to
it's a new way of doing things.
And when all parties don'tunderstand that relationship,
(07:29):
and that it is more of acollaborative team environment.
projects go south and I know alot of builders on some of these
big, big big projects that Ifind myself getting into the
last five or six years. They'vesort of walking away from those
projects, they won't take therisk on because it's too risky.
And it's and they can't figureout how to do it the right way.
But that's really where I foundmy specialty the last few years
(07:51):
is specializing in thatcollaborative type environment,
that collaborative nature andreally, when we get involved in
some of these big projects,trying to lead from within and
really make sure the entire teamis moving the same direction and
collaborative from the start allthe way to the end.
Sam Yates (08:09):
Back to that key word leadership. And that's what it's
all about. You're in thatleader. Notice I've made that
transition, you are in theleadership position for the ACEC
tell us about the organization.
Scott Martin (08:22):
So ACEC is really the it's a specialized in the
business of engineering FES, anda lot of other organizations
ASCE FSCA group that I've beeninvolved in through my career,
you as an engineer as a PE JOINUS organizations is to be part
of a group that's that's likeminded and focused on similar
goals. ACC really represents thecompanies that do engineering in
(08:43):
Florida. Originally, ACC when itwas formed was a practice
session of FeS it was the the itwas it was known as Feiss. And
it represented the companieswithin FES. But nationally the
American Council of EngineeringCompanies has member
organizations throughout thestates. And over the years,
we've transitioned withinFlorida to really align
(09:04):
ourselves with the AmericanCouncil, the National Council of
Engineering Companies. Butagain, we really represent the
business of engineering thecompanies that our that deliver
projects and and, and are in theengineering space. And our focus
is on bettering the built thebusiness of engineering more so
than just the the engineeringdisciplines itself.
Sam Yates (09:25):
Seven regions around the state of Florida if I
recall,
Scott Martin (09:28):
that's right. It's mostly aligned the way the DoD
breaks or returns up to becausewe're you have a lot of what
we're not trying to find we'renot only a transportation
company, a lot of our groupsbecause we have a very strong
relationship and interface withthe Ford a D O T, a lot of the
groups that belong to us do soto have that take advantage that
interface. So we are heavily D OT. A lot of our members are D O
(09:52):
T involved, but not primarily. A
Sam Yates (09:55):
all right, Scott, you'll have to keep me posted
because one of the things thatI'm watching for I'm both the
DOT angle and also some of myDOD and Air Force past
history... verta ports. I knowin intermodal transportation, we
have airports, we have relieverairports, somewhere in there,
(10:15):
Berta ports are going to be asignificant factor. And we have
not even touched on backgroundon that. But verta ports in our
future, correct?
Scott Martin (10:23):
Absolutely. I was in I happen to be in New York a
few years ago, walking down onWall Street. And it was it was
when a company called Joby waswas ringing the bell on Wall
Street and going public for thefirst time. And they had a full
scale mock up of one of theirdrones is basically the best way
to describe it as an Uber forlike a drone, Uber. So it has
(10:44):
four propellers, it would takeoff, it's got four seats in it.
But it's coming. I mean, theindustry is there, the
technology is there, a lot ofthe big aviation groups are
investing in these companiesthat are looking to provide
these flying drones for people.
But it's definitely coming inanother state this year starting
to look at rules and laws tohelp regulate that state.
Sam Yates (11:05):
Ionic propulsion.
That's all I will say I've gotsome things up my sleeve that
we'll be covering in the future.
But you know, that's allfascinating. And it's really
something that we all keep onour on our toes, because
technology is always developing.
But even as we speak, ourlegislative leaders are in
Tallahassee, and they're lookingat engineering from a different
(11:28):
vantage point. And that is, howcan engineers help prevent what
happened at surf side, we'recoming up on the anniversary of
the surf side, condo collapse.
But what's happening in thatarena, because I know you're
involved.
Scott Martin (11:44):
Thanks for teeing up that. Yeah, we've been
involved. And I think thelegislature doesn't do anything
by themselves. They're not a lotof them come from different
backgrounds, and not alllawyers, but they do count on
the industry to help inform themon what laws need to be passed.
And that's what happened acouple of years ago. Last year,
the governor signed into law,what was called Senate Bill 40
(12:06):
At the time, but that was thecondo Safety Inspection Act. And
that was based on a white paper.
That's a group that I wasinvolved in, and I was the chair
of what we called the Surfsideworking group. We published a
white paper that reallyexplained to the state what
needed to happen. It was aworking group that the
leadership at FeS and ACCbrought together, we brought
(12:28):
together industry professionalsfrom the American Society of
Civil Engineers, the FloridaStructural Engineers
Association, the AmericanInstitute of Architects, the
concrete repair Institute, and Ifeel like I'm even one i in the
building officials of Florida,we brought all these
professionals together andreally talked through as
building professionals, whatneeded to happen to prevent this
(12:49):
from happening again. And so weput together a white paper that
the legislature used heavily indrafting Senate Bill 40. So a
lot of the language around phaseone and phase two inspections,
getting building professionalsand they're looking at the
buildings on certain timeframeswhich Miami Dade and Broward
County already had this programin place to do something very
similar. But making this astatewide initiative so that
(13:11):
there's there's no question thatthe buildings we live in, in
Florida should be consideredsafe. And there, there won't be
a questions from the insuranceindustry like have popped up
over the last few years on ifthey can insure the buildings in
Florida because they want tomake they want to have some,
they want to have some kind ofsurety that the buildings that
they're insuring arestructurally sound.
Sam Yates (13:32):
And I think that's also where the National
Institute of Standards andTechnology comes in.
Scott Martin (13:38):
Because we really don't have anything. We look at
it very seriously here inFlorida, because we're used to
hurricanes and other things. Butfrom a national standpoint
there, there really needs to besome sort of standard for
buildings to monitor them andmake sure that they are solved.
And most sophisticated ownersunderstand them. They do that
(13:58):
themselves. And you mentionedthe NIS T, they're very much
like the NTSB or after acollapse, they're going to come
in and look at it. And they'regoing to spend years looking at
every single piece of whathappened and make sure that the
public knows why that happened.
The same thing happeninghappened after 911 with the
Trade Towers and I asked youlook at it. But that's totally
retroactive proactively, we wantto be at ahead of ADD, and I
(14:19):
think we do have in Florida, oneof the strongest building codes
in the country. But weabsolutely engineers, building
professionals that we all lookat it constantly to make sure we
stay on top of the latesttechnologies, and we keep the
latest technologies informinghow we design our buildings.
Sam Yates (14:37):
You know, and I have to say for our audience,
sometimes I do a little asidejust to share a little
information. I look out mywindow here on the banks of the
St. Lucie River in Stuart,Florida on the east coast of
Florida and I'm looking at abridge it's the Roosevelt bridge
over the St. Lucie River. Andpeople drive over that bridge
(14:58):
each and every day. It had aProblem number of months ago,
they don't realize that thereare acoustic monitors inside the
core of that bridge decking tomake sure that if there are any
changes happening that couldjeopardize the structural
integrity of that bridge, awarning goes out and you know,
(15:19):
sometimes behind the scenesengineers are working in ways
that most normal people don'teven know about.
Scott Martin (15:26):
I think one of our one of our slogans that we've
tried to use with FES isengineering the the everyday and
the extraordinary. And it's it'snot just the really cool
buildings, it's not just thefascinating things, but it's
when the water comes on and yourtap when the toilet flushes.
That's all based on the theengineering infrastructure that
that we as a society and as aspecies have developed over the
(15:47):
last few 1000 years.
Sam Yates (15:50):
When that white paper that you referenced came out, I
couldn't wait to get my hands onit. Because it interests me as a
former news person, and somepeople say once I, a reporter,
always a reporter. But so manyquestions were left out there
after the Champlain towercollapse and another white paper
(16:10):
that I came across it I guess Ishould clarify it. In calling it
a white paper, it was called awhite paper on speculation that
and went into speculativedetails that perhaps one of the
factors, not the factor, but afactor for the Champlain tower
collapse could have been achange in climate causing a sea
(16:31):
level rise, and therefore thewater, the freshwater on top of
sea water, corrupted some of thestructural integrity. Nothing is
left unturned when it comes toinvestigations like this is that
a fair statement?
Scott Martin (16:45):
That's why the NIST spends years doing this,
and they have at least seven oreight teams looking at different
facets of, of what could havebeen the cause that could be one
with any kind of structuralcollapse, and whenever that
whenever a collapse happens,that's usually when you hear
about structural engineers onwhat caused it. There's very,
(17:05):
very often more than one thingthat happens, and I'm sure
that's going to be the case atthe NIS T is going to figure out
the situation. Usually, it's notone thing, and I would, I would
I'll go out and say that itwasn't just climate change.
There were a lot of problemswith with a lot of buildings in
Florida. But by no means is itis it purely that but climate
(17:28):
change is definitely affecting alot of a lot of what we see as
people living in the state, Iwould think that it's a lot more
relevant to issues like thestrength of hurricanes and the
frequency of hurricanes and sealevel rise and storm surge and
some of the problems that cameto the state based after
Hurricane Ian, I would say thatsea level rise and climate
(17:50):
change had a much bigger part toplay there than on the Champlain
towers collapse.
Sam Yates (17:54):
You know, they know that the NISD in particular, as
recent as October Novembertimeframe of 2022 is still
saying to anybody in Florida, orwherever you might be from if
you have photographs or videobefore that collapse, please
share it with us because theywant to establish that database.
(18:16):
And and that's very much whatengineering is all about
creating something that you canlook into and pull the fluids
out is exactly what whathappens. But what happens now to
all those other buildings thatwe have in the state, as far as
inspections, are they autoscheduled? I know Miami Dade,
but what about everything elseon a scheduled to be inspected?
(18:39):
Well, most owners like you know,some of the big owners like
power companies, Disneyairports, commercial office
owners, they understand that thebuildings that buildings need
maintenance over time, we canonly do so much when we build a
building to begin with. But overtime, if a building is going to
last 60-70 years, you've got tohave professionals out there
looking at it and making surethat all the systems that were
installed 60 years ago, arestill doing what they're
(19:00):
supposed to be doing. And that'snot just the structure of the
building. It's also theenclosure, the envelope, making
sure water doesn't get insidethe building and cause damage.
So most building owners knowthat the challenge has been and
really where Champlain's hoursfalls in is you've got condo
owners who are not just oneowner, and not sophisticated in
knowing exactly how buildingswork, their homeowners and they
(19:24):
they may not have been therewhen the built the condo was
built. They may have bought itbut when the building was 30
years old, and they'reinheriting a lot of lack of
maintenance over the years. Soit's what the Senate and the
legislature tried to do thislast year was put in place rules
for condos because that's reallywhere it seems there's the gap
(19:44):
and building ownership andmaintaining your buildings and
giving them some rules to havebuilding professionals come in
and look at the buildings andwe're not there yet. There's
still there's still some billlanguage being cleaned up this
year. There's some there's sometweaks that are going to happen
to what was passed. Last Lastyear was Senate Bill four D. But
I feel like we're gonna getthere as a state. I think we're
(20:05):
talking about it in the rightways. I think we're over the
last year as as the bill waspassed, I think a lot of the
right questions are being asked.
And we're going to end up with asystem in place that will make
all the buildings in Floridamuch more safe in the decades to
come.
A little sidebar to what youwere just saying about condo
owners being home owners whohappen to live in a building
(20:28):
that is stacked up. interestinginterview with a developer, a
capital investment company,developer in Dade County
recently, and they as a capitalcompany looking to continue a
multibillion dollar buildingsurge in the Dade County area,
(20:49):
are looking at those aged condosthat may need repair may need
something and the individualcondo tenants don't either know
how to do it can't afford it ordon't have the interest and
they're buying them andrepurposing them. So the big
question, I guess that comes upwhen and if they rebuild, they
(21:10):
will have to rebuild to currentviable standards, not what we
did some 30-40 years ago.
Scott Martin (21:17):
That's right. And the building code these days is
a lot. When I started doing thisback in the 90s, the southern
standard building code much ofFlorida used was maybe one two
inches thick and not afford abuilding code is much bigger
than add volumes. And again, weupdate codes to represent the
best knowledge we've got abouthow building should go together
from all aspects. So anythingbuilt currently, is going to be
(21:40):
much more able to withstand thiscurrent environment than
anything built that was 3040years old.
Sam Yates (21:47):
You know, as we're doing our interview, sometimes I
always wait to the last minuteto say, Scott, I know that there
may be people listening rightnow, who are members of the
Florida Engineering Society orthis program gets passed on to
many different outlets. So therecould be someone right now that
says, hey, I want to reach outto Scott because his company is
(22:09):
that single source that I wantto partner with to do my next
project? How do they do that?
Scott Martin (22:16):
You can get us through our website. And we
again, we've got offices allover the country. So if you're
listening to this, and you'renot necessarily in Florida,
we've got offices in all overthe southeast, the southern
south or west coast, East Coast.
So we'll be more.com is the bestway to find out about us. And
there's contact links on therefor our local market leaders in
different different markets.
(22:38):
That's the best way to get aholdof us.
Sam Yates (22:41):
Next question is an easy one. I hope I haven't been
burned out on it yet. Would yoube able to come back for a
future episode?
Scott Martin (22:47):
Absolutely. I'd love to for ACEC. Some of these
individual engineers may be partof a larger firm, they should be
part of your organization. Howto do that. ACEC of Florida is
AC E C. F l.org is our newwebsite that we ramped up last
year. It's been revamped. Butyou can contact us through that.
And you can join theorganization through that. And
(23:08):
we're really looking forward tobringing more engineering firms
together. One thing we didn'treally touch on yet is one thing
we're trying to do as FeS andACC this year is to bring other
organizations together. TheSurfside working group, having
all those groups come togetherand have an impactful work
product that was able to informthe public and the legislature
(23:31):
what should be done afterSurfside. We really want to
build off that momentum. And sowe're starting a new journal
called engineering Florida. It'sa partnership not just with ACC
and FeS, but also with a fewother engineering organizations.
ASC is a part of that FSCA SNPs,A S, H, E, and a few others. So
look for that across the state.
If you're willing to if you'reinterested in partnering with us
(23:54):
finding out more about thatthat'll be online in the coming
months. And again, ACC Floridathat or ACC fl.org It's a great
way to find out more about ACCof Florida.
Sam Yates (24:06):
Scott, I want you to know I'm doing my part as a
Board of Director representativefor the Gold Coast Builders
Association of trying to bringbuilders within our organization
together with the engineeringside of things. I think that
creating the dialogue issomething that is tremendously
important. So I have volunteeredto do my part. And I'm hoping to
(24:29):
continue to do that before wewrap up because I always keep a
close eye on time because thatis very important for everyone.
Hurricanes, I know you said youcould come back at a future.
Sure so but we have a lot totalk about hurricanes among them
Scott Martin (24:44):
no problem but I think hurricanes in general it's
it's a it's a growing risk. Imean it's always been a risk in
Florida but I think the waywe've developed a state and you
can you can look at it from alot of different ways from from
clearing mangroves to putdevelopment end to building on
barrier right Orleans to, to theinfrastructure that we have
built to keep storm surge outand things like that. I think as
(25:06):
as climate change continues tohave a growing impact on the
intensity of storms, I thinkwe're going to figure a lot more
out and we're going to take alot more proactive. We'll make a
lot more proactive changes tohopefully change how we're
building the state to keep. Keepmore not just live safe, but
property safe.
Sam Yates (25:26):
Just another extraordinary duty of engineers
in Florida with an engineerextraordinaire Scott Martin,
ladies and gentlemen, we'velearned an awful lot again in
our program today. Scott, thankyou for being here.
Unknown (25:38):
Appreciate it, Sam.
Thanks for having me.
Sam Yates (25:41):
Until our next episode of the Florida
Engineering Society, EngineeringFlorida. I'm your host, Sam
Yates. Have a great dayeverybody. Thanks for listening
to another informative episodeof the engineering Florida
podcast. Our goal is to helpeducate and inform everyone who
(26:03):
listens to our podcast about ourmembers and topics of interest
to the Florida EngineeringSociety. On behalf of the
Florida Engineering Society, andthe Engineering Florida podcast,
have a great day everybody
Engineers are ingenious professional.
Engineers invent, design, verifyand qualify, engineers are the
professionals who make our livesand businesses prosperous and
safe. The Florida EngineeringSociety is proud to put our
engineering professionals in thespotlight so that they may
(00:21):
educate, share information andintroduce you to the world of
engineering that is thriving inFlorida. Here's your host of the
engineering Florida podcast. SamYates, with today's guest
Hello, everyone. And welcome toanother exciting edition of the
Florida Engineering Society inengineering, Florida. It's a
(00:42):
very special podcast and todayto go along with that I have a
very special guest Scott Martinis here. Scott is the current
president of the ACEC ofFlorida. That is the American
Council of EngineeringCompanies. We're going to talk
about that in more detail injust a few moments. But Scott is
also a principal projectdirector design build a market
(01:06):
leader for Walter P. Moore.
That's the Structure Group outof Tampa, Florida. It's a great
organization scattered I'velooked into some of the
projects. And when I look attheir projects, I get this wow
factor. So along with that greatintroduction, I'm going to say
thank you. And wow, glad to haveyou on the program.
Scott Martin (01:24):
Thanks, Sam. Glad to be here. You know, to
continue on briefly about yourintroduction. I always put
everybody on the spot. Firstthing with that. Great, tell me
what you're all about questions.
So share a bit about yourself.
Thanks, Sam. So I'm a nativeFloridian I was born and raised
in Florida and moved around thestate a little bit went to the
(01:45):
University of Florida, graduatedin 1998. And I've been in
structural engineering practiceever since then, I've bounced
around a few small firms andfound myself a lot of people and
around 2004. And I've been thereever since. And really what I've
what I've focused on and whatI've really found a passion
around recently is, iscollaboration being part of a
collaborative team, not just indesigning buildings, and
(02:08):
building some of the some of themost fascinating projects I
think in the country, but alsoin my my time with ACC and
finding ways to be much, muchmore collaborative across the
industry.
Sam Yates (02:19):
You know, I think every time I have a conversation
with an engineer, whether it ishere on this program or in
connection with some of myclients activities, lo and
behold, I turned around andthere's a gator. It's got one
hell of a good engineeringschool, I have to say, ethics.
Scott Martin (02:37):
I'm pretty proud of me again and myself.
Sam Yates (02:40):
Absolutely. Let's let's switch to the company
itself that you work for. Sure.
I know I believe if I recall mymy homework dating back to about
1931, headquartered in Texas,but tell us a bit about the
company.
Scott Martin (02:55):
Sure. So we've been in Florida for at least
3040 years. This is the thirdoffice I believe will be more
open a while ago. But we're aninternational company. We've got
I think 17 offices nationally,everywhere from New York down to
San Diego. We've got a fewinternational offices in Mexico
City, Pune, India, Panama, andsome in Canada. And we really,
(03:17):
we specialize in structures,we've got a civil engineering
group and infrastructure groupin Texas. And we do some some of
that kind of work in the middlepart of the state or middle part
of the country. But we reallyfocus on new design of
structures and diagnostics ofexisting structures, and really
specializing in the wholestructure of a building. And
that goes for not just theskeleton of the building, what
(03:41):
structural engineer wouldtypically design, but also the
enclosure, the scan, the securedesign for secure buildings,
federal buildings, things likethat. And really how they go
together even so we've got aconstruction engineering group
that really focuses on not justwhat a building is going to look
like, but how to put it togetherand partnering with builders to
most efficiently build abuilding. So we're really
(04:02):
structured specialists, as welike to think of us as a firm.
And like you mentioned, I thinkwe do some of these some small
projects, but all the way up tosome of the biggest projects in
the country right now.
Sam Yates (04:12):
You know, as I look at the projects I mentioned
earlier, the wow factor. Tell usabout some of the ones that you
have done here in Florida. Iknow in your neighborhood, the
the Aquarium is one theBuccaneers training facility is
another but these are awesome,very recognizable structures
that you know, we may know itbecause we're talking
(04:34):
engineering, but other peoplemay not recognize the role that
you played in those.
Scott Martin (04:39):
Sure. Well, we were we specialize in sports
structures, aviation structures,higher education, health care
are really our main four servicelines. We do all project types,
but those are the ones we do themost of and in my career here in
Florida. I've done a lot ofcultural facilities. I was the
engineer of record for the DaliMuseum and St. Pete That opened
back in 2011. I'm you mentionedSome of the Bucs facilities we
(05:01):
did the Ice Palace, which is nowthe Tampa Bay Times forum. We
were involved with Raymond JamesStadium, not just when it was
built, but also ongoingmaintenance and expansions that
have happened there over theyears with the Florida aquarium,
not just one that was built butalso as they've expanded and
built out over the over theyears. And I a lot of my resumes
in higher education, I spentabout 10 years doing primarily
(05:23):
higher education work. So labs,student centers. I did that at
USF Marshall Center in Tampa.
done while working for the statefor the international
university. University of Tampa,USF UCF. So my resume tends to
be in Florida tends to be a lotof lot focus on higher ed and
cultural facilities. But we dowe do stuff all over the country
(05:45):
that's very similar to that. Andwe've done we've done most of
Tampa International Airport, andwe've been on quite a bit of
work in Orlando Internationalalso,
Sam Yates (05:53):
Two things pop out, just as we're having this
conversation. One is thecollaborative efforts that
you're talking about, whichrequires something called
leadership. And the other thingthat you were mentioning, is
working with builders, whichbrings up a phrase that not
everybody is familiar with, I amfrom working in that industry.
(06:16):
And it's called Design Build,explain why design build is such
a great phrase?
Scott Martin (06:22):
Well, it's a new way of doing buildings. It's not
that new, it's been around forquite a while. But I think more
and more, as the industry looksto innovate somewhat. I don't
know how much you know about theAEC. industry in general, but
But building design and howbuildings go together, has
relatively remained unchangedfor over a century, especially
in the US. And as projects getbigger, faster and more complex,
(06:45):
the owners want to get in theground, and they want to have
their building immediatelyopened before designing because
even done. Owners andpractitioners like myself are
looking for new ways to dothings. And design build is one
way to do it, where you're notjust following the traditional
model of hiring a design team todesign a building, and then a
build team to build a building ageneral contractor. It's
(07:07):
bringing that team together fromthe beginning. And having the
entire design team and buildteam work together to figure out
the best way to build thebuilding for the owner. And it's
it can result in very successfulprojects that get built quickly,
certainly on time and everythingelse. But it can go wrong to
it's a new way of doing things.
And when all parties don'tunderstand that relationship,
(07:29):
and that it is more of acollaborative team environment.
projects go south and I know alot of builders on some of these
big, big big projects that Ifind myself getting into the
last five or six years. They'vesort of walking away from those
projects, they won't take therisk on because it's too risky.
And it's and they can't figureout how to do it the right way.
But that's really where I foundmy specialty the last few years
(07:51):
is specializing in thatcollaborative type environment,
that collaborative nature andreally, when we get involved in
some of these big projects,trying to lead from within and
really make sure the entire teamis moving the same direction and
collaborative from the start allthe way to the end.
Sam Yates (08:09):
Back to that key word leadership. And that's what it's
all about. You're in thatleader. Notice I've made that
transition, you are in theleadership position for the ACEC
tell us about the organization.
Scott Martin (08:22):
So ACEC is really the it's a specialized in the
business of engineering FES, anda lot of other organizations
ASCE FSCA group that I've beeninvolved in through my career,
you as an engineer as a PE JOINUS organizations is to be part
of a group that's that's likeminded and focused on similar
goals. ACC really represents thecompanies that do engineering in
(08:43):
Florida. Originally, ACC when itwas formed was a practice
session of FeS it was the the itwas it was known as Feiss. And
it represented the companieswithin FES. But nationally the
American Council of EngineeringCompanies has member
organizations throughout thestates. And over the years,
we've transitioned withinFlorida to really align
(09:04):
ourselves with the AmericanCouncil, the National Council of
Engineering Companies. Butagain, we really represent the
business of engineering thecompanies that our that deliver
projects and and, and are in theengineering space. And our focus
is on bettering the built thebusiness of engineering more so
than just the the engineeringdisciplines itself.
Sam Yates (09:25):
Seven regions around the state of Florida if I
recall,
Scott Martin (09:28):
that's right. It's mostly aligned the way the DoD
breaks or returns up to becausewe're you have a lot of what
we're not trying to find we'renot only a transportation
company, a lot of our groupsbecause we have a very strong
relationship and interface withthe Ford a D O T, a lot of the
groups that belong to us do soto have that take advantage that
interface. So we are heavily D OT. A lot of our members are D O
(09:52):
T involved, but not primarily. A
Sam Yates (09:55):
all right, Scott, you'll have to keep me posted
because one of the things thatI'm watching for I'm both the
DOT angle and also some of myDOD and Air Force past
history... verta ports. I knowin intermodal transportation, we
have airports, we have relieverairports, somewhere in there,
(10:15):
Berta ports are going to be asignificant factor. And we have
not even touched on backgroundon that. But verta ports in our
future, correct?
Scott Martin (10:23):
Absolutely. I was in I happen to be in New York a
few years ago, walking down onWall Street. And it was it was
when a company called Joby waswas ringing the bell on Wall
Street and going public for thefirst time. And they had a full
scale mock up of one of theirdrones is basically the best way
to describe it as an Uber forlike a drone, Uber. So it has
(10:44):
four propellers, it would takeoff, it's got four seats in it.
But it's coming. I mean, theindustry is there, the
technology is there, a lot ofthe big aviation groups are
investing in these companiesthat are looking to provide
these flying drones for people.
But it's definitely coming inanother state this year starting
to look at rules and laws tohelp regulate that state.
Sam Yates (11:05):
Ionic propulsion.
That's all I will say I've gotsome things up my sleeve that
we'll be covering in the future.
But you know, that's allfascinating. And it's really
something that we all keep onour on our toes, because
technology is always developing.
But even as we speak, ourlegislative leaders are in
Tallahassee, and they're lookingat engineering from a different
(11:28):
vantage point. And that is, howcan engineers help prevent what
happened at surf side, we'recoming up on the anniversary of
the surf side, condo collapse.
But what's happening in thatarena, because I know you're
involved.
Scott Martin (11:44):
Thanks for teeing up that. Yeah, we've been
involved. And I think thelegislature doesn't do anything
by themselves. They're not a lotof them come from different
backgrounds, and not alllawyers, but they do count on
the industry to help inform themon what laws need to be passed.
And that's what happened acouple of years ago. Last year,
the governor signed into law,what was called Senate Bill 40
(12:06):
At the time, but that was thecondo Safety Inspection Act. And
that was based on a white paper.
That's a group that I wasinvolved in, and I was the chair
of what we called the Surfsideworking group. We published a
white paper that reallyexplained to the state what
needed to happen. It was aworking group that the
leadership at FeS and ACCbrought together, we brought
(12:28):
together industry professionalsfrom the American Society of
Civil Engineers, the FloridaStructural Engineers
Association, the AmericanInstitute of Architects, the
concrete repair Institute, and Ifeel like I'm even one i in the
building officials of Florida,we brought all these
professionals together andreally talked through as
building professionals, whatneeded to happen to prevent this
(12:49):
from happening again. And so weput together a white paper that
the legislature used heavily indrafting Senate Bill 40. So a
lot of the language around phaseone and phase two inspections,
getting building professionalsand they're looking at the
buildings on certain timeframeswhich Miami Dade and Broward
County already had this programin place to do something very
similar. But making this astatewide initiative so that
(13:11):
there's there's no question thatthe buildings we live in, in
Florida should be consideredsafe. And there, there won't be
a questions from the insuranceindustry like have popped up
over the last few years on ifthey can insure the buildings in
Florida because they want tomake they want to have some,
they want to have some kind ofsurety that the buildings that
they're insuring arestructurally sound.
Sam Yates (13:32):
And I think that's also where the National
Institute of Standards andTechnology comes in.
Scott Martin (13:38):
Because we really don't have anything. We look at
it very seriously here inFlorida, because we're used to
hurricanes and other things. Butfrom a national standpoint
there, there really needs to besome sort of standard for
buildings to monitor them andmake sure that they are solved.
And most sophisticated ownersunderstand them. They do that
(13:58):
themselves. And you mentionedthe NIS T, they're very much
like the NTSB or after acollapse, they're going to come
in and look at it. And they'regoing to spend years looking at
every single piece of whathappened and make sure that the
public knows why that happened.
The same thing happeninghappened after 911 with the
Trade Towers and I asked youlook at it. But that's totally
retroactive proactively, we wantto be at ahead of ADD, and I
(14:19):
think we do have in Florida, oneof the strongest building codes
in the country. But weabsolutely engineers, building
professionals that we all lookat it constantly to make sure we
stay on top of the latesttechnologies, and we keep the
latest technologies informinghow we design our buildings.
Sam Yates (14:37):
You know, and I have to say for our audience,
sometimes I do a little asidejust to share a little
information. I look out mywindow here on the banks of the
St. Lucie River in Stuart,Florida on the east coast of
Florida and I'm looking at abridge it's the Roosevelt bridge
over the St. Lucie River. Andpeople drive over that bridge
(14:58):
each and every day. It had aProblem number of months ago,
they don't realize that thereare acoustic monitors inside the
core of that bridge decking tomake sure that if there are any
changes happening that couldjeopardize the structural
integrity of that bridge, awarning goes out and you know,
(15:19):
sometimes behind the scenesengineers are working in ways
that most normal people don'teven know about.
Scott Martin (15:26):
I think one of our one of our slogans that we've
tried to use with FES isengineering the the everyday and
the extraordinary. And it's it'snot just the really cool
buildings, it's not just thefascinating things, but it's
when the water comes on and yourtap when the toilet flushes.
That's all based on the theengineering infrastructure that
that we as a society and as aspecies have developed over the
(15:47):
last few 1000 years.
Sam Yates (15:50):
When that white paper that you referenced came out, I
couldn't wait to get my hands onit. Because it interests me as a
former news person, and somepeople say once I, a reporter,
always a reporter. But so manyquestions were left out there
after the Champlain towercollapse and another white paper
(16:10):
that I came across it I guess Ishould clarify it. In calling it
a white paper, it was called awhite paper on speculation that
and went into speculativedetails that perhaps one of the
factors, not the factor, but afactor for the Champlain tower
collapse could have been achange in climate causing a sea
(16:31):
level rise, and therefore thewater, the freshwater on top of
sea water, corrupted some of thestructural integrity. Nothing is
left unturned when it comes toinvestigations like this is that
a fair statement?
Scott Martin (16:45):
That's why the NIST spends years doing this,
and they have at least seven oreight teams looking at different
facets of, of what could havebeen the cause that could be one
with any kind of structuralcollapse, and whenever that
whenever a collapse happens,that's usually when you hear
about structural engineers onwhat caused it. There's very,
(17:05):
very often more than one thingthat happens, and I'm sure
that's going to be the case atthe NIS T is going to figure out
the situation. Usually, it's notone thing, and I would, I would
I'll go out and say that itwasn't just climate change.
There were a lot of problemswith with a lot of buildings in
Florida. But by no means is itis it purely that but climate
(17:28):
change is definitely affecting alot of a lot of what we see as
people living in the state, Iwould think that it's a lot more
relevant to issues like thestrength of hurricanes and the
frequency of hurricanes and sealevel rise and storm surge and
some of the problems that cameto the state based after
Hurricane Ian, I would say thatsea level rise and climate
(17:50):
change had a much bigger part toplay there than on the Champlain
towers collapse.
Sam Yates (17:54):
You know, they know that the NISD in particular, as
recent as October Novembertimeframe of 2022 is still
saying to anybody in Florida, orwherever you might be from if
you have photographs or videobefore that collapse, please
share it with us because theywant to establish that database.
(18:16):
And and that's very much whatengineering is all about
creating something that you canlook into and pull the fluids
out is exactly what whathappens. But what happens now to
all those other buildings thatwe have in the state, as far as
inspections, are they autoscheduled? I know Miami Dade,
but what about everything elseon a scheduled to be inspected?
(18:39):
Well, most owners like you know,some of the big owners like
power companies, Disneyairports, commercial office
owners, they understand that thebuildings that buildings need
maintenance over time, we canonly do so much when we build a
building to begin with. But overtime, if a building is going to
last 60-70 years, you've got tohave professionals out there
looking at it and making surethat all the systems that were
installed 60 years ago, arestill doing what they're
(19:00):
supposed to be doing. And that'snot just the structure of the
building. It's also theenclosure, the envelope, making
sure water doesn't get insidethe building and cause damage.
So most building owners knowthat the challenge has been and
really where Champlain's hoursfalls in is you've got condo
owners who are not just oneowner, and not sophisticated in
knowing exactly how buildingswork, their homeowners and they
(19:24):
they may not have been therewhen the built the condo was
built. They may have bought itbut when the building was 30
years old, and they'reinheriting a lot of lack of
maintenance over the years. Soit's what the Senate and the
legislature tried to do thislast year was put in place rules
for condos because that's reallywhere it seems there's the gap
(19:44):
and building ownership andmaintaining your buildings and
giving them some rules to havebuilding professionals come in
and look at the buildings andwe're not there yet. There's
still there's still some billlanguage being cleaned up this
year. There's some there's sometweaks that are going to happen
to what was passed. Last Lastyear was Senate Bill four D. But
I feel like we're gonna getthere as a state. I think we're
(20:05):
talking about it in the rightways. I think we're over the
last year as as the bill waspassed, I think a lot of the
right questions are being asked.
And we're going to end up with asystem in place that will make
all the buildings in Floridamuch more safe in the decades to
come.
A little sidebar to what youwere just saying about condo
owners being home owners whohappen to live in a building
(20:28):
that is stacked up. interestinginterview with a developer, a
capital investment company,developer in Dade County
recently, and they as a capitalcompany looking to continue a
multibillion dollar buildingsurge in the Dade County area,
(20:49):
are looking at those aged condosthat may need repair may need
something and the individualcondo tenants don't either know
how to do it can't afford it ordon't have the interest and
they're buying them andrepurposing them. So the big
question, I guess that comes upwhen and if they rebuild, they
(21:10):
will have to rebuild to currentviable standards, not what we
did some 30-40 years ago.
Scott Martin (21:17):
That's right. And the building code these days is
a lot. When I started doing thisback in the 90s, the southern
standard building code much ofFlorida used was maybe one two
inches thick and not afford abuilding code is much bigger
than add volumes. And again, weupdate codes to represent the
best knowledge we've got abouthow building should go together
from all aspects. So anythingbuilt currently, is going to be
(21:40):
much more able to withstand thiscurrent environment than
anything built that was 3040years old.
Sam Yates (21:47):
You know, as we're doing our interview, sometimes I
always wait to the last minuteto say, Scott, I know that there
may be people listening rightnow, who are members of the
Florida Engineering Society orthis program gets passed on to
many different outlets. So therecould be someone right now that
says, hey, I want to reach outto Scott because his company is
(22:09):
that single source that I wantto partner with to do my next
project? How do they do that?
Scott Martin (22:16):
You can get us through our website. And we
again, we've got offices allover the country. So if you're
listening to this, and you'renot necessarily in Florida,
we've got offices in all overthe southeast, the southern
south or west coast, East Coast.
So we'll be more.com is the bestway to find out about us. And
there's contact links on therefor our local market leaders in
different different markets.
(22:38):
That's the best way to get aholdof us.
Sam Yates (22:41):
Next question is an easy one. I hope I haven't been
burned out on it yet. Would yoube able to come back for a
future episode?
Scott Martin (22:47):
Absolutely. I'd love to for ACEC. Some of these
individual engineers may be partof a larger firm, they should be
part of your organization. Howto do that. ACEC of Florida is
AC E C. F l.org is our newwebsite that we ramped up last
year. It's been revamped. Butyou can contact us through that.
And you can join theorganization through that. And
(23:08):
we're really looking forward tobringing more engineering firms
together. One thing we didn'treally touch on yet is one thing
we're trying to do as FeS andACC this year is to bring other
organizations together. TheSurfside working group, having
all those groups come togetherand have an impactful work
product that was able to informthe public and the legislature
(23:31):
what should be done afterSurfside. We really want to
build off that momentum. And sowe're starting a new journal
called engineering Florida. It'sa partnership not just with ACC
and FeS, but also with a fewother engineering organizations.
ASC is a part of that FSCA SNPs,A S, H, E, and a few others. So
look for that across the state.
If you're willing to if you'reinterested in partnering with us
(23:54):
finding out more about thatthat'll be online in the coming
months. And again, ACC Floridathat or ACC fl.org It's a great
way to find out more about ACCof Florida.
Sam Yates (24:06):
Scott, I want you to know I'm doing my part as a
Board of Director representativefor the Gold Coast Builders
Association of trying to bringbuilders within our organization
together with the engineeringside of things. I think that
creating the dialogue issomething that is tremendously
important. So I have volunteeredto do my part. And I'm hoping to
(24:29):
continue to do that before wewrap up because I always keep a
close eye on time because thatis very important for everyone.
Hurricanes, I know you said youcould come back at a future.
Sure so but we have a lot totalk about hurricanes among them
Scott Martin (24:44):
no problem but I think hurricanes in general it's
it's a it's a growing risk. Imean it's always been a risk in
Florida but I think the waywe've developed a state and you
can you can look at it from alot of different ways from from
clearing mangroves to putdevelopment end to building on
barrier right Orleans to, to theinfrastructure that we have
built to keep storm surge outand things like that. I think as
(25:06):
as climate change continues tohave a growing impact on the
intensity of storms, I thinkwe're going to figure a lot more
out and we're going to take alot more proactive. We'll make a
lot more proactive changes tohopefully change how we're
building the state to keep. Keepmore not just live safe, but
property safe.
Sam Yates (25:26):
Just another extraordinary duty of engineers
in Florida with an engineerextraordinaire Scott Martin,
ladies and gentlemen, we'velearned an awful lot again in
our program today. Scott, thankyou for being here.
Unknown (25:38):
Appreciate it, Sam.
Thanks for having me.
Sam Yates (25:41):
Until our next episode of the Florida
Engineering Society, EngineeringFlorida. I'm your host, Sam
Yates. Have a great dayeverybody. Thanks for listening
to another informative episodeof the engineering Florida
podcast. Our goal is to helpeducate and inform everyone who
(26:03):
listens to our podcast about ourmembers and topics of interest
to the Florida EngineeringSociety. On behalf of the
Florida Engineering Society, andthe Engineering Florida podcast,
have a great day everybody
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.