Services
As a specialized consulting firm focused exclusively on waterfront infrastructure, Appledore Marine Engineering has built a solid reputation for engineering excellence in each one of our service lines. Our success is driven by a senior leadership team comprised of industry experts and published authors responsible for many manuals of practice and standards that are used nationwide. Having experts who “wrote the book” leading projects reduces cost and saves time.
Further differentiating AME is the direct engagement of our Principals in project planning, execution, and closeout. With over three decades of experience working together on waterfront and ocean infrastructure around the world, having our Principals on the front lines ensures success on every project for every client by guiding and mentoring a new generation of leading engineers.
This level of Principal involvement supports the firm’s focus on marine engineering. What we do isn’t only in our name, but it is woven into every company process and guideline, technology deployed, training program, and support function, yielding exceptional results for our clients.
What is an Engineer-Diver?
An engineer-diver is an individual possessing a 4-year engineering degree with formal training in commercial diving operations. They should be either a licensed Professional Engineer (PE) or an Engineer-in-Training (EIT). They are uniquely qualified to perform underwater inspections to identify and assess conditions of marine and waterfront structures. These minimum guidelines are recommended by the American Society of Civil Engineers Underwater Investigations: Standard Practice Manual.
AME’s In-House Engineer-Dive Team.
At AME, nearly all our engineering staff are also commercially certified divers. Each dive team is led by a Principal of the firm who works directly with employees to mentor and ensures quality. Our engineer-divers are uniquely qualified in evaluating load paths and failure modes for in-water structures. AME’s approach to waterfront facility inspection and design projects starts with our engineer-divers completing the field investigations, above or below water, using the data collected to develop recommendations, write the reports, and complete the designs. The continuity of data within the same team ensures top quality products for our clients. There is no middle person, and this approach supports data integrity from under the water, to the engineer’s desk, to our clients’ hands.
AME has mastered the science and skill of performing inspections of waterfront facilities across the country and around the world. Our Principal-led engineer-dive teams provide first-hand experience that minimizes the unknowns for maintenance programs. In addition, our “boots on the ground” approach allows us to tailor our inspections to effectively evaluate operational capability and prepare realistic budgets for repairs and upgrades. Our in-house engineer-dive teams evaluate structural deterioration in the field and then work with the client to outline repair recommendations and provide design of repairs before facility operations are impacted. AME performs the following types of inspections:
- Routine Above Water and Underwater Inspections
- Condition Assessments
- Detailed Design-Level Inspections
- Construction Quality Assurance Inspections
- Due Diligence Inspections
- Post-Event Inspections
- Special Inspections
- Drone Inspections
- Load Bearing Structures (LBS) Inspections
- Tower Climbing & Inspection
- Cathodic Protection Surveys
- Photo Documentation in Zero Visibility
As evidence of our expertise and industry leadership, AME President Noah Elwood, and Vice Presidents Kirk Riden and Matthew Teeden, led the development of the ASCE Manual of Practice for Waterfront Facilities Inspection and Assessment.
Engineering services beyond inspections are vital to assessing structural capability and operational readiness of facilities that may require a more comprehensive understanding of the load paths or may have hidden or buried conditions that are not readily known. AME has completed task orders to evaluate every type of waterfront facility, from dry docks to piers, bulkheads to tramways, and offshore towers to bridges. Our team has experience leading and overseeing specialty surveys, such as:
- Geotechnical Explorations On Shore and Offshore
- Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)
- Concrete Coring, Evaluation, and Petrographic Analysis
- Non-Destructive Testing
- Utility Surveys
- Topographic Surveys
- Benthic Studies and Mapping
- Metocean Studies
- Basic Structural Analysis (BSA)
- Hydrographic Surveys and Oceanographic Load Development
- Load Testing
- Life Cycle Estimation
For over 30 years, AME has been developing well-planned, practical designs for our clients around the world. From the design of a first responder boathouse, to an over $100 million shipyard improvement task order, our engineers are deeply engaged in the entirety of each project, from award to construction, to ensure we are consistently exceeding our clients’ expectations. Our experience covers initial asset valuation, planning proposals, and a full range of design services for industrial clients, State, and Federal agencies, and other waterfront facility owners nationally and abroad.
AME is committed to developing industry standards with senior management serving in leadership roles, providing guidance to the engineering and commercial diving communities. Principals Noah Elwood, Kirk Riden, and Robert Snover and Chief Structural Engineer John Gaythwaite have authored industry publications and government standards and best practices for waterfront engineering inspection and design. For example, Mr. Elwood and Mr. Riden served as lead authors for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Manual of Practice (MOP) for the inspection and assessment of waterfront facilities. Mr. Riden also led the rewrite of the US Navy’s Navy Tactical Reference Publication NTRP 4-04.2.8 Conventional Underwater Construction and Repair Techniques (formerly P-990). Mr. Gaythwaite led the development of an ASCE MOP for the mooring of ships at fixed harbor facilities and wrote Design of Marine Facilities, now in its third edition.
Not only has AME senior leadership ‘written the book’ on waterfront engineering, but they have also shared their knowledge and expertise by way of course instruction. As part of our work, our leadership team develops and delivers training and technical content and accompanying manuals for our clients, such as courses recently delivered to US Coast Guard Civil Engineering Units entitled “Fixed Aids to Navigation (ATON) Inspection, Assessment, and Design” and the inspection guidelines we contributed to the US Coast Guard ATON Manual. This program was developed to provide an understanding of various types of ATON structures, material considerations, why and how deterioration occurs, and design principles.
Looking to enhance the knowledge of your ownership team? Please reach out to learn more as we enjoy sharing our experience and building knowledge industry-wide.
