Chad Bonar

2-12-14

Visual Rhetorical Analysis

English 250

            When you think about what visuals Structural Civil Engineers use to communicate what are some things that pop into your head? For me the first thing that pops into my head is a blueprint. Blueprints are the guidelines to how you have to build something some examples of these would be dams, building, bridges, roads (highways, interstates, and city roads), etc… When companies are making blueprints there audience is usually the work crew that will be building whatever is on the blueprint. These blueprints have to be exactly what needs to be done because when the blueprint gets to the work cite there will be no questions asked they will build exactly what the blueprint says to do, so they have to be perfect before they get sent out and have to go through a long process to make sure they are correct.

            I have an example of a blueprint to show you that could have some problems in it. In this blueprint they have designed a roundabout intersection but when they were first design this what do you think were some of the problems they had to ask themselves? Hint: Take a look at the blueprint. Those red boxes you see in it are Semi-trucks that they put into the design to make sure that it was big enough for every vehicle type to be able to use it. Some other dangers they had to think about was most likely if drivers could see the other vehicles coming when trying to enter the roundabout. When doing blueprints like these they have to think of anything and everything that could go wrong and try to come up with a better plan that will fix the problems.

            There are resources out there that help everyone fix problems. For this blueprint a resource that really helped the Civil Engineers fix the size problem was Autodesk Vehicle Tracking 2014. This program pulls up there blueprint for 2-D to 3-D and lets them out vehicles in it to see if the fit. This program does wonders for Civil Engineers. Watch what else the program can do. So by using this program Civil Engineers save a lot of time and don’t have to do it all through math. “With all this in mind, we’re rolling out Autodesk Vehicle Tracking 2014.  It’s a comprehensive analysis and design solution for what the transportation techies call “vehicle swept path analysis.” It’s a perfect companion for civil engineers and designers using Autodesk AutoCAD, Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D, Autodesk AutoCAD Architecture, Autodesk AutoCAD Plant 3D, Autodesk AutoCAD Map 3D and Autodesk AutoCAD Utility Design”(Autodesk PR).

           Blueprints can be a very dangerous piece of equipment. If something goes wrong with a building or a bridge and it collapses who do you think is going to get into trouble the worker or the person that designed it. It more than likely always be the designer unless they have proof that it wasn’t made the way the blueprint said to make it. So there is never room for error in making blueprints because it could put millions of people’s life at stake. That’s why there is such a long process before a blueprint is finalized because they have to check every little piece of it to make sure it is structurally, mechanically, and electrically sound. So if you’re a company that is having a blueprint made and it is taking a while to get back to you don’t get angry because the more time they take on it the safer it will be because they put that more research into it to make sure it was sound for you.

            It takes a lot of guts for Civil Engineers to do what they do because they can mess one little thing up and millions of life’s are on the line. But they do have one of the purest ways to communicate to make sure nothing goes wrong with what they build. Blueprints are hard to read but most Civil Engineers use blueprints for years while in school and learn how to understand them just at a glance of the eye after a while. This is how every Civil Engineer communicates with each other so they become fluent in the language. Blueprints are the basic communication for Civil Engineers and most likely always will be.  

   

Autodesk PR. "From Parking Lots to Intersections, New Autodesk Vehicle Tracking 

               2014 Software Aims to Improve Our Transportation Environment." 'In 

               The Fold-Autodesk News and Opinions' Autodesk, 7 Nov. 2013. Web. 

               12 Feb. 2014.