Thought Leaders from Caltrans and WSP USA at Geo Week 2023

By Luke Lightning

August 4, 2023

On this week's guest list, for Season 3, Episode 16, we are delighted to welcome to the show Kourosh Langari, Project Engineer at Caltrans, and Douglas Dunrud, Vice President and Technical Principal at the WSP USA (26-minute episode). The insightful discussions between Mark, Kourosh, and Douglas covered several topics, ranging from how Caltrans integrates technology and their challenges for the next few years, to WSP utilizing BIM in infrastructure projects and how they approach training with the adoption of new technology.

Click to listen to our interview on Apple, Spotify, or Google, or watch on our Facebook or YouTube channels.

About Kourosh Langari
Kourosh Langari has 30 years of experience in A&E infrastructure Planning, Design & Construction Management with focus on integration of engineering/survey/GIS software applications (i.e. Autodesk, Bentley & ESRI) to establish industry’s best practices and increase efficiencies in workflow of Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) process. Kourosh has been and is working as Civil Engineer/ BIM Manager Transportation Surveyor at public sector (California Department of Transportation) and has worked as senior project engineer in private sector for AECOM (formerly URS) for the past decade.

About Douglas Dunrud
Mr. Doug Dunrud is a BIM Engineering Specialist with 34 years of experience as a bridge engineer in the highway transportation sector. He joined WSP in 2018 following his previous position as Branch Chief in Structure Design for Caltrans. During his time at Caltrans, he implemented the “Civil 3D Best Practices” in his branch and developed a BIM Implementation Plan for the Division of Engineering Services. Mr. Dunrud is a pioneer in the development of BIM for bridges and structures and Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) which promises to improve quality, accelerate project schedules and increase value to clients on transportation infrastructure projects.

Throughout the interviews, Kourosh and Douglas discussed numerous topics with our host Mark Oden, including:

How Caltrans integrates technology into the performance of their service
Some of the major challenges for Caltrans over the next few years
Use cases for BIM in infrastructure projects, and Douglas' experience influencing tools and technologies for the market
How Douglas approaches the training component when adopting new technologies

Caltrans manages more than 50,000 miles of California's highway and freeway lanes, provides inter-city rail services, permits more than 400 public-use airports and special-use hospital heliports, and works with local agencies. Caltrans carries out its mission with six primary programs: Aeronautics, Highway Transportation, Mass Transportation, Transportation Planning, Administration and the Equipment Service Center. Their vision is for a brighter future for all through a world-class transportation network, with a mission to provide a safe and reliable transportation network that serves all people and respects the environment.

WSP is a globally-recognized professional services firm employing approximately 49,000 people. WSP is one of the world's leading professional services firms. WSP provides technical expertise and strategic advice to clients in the Transportation & Infrastructure, Property & Buildings, Environment, Industry, Resources (including Mining and Oil & Gas) and Energy sectors, as well as offering project and program delivery and advisory services. Its experts include engineers, advisors, technicians, scientists, architects, planners, surveyors and environmental specialists, as well as other design, program and construction management professionals. Dedicated to serving local communities, we are engineers, planners, technical experts, strategic advisors and construction management professionals. WSP designs lasting solutions in the buildings, transportation, energy, water and environment markets. With more than 9,500 employees in 150 offices across the U.S., we partner with our clients to help communities prosper.

Click to listen to our interview on Apple, Spotify, or Google, or watch on our Facebook or YouTube channels.

SHOW NOTES

0:12  - Mark Oden introduces Kourosh Langari, Project Engineer at Caltrans.

2:21  - Mark: "Speaking of topologies and different climates, here at Geo Week, it's a big focus on topology, LIDAR scanning and BIM. So, how does Caltrans integrate technology into the performance of their service?"

7:26  - Mark: "What do you see as some of the major challenges for Caltrans over the next few years?" 

11:59  - Mark Oden introduces Douglas Dunrud, Vice President and Technical Principal at WSP USA.

15:13  - Mark: "So can you drive into some of the use cases, especially how you're using the model and component of BIM into your infrastructure projects? Could you also share a little bit about your experience and how you help influence the tools and technologies that the market sees?"

19:39  - Mark: "So moving on to speak a little bit about Bentley and the agnostic approach that WSP is taking with software, I'm curious how you approach the training component when you're moving from Civil 3D to Bentley, for example?" 

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