Heavy Movable Structures, Inc.,
is a not-for-profit technical organization of volunteers focusing
on the heavy civil facilities utilized by or for the public
benefit, with emphasis on, but not limited to, movable
bridges.
The main mission of HMS is
to provide forums for information interchange among
bridge owners, government agencies, designers, contractors,
suppliers, and other groups involved in movable bridges
and heavy movable structures. This includes both privately
owned and publicly owned bridges.
It is intended and believed that this information exchange
will benefit the public through improved safety
and reliability, more cost effective utilization
of public funds through improved design and maintenance
practices, and increased awareness and conformace
with issues of the environment.
These information exchanges involve scientific principles
and practices, various engineering desciplines,
current technologies and state-of-the-art
crafts related to the industry. The forums of information
interfchanges utilized are primarily the biennial symposia
with the associated publications and other information
that the volunteers may therein provide.
The scope or sphere of interest encompassed by HMS, has
not been tightly deifined by intention. At the present
time, HMS is primarily concerned with movable bridges
and other larger civil engineering structures such
as navigation locks, dams, flap gates, flood control
equipment, movable stadium roofs and other strutures
with large machinery in which most operational speeds
are less than critical and forces are large.
