Leveraging Civil Engineering Expertise for Sustainable Infrastructure

Issa M. Issa, Ph.D., is an experienced civil infrastructure engineer and project manager at Atlas Technical Consultants, based in San Antonio, Texas. With over 10 years of hands-on expertise in materials and pavement engineering, he specialises in designing, supervising, and evaluating infrastructure projects such as pavements and bridges. Dr. Issa holds a Ph.D. in civil engineering, with a focus on materials and pavement engineering, and is skilled in structural engineering, nondestructive testing, and data analytics.

Through this article, Issa highlights his contributions to Atlas since joining in August 2023, emphasising how his extensive civil infrastructure experience has added value to the company's operations.

I have been a part of Atlas since August 2023. My time with Atlas was shaped through over 15 years of experience in civil infrastructure, particularly in pavements, materials, and concrete bridge research. In my role as a project engineer/manager at Atlas, I have leveraged this background to contribute to various lines of operation. Expertise in pavement engineering, honed through projects such as the Florida Concrete Test Road and TXDOT's pavement design for heavy loads in energy development areas, has been invaluable. Additionally, my experience in materials testing, including lab accreditation and automation, as well as geotechnical engineering from projects like the underpass and railway bridge internationally, has helped to make significant contributions to Atlas's engineering and design initiatives. I can manage large datasets, perform advanced data analysis, and supervise on-site materials testing, which has further enhanced Atlas's capabilities in delivering high-quality infrastructure projects.

Leveraging Civil Engineering Expertise for Atlas' Growth

Atlas is a promising large company with significant potential. It is built around providing high-quality work in various aspects. My background comes into play by contributing to various lines of work. I envision helping Atlas add new services in pavement engineering as well as implement data analytics and automation to the workflow.

Overcoming Construction Industry Challenges

Professionals in the construction industry face several pressing challenges, including maintaining quality and safety standards, ensuring material durability and performance, conducting nondestructive testing, making data-driven decisions, and managing project timelines. My expertise has contributed significantly to addressing these challenges. 

With a background in structural engineering, pavement/materials engineering, nondestructive testing, and data analytics, I ensure material integrity through extensive testing and characterisation, as seen in my work on the Florida Concrete Test Road and Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) pavements. My proficiency in nondestructive testing methods like FWD and GPR enables accurate evaluations of infrastructure conditions. By facilitating data analytics concepts, I manage large datasets and support informed decision-making. My experience in construction projects, including my roles in managing and ensuring structural integrity and project timelines, has been crucial. By leveraging these skills, I believe we can effectively address the industry's key challenges, ensuring high-quality, safe, and timely project delivery.

“With a background in structural engineering, pavement/materials engineering, nondestructive testing, and data analytics, I ensure material integrity through extensive testing and characterization, as seen in my work on the Florida Concrete Test Road and Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) pavements.”

Integrating AI and Emerging Technologies

I have integrated emerging technologies like automation concepts to enhance our operations, leveraging my extensive background in pavement/materials engineering and data analytics. Automating data management and analysis provides a significant improvement to efficiency in managing large datasets from project initiation to project delivery.

Strategic Leadership

The construction industry offers a wide base for future integration of new technologies; several key strategies and insights can be used to navigate this changing landscape. Examples include, but are not limited to: i) embracing digital transformation by investing in technologies such as Building Information Modelling (BIM), Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, generative AI, and robotics can significantly enhance project design, schedule optimisation, cost controls, and site inspections; ii) integrating project delivery and leveraging digital twins to connect design and operation phases; iii) utilising data analytics for data-driven decision-making can help manage large datasets and predict potential issues, optimising resource allocation.