The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved cold weather standards for generators set by North American Electric Reliability Corp. but has expressed reservations. FERC has told NERC to address within one year "undefined terms, broad limitations, exceptions and exemptions and prolonged compliance periods."

Arizona's modifications to its State Plan for occupational safety and health has prompted OSHA to withdraw its proposal to reconsider and revoke final approval. Arizona adopted OSHA's national emphasis on trenching and excavation safety. It also took efforts to craft final safety rules related to construction and ensure its financial penalties for safety violations match those set by OSHA.

Every material, everywhere, will eventually break down over time. However, standards can help stave off corrosion and save companies money in the process.

The American Nuclear Society has released a report with detailed comments on environmental standards for nuclear repositories that contends generic disposal standards are dated and should be replaced. The report lists recommendations for updated standards.

Adherence to modern seismic standards helped many buildings survive in the Turkish region hit by quakes, but unevenly applied enforcement of the standards is evident, says Kit Miyamoto, head of engineering firm Miyamoto International. Many older reinforced concrete buildings in Turkey are made with non-ductile concrete framing and can be susceptible to collapse.

Lennar, one of the nation's largest homebuilders, is running seven Icon 3D printers to construction 100 homes near Austin that could be occupied later this year. Lennar prepares each site and places concrete slab foundations, and then each of the homes are built with Icon's Vulcan printer and Lavacrete mix, which creates structures designed to withstand extreme weather and resistant to water, mold, termites and fire.

Researchers at Missouri University of Science and Technology are using federal funding to study three production methods for 3D-printed ultra-high-performance concrete. They are also developing resilient and intricately shaped 3D-printed fiber-reinforced concrete that the US Army Corps of Engineers could use for rapid construction of protective battlefield structures such as temporary bridges, bunkers and barracks.

A scan of an intact limb using the iPhone camera's facial recognition feature is used to create a model of the limb and is the first step in LIMBER Prosthetics & Orthotics' process for 3D printing prostheses that are made of a single piece. Manual dimensions collected by a certified prosthetist support the iPhone scan and others, and the device is then personalized at an off-site facility, printed and sent to the prosthetist, who fits it, and co-founder Luca De Vivo Nicoloso notes the system has worldwide applications as the process can be completed in less than a week.

Sougata Roy, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of North Dakota, has been awarded a roughly $250,000 federal grant to support research into the use of 3D printing to produce nuclear reactor components. The project will focus on producing components with a nitrogen-strengthened austenitic steel base.

GE, Warren Environmental and Garver are collaborating on field tests of a robot -- the PipeLine Underground Trenchless Overhaul system -- that can help slash the cost of pipeline rehabilitation by eschewing typical digging, cutting and extraction methods. "At the same time, this new system could significantly reduce the carbon footprint of the overall pipeline infrastructure by more easily addressing the oldest, hardest-to-reach natural gas pipeline infrastructure that is believed to account for up to 50% of the methane emissions coming from these pipelines," said Alexander Duncan from GE Research.

LinkedIn got into the training sector late but in the last eight years it has more than caught up and now offers 18,000 courses across more than 20 languages. Now it is expanding into an enterprise learning and career platform with new offerings that will include professional certifications and a talent marketplace.

Submit your abstract today for ASTM International's Conference on Advanced Manufacturing, to be held Oct. 30 to Nov. 3, 2023, at the Hyatt Regency, Capitol Hill (Washington, D.C., USA). Read more here.