bESTology 2014

Driving Towards Your Future – bESTology Week 12
A future career could place you at the helm, in the driver’s seat, behind the wheel or navigating with a joystick.  Engineers design, develop and deliver cars, trucks, trains, planes or ships but it takes a talented and knowledgeable operator to lawfully and safely control, steer and arrive at the final destination.
Often we see the “big” picture but never take the time to explore the minute details of the laws …

Decoding the Road
BEST teams use code to communicate with their robot while transportation engineers use code to communicate with drivers and pedestrians.  In last year’s bESTology, we learned that code is a rule for converting one piece of information into another form or representation.  In the world of transportation, just like the world of computing, we are surrounded by code.  Traffic lights use colors as codes, road signs are designed to overcome the language barrier displaying universal code, tanker …

BEST Business 101.2
In just a few months, it will be time to get down to Bladerunner business.  With a mission, vision and business plan, your winning team will be on the road to success.
In today’s business world, entrepreneurs begin with an idea that grows into a product.  The product is then marketed to a potential buyer.  Along this entrepreneur highway, there are stops, speed bumps and intersections.  Having a map or a business plan makes the journey smoother.

It’s All About the Freight – bESTology Week 8
It’s a fact – we do not produce 100% of products needed in our hometown, e.g. food, building materials, automobiles, school supplies, etc.  Therefore imports are essential.  That means some sort of exchange with other states and even other nations.  Goods being transported from place to place are referred to as freight.
bESTology 2014 has looked at the: surfaces freight travels; energy sources associated with that transport (week 7 and 2); …

Tunneling through Technology – bESTology Week 7
We begin in the early 1900’s with World War I generating the need for truck use and development. This need led almost immediately to truck manufacturing, long-distance shipments, inflated tires and faster speeds.  By the 1920’s, over one million trucks were on America’s roads.
This week’s bESTology focuses on ways transportation improvements are made in the 21st century and how the improvements are influenced by technology.  Transportation improvements are based on but …

Let’s Circle Around Pi Day – bESTology Week 6
 Bladerunner may not be a piece of cake, but it can be as easy as Pi. This week we celebrate pi – not pie, but Pi.  International Pi Day is March 14 (3/14 or 3.14), which is also Albert Einstein’s birthday.  
 We are familiar with Pi and it’s relationship to a circle.  Tires, turbine engines and train wheels are only a few examples of circles that help transport goods and …

Accidents bring tears – Safety brings cheers.  A motto BEST embraces 24/7.
Highway safety, classroom safety, competition safety – we can all agree safety is key no matter where we are. As a bESTologist, let’s study how and why safety procedures are put into place and how we can play a role in the future of safety.
 Resources:

Creating a Safety Video
NTSB Top 10 Safety Concerns
NTSB Safety Blog Site
Advancements and Technology in Truck Safety
Geometric Design …

Not the Basic Load  – bESTology Week 4
Are you ready to become the ultimate loadmaster, stevedore or cargo handler? Oversized freight, weight restriction, bridge formula, permits and intermodal are only a few words you would use in these professions.  Sit down, take a load off and let’s get started with the basics.
According to Dictionary.com, a load is defined as anything put in or on something for conveyance or transportation; freight; cargo.  “Load” can also be a verb; to …

National Engineers Week! As bESTologists, we are focusing the spotlight on the careers of transportation and civil engineers and how they impact our world.
Did you know that transportation and civil engineers have a –

responsibility to move people and goods safely and efficiently?
salary that is often more than $80,000 per year?
knack to effectively apply problem-solving and teamwork skills?

Transportation and civil engineers must solve current and future transportation issues. Issues such as integrating transport systems, …

Energize!
Not only has the advancement of TECHNOLOGY improved our roads and highway systems, technology has had and continues to have an enormous impact on how we POWER our modes of transportation.
In the past, fossil fuels (oil) have been the dominant energy source for transportation.  But due to global innovation and advances in technology, the manner in which natural resources are collected, modified and consumed has been transformed creating a new vision for transportation in America.
LNG, algae, wind …