We learn something new about Coronavirus on what seems like a daily basis. This was especially true back in early March. There was so much uncertainty surrounding the pandemic that all of a sudden everything was either shut down or cancelled. During the early stages, before workplaces were ordered to close, we wondered what type […]

It can be very overwhelming to try to follow all the news on the Corona virus. What is known about the virus and its long-term effects advance daily, but one thing is for sure: everything is changing. Many aspects of everyday life have already changed for most of us, and modifications will need to occur […]

Replacing your local road might not seem like much of task. It may look like the alignment of the road didn’t change at all or it may look like the new road was just put back exactly where it was before. When a road is replaced, some of the most significant geometric changes to the […]

My GIS colleague, Jeff Miller, wrote a great article titled “Demystifying GIS.”  His article stated that he is in the business of making maps. He does make maps and they are awesome, or as we like to say, “AEWsome.” I completely understand his challenge, though, when trying to explain his profession to someone. Surveying is just […]

Allow me to give you a glimpse into a conversation that I and many of my GIS colleagues have had when discussing what we do for a living with a new acquaintance.“So what do you do?”“I’m in the GIS department at a civil engineering firm.”“What is GIS?”Long, awkward pause…“I make maps…” I’ve been doing GIS […]

July, 2020 Many changes have occurred in our office in the past year. AEW is undergoing a complete interior renovation. Since we were still occupying the building (prior to Stay Home Stay Safe orders[1]) the renovations needed to happen in phases while we shuffled around the building. Phase One started in Fall 2019 and the […]

June, 2020 I love tools.  I always have.  I am lucky to have been married for 38 years, and it has all been great, except for one thing.  The Bridal Shower.  The blushing bride gets all sorts of cool kitchen tools, house cleaning tools and bathroom tools.  But what does that groom get? I got […]

June, 2020 What people think architects do When talking about architects, most people imagine a circle-framed glasses wearing, Frank Lloyd Wright-esk designer, sketching out designs on napkins. These designs are pure works of art that someone else will have to figure out how to actually build into a complete structure. Many people also think that […]

June, 2020 Ah, the old pen and pad. For years the gold standard when it came to recording quantities and jotting down field notes that would eventually find their way to the GIS database, the medium certainly served its purpose. That is until a page was lost. Or until the pad was misplaced somewhere between […]

May, 2020 Most of us who live in the Metro Detroit area enjoy the convenience of clean, reliable drinking water at the turn of a faucet. The local municipalities that we live and work in deliver water to our plumbing systems through vast underground pipe networks. WHERE DOES CLEAN WATER COME FROM? But where does […]

May, 2020 Welcome to Inside AEW – a blog created by our very own team members to pull back the curtain on the intricate world behind the many projects we complete on behalf of our clients. From paving a road to replacing a pipeline, to refreshing the look of the local police station, to collecting […]