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Does "We've Always Done it that Way" Ring Any Bells?

5/1/2006

It's a great honor for me to assume the Presidency of ACI. I do so with confidence because of the legacy of exceptional predecessors who have set the stage for continued success. I am reassured that our 15,000 members are well served by a dedicated staff headed by our Executive Vice President, and I am grateful for the strong support I have in an excellent Board of Direction and its Executive Committee.

I am equally humbled by the great outpouring of technical and educational knowledge and information that continues to flow from our 155 hard-working committees and the dedicated chairs of those committees.

As a builder, I am proud to follow in the footsteps of "Concrete Man" Henry Turner, Charlie Pankow, Dean Stephan, Dan Baker, and other pace-setting practitioners who have brought a balanced view of the concrete industry to the Institute and the Presidency before me. Working the past 35 years with an innovative company that capitalizes on concrete technology through the use of the design-build project delivery method, I've had the great opportunity to take a leadership role in "finding better ways to build" in the commercial construction arena. And I am happy to say that ACI and many of its members have contributed much to our firm's, as well as my personal, success. For that I am grateful.

Even though I believe we are on the cutting edge of new methodologies, it is not uncommon to hear someone in our organization say, "We've always done it that way" when considering new methods, systems, technologies, or materials in the design and construction process. It's not difficult to recognize that ACI also struggles with the realities of "change." Regardless, things today are changing at a "Future Shock" rate.

I hope the following true story will help us put "change" in proper perspective. Some of you may have read or heard this before, but I find it revealing and relevant to ACI as we look at the important initiatives we have for the coming year:

The U.S. standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 ft, 8-1/2 in.-an exceedingly odd number. Why was that gauge used? Because that's the way they built them in England, and English expatriates built the U.S. railroads. Why did the English build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and that's the gauge they used. Why did "they" use that gauge then? Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing. Okay! Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing? Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would break on some of the old, long-distance roads in England, because that's the spacing of the wheel ruts. So who built those rutted roads? Imperial Rome built the first long-distance roads in Europe (and England) for their legions. The roads have been used ever since. And the ruts in the roads? Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagon wheels. Since the chariots were made for Imperial Rome, they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing.

The U.S. standard railroad gauge of 4 ft, 8-1/2 in. derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot. And bureaucracies live forever! So, the next time you are handed a specification, code, or guide and are told "We've always done it that way" and wonder what horses' "back end" came up with that, you may be exactly right-Imperial Roman war chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the "back ends" of two war horses.

As we work to improve our publications, increase membership, enhance the website, further our international collaborations, expand our Student Fellowship Program, reach out to the concrete industry, and expand ACI's working relationships with other technical societies and organizations, we need to be ever mindful of the changing world around us; and, that it's not good enough to do things because "We've always done it that way"!

I will discuss the aforementioned initiatives in upcoming Memos. ACI is the world's best technical society dealing with concrete. Our challenge is to continue to be the best in these times of "Future Shock" change. I am confident that we will do so, together.

Thomas D. Verti, President
American Concrete Institute

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