John Wheaton

Project management is many things. The term project management is a broad category. It can be defined and manifested in many ways. There are key aspects and processes to the role of project management that need to be executed in order to achieve success. Project management in one company differs…

The quality level of all manufactured goods assembled and delivered in the curtain wall supply chain flow downhill from design and engineering decision-making, whether good or bad. The assembled system of products that is a “curtain wall system” applied uniquely to each building type and layout is…

“John. Wait, stop right there.” “What?” “Stop right there and go back to that prior statement.” “What statement?” “The one where you mentioned lack of experience in the supply chain; I think it may be the biggest issue of them all as to why so many projects take longer, and require more work…

Delegated design is the process where the design professional of record, the architect or engineer (AOR or EOR), defers detailed design and engineering responsibilities for certain building elements or systems, usually to a constructor or subcontractor, and their “delegated design” professional,…

With the end of the year approaching, my final blog of 2018 is a collection of random thoughts and experiences. Hopefully some will resonate with you. Let’s discuss terms. I love the technical terms we use in our industry. “Chicken head” may be the best. Most of us know that term to define the…

Engineering is a blend of math, science, physics, artistry, with applied creativity and some “magic”; a blend of the intuitive with quantitative analysis. It is a miraculous endeavor really, and of great worth when expressed properly. Because of properly expressed engineering, millions of square…

The exterior wall defines the look of the building. It’s often complex. It’s dynamic. It protects occupants from the outside environment. Tracking façade trends is critical for everyone in our industry.  Every year, hundreds of projects come across my desk and into our firm. We win some and we…

The building industry is shifting in its demands for thermal performance and thermal analysis on wall systems. More projects require thermal analysis, factors such as dew point and edge-of-glass U-values have become more important, and collaboration across the project team is on the rise. In this…

Design-assist procurement is the best possible approach to developing and completing design, engineering and construction of custom curtain wall and cladding projects. All curtain wall projects should be executed with some form of design-assist or design-engineering. Design-assist, or DA, is a…