Coronavirus Safety Best Practices

October 28, 2020

Coronavirus Safety Best Practices

PDCA members could be our best resource to determine what is working on the jobsite and in the office to combat the potential spread of the COVID 19 virus.

Please take the time to list your Coronavirus Safety Best Practices and post them to this blog.  We are hoping this will serve as a resource for all PDCA members.

This blog is intended to provide PDCA members an opportunity to share their thoughts with their fellow members and is NOT intended to provide legal advice or serve as a fiinal source.  In all cases where safety is involved employers must use their best efforts to provide for the safety and health of their employees.

Thank you for your interest and support.  Please contact the PDCA office if you need any assistance.
 

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PileDriver Magazine: Issue #5, 2020

October 27, 2020

Orange Park, FL (Oct. 27, 2020): The latest edition of PileDriver magazine is now available in digital format (click the image to open it).

In this issue, you can read a contractor's perspective on the The Soma Hotel project in California. Foundation Constructors, Inc. details mounting challenges they overcame while erecting the new building in San Francisco's Mission Bay District. This account begins on Page 64.

Then travel east and learn about the innovative engineering that Insight Group in Charleston, SC incorporated into the ground improvements for the Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal, one of the nation's largest port expansion projects. Read a 'deep dive' into this massive effort on Page 58.

Also, meet Gwen Sanders, P.E., the new President of Eustis Engineering in New Orleans; she's the first woman to ever hold that title. Her Career Story is on Page 21. Then visit the new North American headquarters of foundation equipment manufacturer CZM. A photo spread featuring their the brand new Georgia facility starts on Page 45.

Balfour Beatty details an important mental health endeavor they have launched on Page 81. And new PDCA Contracts & Risk Committee Chair Rick Kalson co-authors an insightful opinion exploring "who is liable for additional construction costs caused by differing site condition," on Page 85.

You can read company profiles on longtime PDCA member Hammer & Steel, as well as one on new PDCA member EMC Engineering Services. Pile Tips, a Business article, a Leadership perspective and plenty more content is in this issue. To close PileDriver Issue #5, 2020, we remember the late Pete Schell of Equipment Corporation of America who left an indelible mark on the pile driving industry throughout the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond.

Read the full magazine here.

Posted in PileDriver Magazine.

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Employee Retention Summit for Manufacturers

October 23, 2020

PDCA Partners with Noted Speaker, Author, Creator, for Presentation on Employee Retention

Orange Park, FL (October 23, 2020): We'd like to personally invite you to a partner event that we feel could be a tremendous resource for you and your team. The Employee Retention Summit for Manufacturers is coming November 9-11, 2020 and not only can you attend from the comfort of your own home or office, it won't cost you a dime to do so.
 
Twenty-five manufacturing and retention experts are going to reveal their best retention tips in short 30-minute conversations with Lisa Ryan of Grategy. Lisa put together an all-star line-up of experts including Alan Beaulieu, PhD, Commander/Dr. Mary Kelly, Sam Silverstein, Eric Chester and more.
 
You can check it out here: Employee Retention Summit for Manufacturers.
 
Please feel free to share this event with your friends and colleagues. The speakers are engaging and all sessions are interview-style conversations that are loaded with great ideas and strategies that you can use right away.
 
Even though the focus is on employee retention, you'll find all kinds of sessions for your own personal and professional development. Topics like overcoming impostor syndrome, rocking your virtual presentations, and wellness strategies are included. And - did I mention that there is NO CHARGE for you to attend?
 
Feel free to reply back if you have any questions, but the Employee Retention Summit for Manufacturers website should be able to answer most of them for you.
 
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Lisa Ryan, the event host, at Lisa@EmployeeRetentionSummit.com.

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COVID Protocols in Place, SC Chapter to Meet in November

October 20, 2020

New 'Touch Free' Registration; and 
Program on 'Pile Testing'

Charleston, SC:  The PDCA of South Carolina Chapter announces that the Quarterly Dinner Meeting originally scheduled for November 12, 2020 at 6:30 PM, will be held as a live event, open to PDCA Members and other deep foundations professionals who would like to attend. Organizers have secured an insightful program from Dr. Guoming Lin of Terracon Consultants in Savannah, GA on the Kinder Morgan Elba Liquefaction Project.

Interested attendees should be advised that the Chapter has implemented all COVID-19 safety protocols for events and gatherings as recommended by the national Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the State of South Carolina (SCDHEC) and Charleston County. In addition, the Chapter has adopted a new "touch free" registration process, requiring attendees to register in advance and submit payment online. There will be no payment exchange at the event. REGISTER HERE.

In addition to the technical program, the Quarterly Dinner Meeting will feature a dinner buffet, beverages, industry networking and fellowship. Also, the Chapter Executive Committee will announce the student from The Citadel who has been selected to receive the 2020 Mac Nigels Scholarship. For more information about the November event, including venue and sponsor information, please see the following event flier:

 

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'Working Platforms' Update Delivered to Piling Industry

October 9, 2020

Jobsite Safety a Key Driver in Ongoing Efforts of ADSC/DFI/PDCA Working Group

Orange Park, FL (October 7, 2020): The third installment of the PDCA 2020 Annual Conference Webinar Series featured a two-hour, virtual program that provided a comprehensive report on the ongoing efforts of the ADSC/DFI/PDCA Working Group, which in 2019, formalized efforts to pursue industry-wide safety guidelines for utilization of working platforms on deep foundations jobsites.

More than 100 deep foundations professionals registered for the October 7th program entitled Working Platforms Update in which 
Peggy Hagerty Duffy, P.E., D.GE (pictured, lower left) of Hagerty Engineering and Association of Drilled Shaft Contractors (ADSC) and Terry Holman, PhD, P.E. (pictured, upper right) of Geosyntec Consultants detailed the Working Group's efforts to-date. Following that program was the Working Platforms Panel Discussion.  Hagerty Duffy and Holman served as panelists, along with Jim DeWaele of Keller Group (lower right). Gerald Verbeek of Allnamics U.S.A. (upper left) moderated the discussion in which the panel fielded questions from attendees. Those who attended the full program have earned 2-hours Professional Development Hours (PDH).

Please watch for detailed coverage of the Working Platforms Update installment of the PDCA 2020 Annual Conference Webinar Series in an upcoming PileDriver magazine. Also, The PDCA Store will soon be offering a download of the full program, free to PDCA members and for purchase by non-members.

The PDCA 2020 Annual Conference Webinar Series continues on November 4th with a program on construction law; the Series concludes on December 2nd with a presentation on updates to the International Building Code. All programs are FREE to PDCA members and offered to non-members at a nominal cost. The successful five-part, virtual series replaces the 2020 PDCA Annual Conference which was to be a live event in May; this change was made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. PDCA Executive Director Frank Peters (pictured below, left) and Manager of Events and Education Kathy Harper (pictured below, right) bring you the programs originating in the PDCA offices and delivered through the Zoom platform.






 

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Virtual DICEP 2020, an "excellent opportunity"

October 3, 2020

Annual pdca event, Delivered as Webinar, a success in virtual format

October 2, 2020: September was a busy month when PDCA offered several virtual education opportunities, including the annual Design & Installation of Cost-Efficient Piles (DICEP), known this year as Virtual DICEP 2020.

The program was delivered over the course of two weeks; the first segment provided attendees a thorough examination on Steel Sheet Pile, featuring presentations from David Chapman P.E. of Blakeslee Arpaia Chapman, Inc. and Gerry McShane of Service Steel Warehouse. This took place on September 16^th and 17^th from 3:00 5:00 PM EDT each day.

The next week, Virtual DICEP 2020 focused on Wave Equation. This too was delivered over two days, for two hours each day on September 23^rd and 24^th. Ryan Allin, P.E. of Pile Dynamics, Inc. gave a background on the subject matter and hosted workshops on specific components.

Nearly 90 professionals from North America and Europe attended Virtual DICEP 2020, including Jennifer Brandt, P.E. (pictured) of Peirce Engineering, Inc. in Phoenixville, PA. Ms. Brandt said; "PDCA's Virtual DICEP program was an excellent opportunity to stay connected with other PDCA professionals and reinforce my knowledge of Steel Sheet Piling and the Wave Equation.  The presenters were engaging, and the presentations were very informative.  I look forward to the next PDCA Virtual opportunity."

Thank you to our sponsors for Virtual DICEP 2020 which include; Pile Dynamics, Inc., Lester, Palmetto Pile Driving, Inc., and Service Steel Warehouse.

PDCA is pleased to announce that DICEP returns in 2021; it is expected to be a live event scheduled for September 15-17 in New Orleans, LA. Please watch your inbox for new details as they become available, or visit piledrivers.org.

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Skeet Shoot/Chapter Meeting - PDCA of the Gulf Coast

October 2, 2020

PDCA of the Gulf Coast Presents
4th quarter meeting/2020 Skeet Shoot

A reminder from the PDCA of the Gulf Coast: it is time to get registered for the 4th Quarter Chapter Meeting, which this year is combined with the 2020 Skeet Shoot event. The deadline to register is October 16, 2020.


The skeet shoot and meeting will take place at Bridgeview Gun Club in Port Allen, LA.  Members who choose not to participate in the skeet shoot are encouraged to come for lunch while we conduct the meeting.  Below is a list of event times of interest:

• Skeet Shoot Registration               8:00 AM
• Skeet Shoot Start Time                  9:00 AM
• Lunch / Awards                                 11:30 AM
• Meeting to Begin                             12:30 PM
• Meeting End                                      2:30 PM

This venue will allow us to meet and conduct our quarterly meeting requirements in a safe, outdoor environment.  Hand sanitizer and face masks will be provided and made available to all visitors.  We look forward to seeing everyone there.

See the following event flier for more information and RSVP instructions.

 

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A Pile of News - October 2020

October 1, 2020

A Pile of News: October 2020 A briefing on news and information from the pile driving contractors, associated manufacturers, construction suppliers and affiliated engineers who comprise the PDCA. By Matt Bisbee, PDCA From the Association & Chapters Be sure to read the latest PileDriver magazine commemorating the 25th anniversary of PDCA! Bring your ideas to the team that develops our publications; consider joining the PDCA Communications Committee, which meets next on Oct. 9. Contact PDCA for more information.   PDCA pays you a virtual visit in the Regional Roundtable Series. The FREE, informational programs are scheduled in U.S. localities not presently served by a PDCA chapter. Each one-hour event, delivered through the Zoom platform, is designed for PDCA members and non-members. Remaining events: Greater Texas Roundtable, Oct. 1, 1:00 PM CDT Midwest Roundtable, Oct. 8, 1:00 PM CDT New England Roundtable, Oct. 15, 1:00 PM EDT Lake Erie Roundtable (MI, OH, Western PA), Oct. 22, 1:00 PM EDT *The Regional Roundtable Series updates Member Benefits. (Not a PDCA Member? JOIN TODAY.)   The PDCA 2020 Annual Conference Webinar Series resumes next week, and on the first Wednesdays of November and December. Registration is FREE to PDCA members; non-members can attend for $100 per session (ask about applying the registration fee to PDCA membership). Each program is delivered through Zoom and includes Professional Development Hours (PDH) credit. Click the program(s) below for registration; all times Eastern. "Working Platforms Update" Oct. 7, 2020 (3-5 PM) [Construction Law] "You've Stopped Getting Paid, Now What?" and "Know Your Rights & Remedies Under the Federal Miller Act" Nov. 4, 2020 (3-5 PM) "Tilting at Windmills: Don Quixote Meets the International Building Code" Dec. 2, 2020 (3-4 PM)   Deep Foundations Dynamic Testing & Analysis (DFDTA) is scheduled as a live event coming Nov. 1113 in Orlando, FL. It is held in partnership with Pile Dynamics, Inc. Early bird rates available until Oct. 16.   Palace intrigue: A serial contributor to A Pile of News is PDCA board member Buck Darling of Herbert F. Darling, Inc. in Buffalo, NY. This publication encourages your news "tips," however the content is largely built on items gleaned from your web and social sites. Curiously, Buck's company has neither. This begs the question, why is he so quick to share news about other PDCA members...is he deflecting our attention? Hmmmm. Foundation Constructors Inc., you are this month's winner! Send an email to marian@piledrivers.org before the end of October to claim your prize! News from PDCA Companies Acquisitions & expansions: Haley & Aldrich of Burlington, MA acquires Hart Crowser of Seattle. Terracon grows westward; adds Environmental Planning Group (EPG) serving Phoenix, Denver, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City.   Anniversaries: Golder started 60 years ago in a small apartment and today is a global engineering brand. Holland LP of Crete, IL marks 85 years serving the rail industry.   Governmental relations: Boh Bros. Construction of New Orleans, The Great Lakes Construction Company of Hinckley, OH and Vortex Marine Construction of Antioch, CA are among signatories of a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell calling for stabilization in the multiemployer pension system.   Nucor Tubular Products hosted U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia for a tour of its Chicago facility.   ECS Limited's south region manager Benjamin Temple was part of a delegation making a special delivery from ACEC-SC PAC to South Carolina State Senator Scott Talley.   Recognitions: Atlas Foundation Company of Osseo, MN earns "Veteran Owned Business" status due to newly elevated, majority owner Pete Moeller's service in the U.S. Marine Corps.   GZA GeoEnvironmental of Boston is among winning collaborators in a Project of the Year Award for the Encore Boston Harbor Project. The luxury hotel has a foundation that includes pre-stressed concrete piles on a remediated, redeveloped Mystic River location, once home to Monsanto.   Infrastructure Consulting & Engineering, PLLC of Columbia, SC shares "Best in Class" Award for work on the Gateway Interchange project in Greenville, SC.   Projects: APC Construction of Algiers, LA awarded USACE contract to build a floodwall in New Orleans.   Boh Bros. Construction is set to begin a major initiative of the Louisiana DOTD; they received the "notice to proceed" on improvements at the I-10 and I-12 interchange in Baton Rouge.   Cajun Industries recently completed a bridge repair on an active, elevated rail line in Biloxi, MS.   Cape Romain Contractors of Charleston, SC is cleared to begin construction on the Folly Beach Pier Replacement in November; the project is expected to take 28 months.   Corman Kokosing is pictured on the job for an improvement at I-64 near the Richmond, VA airport in the American Cranes & Transport publication (see page 10...nod to Buck Darling).   Massman Construction completed a sheet pile dock at the Port of Little Rock in Arkansas; they continue performing infrastructure and site improvements on the project funded by a USDOT TIGER Grant.  Braun Intertec Corporation was tapped by NASA engineers to perform ground penetrating radar services to advance a project related to an aspirational visit to the moon by 2024.   Dewberry of Fairfax, VA lands contracts for public infrastructure projects through the New York City Department of Design and Construction and the Lake Dam Road Bridge Replacement in Raleigh, NC.   DuroTerra, Haley & Aldrich team up on the Hood Park development in this iconic Boston location.   Eustis Engineering recently completed a flood protection project in Jean Lafitte, LA.   Fugro wins a five-year contract (IDIQ) with the USACE St. Louis District for nationwide surveying and mapping services to support government owned property.   GeoQuip, Inc. supplied the hammers which are presently on-site for the high-profile Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Expansion Project in coastal Virginia.   International project: Golder's team Down Under joins Sydney drivers celebrating what is described as the largest and most complex multi-disciplinary transport infrastructure project in Australia.   Giving back: Ardaman & Associates of Orlando donates engineering services to the "Hero Homes" program, an initiative of Florida homebuilders that gives proceeds of a new home sale to local first responders.   Company Wrench, Ltd. sponsored the Community Giving Golf Scramble serving southern Ohio.   GROUP Industries, Eustis Engineering and Patriot Construction & Industrial all contributed to damage mitigation efforts in Louisiana following the late-August Category 4 Hurricane Laura. Look Who Made the News! ENR Mid-Atlantic published a story on the construction of a new wastewater pumping station in Wilmington, DE; Peirce Engineering designed the shoring, which was built with sheet and H-piles from Nucor Skyline, all driven into place with an International Construction Equipment (ICE) hammer.   The Florida Times-Union goes in-depth with Garrett Harrison, the project manager from Hal Jones Contractor in Jacksonville, FL, who leads the construction on the new pier at Jacksonville Beach. Find out how local surfers and a beach-going mom glued to her cell phone have impacted progress.   The Troy Record serving upstate New York, was at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new seawall. CD Perry & Sons Inc. was general contractor on the "largest infrastructure project ever" in their hometown. Dignitaries from U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer through city leadership participated in the event.   St. Charles Herald-Guide.com covers the ribbon cutting for a new pump station in Louisiana; a slew of dignitaries, including U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, attended; Thibodaux-based Sealevel Construction is credited in the DoTD project. Elsewhere, St. MaryNow.com, writes about Sealevel pile driving for the Bayou Chene flood control project.   The Post and Courier serving Charleston, SC, noted from a January news release that local contractor Jason Moore of Palmetto Pile Driving elevated to PDCA President in 2020.   WCSH 6 & WLBZ 2 TV reports on construction of an underground storage tank in Portland, ME; H.B. Fleming is installing two cofferdams to increase capacity and improve water quality.   #NYSEFloorTalk is a video series of the New York Stock Exchange which interviews leading companies in the exchange. Watch Gerdau CFO Harley Scardoelli discuss sustainability.   What Do You Do? Podcast features a discussion with Parker Meeks who became president of Infrastructure for TRC Companies in 2018 at 37 years old.   The History Channel program "Lost Gold of WWII" features Gerard Moulzolf of AET, Inc. who provides a demonstration of a petrography device.   Dewberry CEO Don Stone pens an essay on leadership skills he gained through military service, reflects on his recent induction into The Citadel Academy of Engineers People on the Move The monthly round-up: Chris Normand elevates to vice president, Deep Foundations at Cajun Industries in Baton Rouge; also, Rusty DeBarge is introduced as the director of projects Amanda Luong promoted to manager at Powell Foundations, Inc.'s sister company in Ontario Dr. Jussara Tanesi joins American Engineering Testing as a principal engineer in St. Paul, MN Mary Canino is the newest transportation group member at Braun Intertec in Minneapolis Jay Harper, former official with FEMA and Dept. of Homeland Security, named VP at Dewberry John Hill joins ECS Limited as senior engineer in Virginia, William Gaspar named office manager in Fredericksburg, VA. In Florida, Leslie Lawson becomes new marketing manager. Jason Hertz, Caleb Welsh and Justin Smith P.E. are new additions to GeoStructures, Inc. Mary Scarbrough joins S&ME, Inc. as chief human resources officer based in Raleigh, NC Jeff Davis is new national director of federal services in Terracon's Orange County, CA office Radha Swaminathan joins board of directors at TRC Companies, Inc. Angelo Malicsi named instructional designer at Universal Engineering Sciences, Orlando Matt Caskey, P.E. is the new, Memphis-based director of sales for DuroTerra of Boston Gerrit van den Bos named manager of operations at PVE Equipment USA in Jacksonville, FL   Recognitions: Luda Safransky, business development manager at Balfour Beatty, included as "2020 Top Women of Influence" in San Diego Metro magazine John Coker of Clark Construction in Kansas City, named "Rising Professional" Tice Welborn, P.G. of Terracon earns GSA Business Report Forty Under 40 in South Carolina Courtlyn Hisey of Universal Engineering Sciences is ASCE-Miami Young Engineer of the Year Jim Dash, partner at Carlson Dash, LLC in Illinois and Wisconsin, earns a "Best Lawyers for Construction Law" designation for the ninth consecutive year   Our sympathies: PDCA sends its deepest sympathies to the surviving family and dearest friends and colleagues of the late Doug Wakefield, who spent more than 40 years with Cape Romain Contractors in Charleston, SC. Field Notes Back in Class Edition Civics: The newest installation on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. is a Clark Construction-built monument honoring distinguished WWII general and two-term American President Dwight Eisenhower. More Civics: Holes, Inc. of Houston provides an important P.S.A. in advance of November's elections.   Geography: In just one week following ESC Steel LLC on social media, we learned our way around the globe. Among the several international locations to which they shipped product were Australia, Nigeria, Abu Dhabi, Mexico and the Philippines (cool bridge, btw).   Law: Ingenuity wins! Foundation Constructors, Inc. of Oakley, CA is cleared in federal court, which upheld a lower court's decision that a pile "end plate" in question is not protected by plaintiff's patent.   History: D.W. Kozera, Inc. of Baltimore is on the job in central PA and notes several historical events that have taken place near the newly installed test-piles they're evaluating.   Literature: Imagine fishing Bristol Bay off Alaska's coast, the hemisphere's most productive waters for Pacific salmon. It's easy to immerse yourself in that scenario; but see how the story might end if you are a civil constructor, like the founders of PND Engineers. To celebrate 40 years in business, the firm published their story in book format. [Read On a Fishing Boat at Sea].   Earth science or study hall, we weren't sure: The September Zoom events from GeoEngineers mark six years in a row that the firm hosted free study sessions to aspiring PEs in advance of the PE exam; firm professionals provided attendees an interactive review of the test's geotechnical section.   Music Quotable: "It is not the beauty of a building you should look at; it's the construction of the foundation that will stand the test of time." David Allan Coe said it and The Metaphorical Mullet shared it on social media. Regarding the latter, we will "never even call him by his name." 😉 Thanks for reading 2020's 10th installment of A Pile of News; please keep sending and posting your company announcements. And don't forget to include #PDCADriven on your social media, you might be randomly selected to win PDCA merchandise from The PDCA Store. ‌ ‌ ‌ Copyright © 2020 Pile Driving Contractors Association, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you are an industry leader in the piling community and may be a member of the Pile Driving Contractors Association.

Posted in A Pile of News PDCA Monthly e-newsletter.

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