Customer Reviews

Construction of Marine and Offshore Structures, Second Edition (Civil Engineering - Advisors)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is FULL of information, interesting, readable, and explanatory. This book takes a long time to get through though, which I suppose is great value. The following are the chapters:

1. Physical Environmental Aspects
2. Geotechnical Aspects (Seafloor)
3. Ecological and Societal Impacts
4. Materials and Fabrication (Structures)
5. Construction Equipment (Vessels)
6. Marine Operations
7. Seafloor Modifications and Improvements
8. Installation of Piles
9. Harbor, River, and Estuary Structures
10. Coastal Structures
11. Steel Jackets
12. Concrete Gravity-Base Structures
13. Other Applications of Offshore Construction Technology
14. Moored Floating Structures
15. Pipeline Installation
16. Plastic and Composite Pipelines, Cables
17. Topside Installation
18. Underwater Repairs
19. Strengthening Existing Structures
20. Removal and Salvage
21. Constructability
22. Deep Sea Construction
23. Arctic Structures

The first three chapters provide excellent background information. Chapters 4-6 are more specific but still general enough to be required reading. The remaining chapters are for you to choose which are most applicable to your company's operations. I don't think any one company actually does all the types of work this book covers, but it's still good to have the introductory knowledge. (Note topside fabrication, which albeit is accomplished on a quayside, is not discussed.) The chapter on constructability is a more recent and important topic.

A competitive advantage is technical knowledge (or at least awareness) of the many different methodologies to achieve satisfactory execution, and this book describes many of them in marine and offshore construction. It is a must read for operations and project engineers, construction supervision, planners/schedulers, and even project managers.

At more than 800 pages, this is a hefty and detailed book on construction of marine and offshore structures. The author, Ben Gerwick, is a leading authority on the subject, with decades of industry experience, so the orientation of the book is practical rather than academic. While the focus is on construction, with design issues only mentioned tangentially, engineers will still find this book to be a valuable reference. No book can answer every question that might come up on your projects, but this one comes as close as one could reasonably hope. Highly recommended.

I bought this book due to having some constructability issues in the field. This helped educate our staff on the issues.

It is difficult to find information on construction in the marine environment.

I was looking for information about executing piles offshore. Though the book includes an specific chapter about this subject, in the end it is too general and it does not add relevant details about the construction of offshore piles. In any case, the book is an excelent guide.

This is an excellent publication from an individual of exemplarary knowledge of the industry.