12th Annual Design and Installation of Cost-Efficient Piles Conference

The Pile Driving Contractors Association, in partnership with the PDCA of Florida Chapter will host the 12th Annual Design and Installation of Cost-Efficient Piles The E3 Conference (DICEP) in Orlando, Florida on Thursday, November 3, 2011. The program will be held at the Renaissance Orlando Airport, Orlando, FL, approximately a mile from the Orlando International Airport (MCO).

Supporting Organization

The PDCA is proud to announce the following organizations have partnered with the PDCA DICEP conference as Supporting Organizations. Click on their name to go to their website to find out more about each organization.

GeoInstitute of the ASCE

ASCE Florida Section

ASCE Florida Section – East Central Branch

Maximize Driven Pile Through
Efficiency, Effectiveness and Economy - E3 !

Who Should Attend?

The DICEP conference is designed for geotechnical, structural and civil engineers; contractors and other firms or individuals who support, conduct business or are associated with the deep foundations, earth retention and/or driven pile industry.

Presentation Topics and Speaker Lineup

Ohio DOT: Deep Foundation Practices – Peter Narsavage, State Construction Geotechnical Engineer, Office of Construction Administration, ODOT; Pile Length Optimization and Flexity with FB Multiplier – Brian Anderson, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, Auburn University/Chair, GeoInstitute of ASCE Deep Foundations Committee; Design of Sheet Piling – David Chapman, P.E., Blakeslee, Arpaia, Chapman; Installation Specification for Driven Pile: PDCA Specification 103-07 – Dale Biggers, Boh Bros Construction Co, LLC / Chair, PDCA Technical Committee; Noise and Vibration Challenges on a Large Piling Project: A brief history of the West Toronto Diamond Project – Mike Justason, Bermingham Foundation Solutions; Positive Aspects of Negative Skin Friction – Gary Kuhns, President, Geotechnical and Environmental Consultants, Inc; Identification of High Rebound Soils: Mysterious Case of the Bouncing Piles; Efficient Pile Design Utilizing Set Up – Paul Bullock, P.E., LoadTest, Inc; What to Expect from a Geotechnical Report – Mark Mongeau, P.E., Vice President, Ardaman & Associates.

PDH?

The PDCA is approved by the Florida Board of Professional Engineers to provide Professional Development Hours (PDH). All conference participants will be issued a certificate for 6 Professional Development Hours (PDH) for attending this conference and your attendance will be registered with the Florida Board of Professional Engineers.

Exhibitors!

All presentations and functions will be held in the same area as the exhibit hall to maximize exhibitor traffic. Exhibitor space will accommodate 6' table tops ONLY. Exhibitor registration includes exhibit space and full conference registration for one person.

More Information . . .

A copy of the full conference brochure and registration form can be viewed and downloaded from the following link: Full Conference Brochure, or call the PDCA at 888-311-PDCA (7322) for more information.

Don't Miss the Premier Engineering and Contractor Focused
Driven Pile Seminar November 3, 2011

Workshops on Deep Foundation Dynamic Testing and Analysis

Register online at www.piledrivers.org

The PDCA, in collaboration with Pile Dynamics, Inc. will hold a workshop on High Strain Dynamic Foundation Testing along with the Dynamic Measurement and Analysis Proficiency Test on Monday and Tuesday, October 10th and 11th, 2011, at the PDI headquarters, 30725 Aurora Road, Cleveland, OH.

The workshops will consist of information and material needed to understand the basic concepts of deep foundation dynamic testing and analysis. The High Strain Dynamic Foundation Testing Workshop will conclude on Tuesday, October 11.

Workshop participants can elect to take the Dynamic Measurement and Analysis Proficiency Test - an optional test, that afternoon. The testing session will be followed by a Wave Equation (GRLWEAP) Workshop, with the program concluding Tuesday evening at 5:00 PM.

Accommodation for the workshop and exam should be made at the Solon Hampton Inn, Solon, Ohio. A link to the hotel is Reservations should be made on your own by October 1, 2011 using the group/convention code DFD. More information on the program and registration information, including fees can be found on the PDCA website, www.piledrivers.org.

You can also register online using the following link: PDA Workshop Registration.

2012 Annual Conference Land of Enchantment

The PDCA has selected New Mexico, the "Land of Enchantment" as the site of the PDCA's 16th Annual International Conference and Expo 2012. The PDCA will be in Albuquerque, NM at the Hyatt Regency Albuquerque from Wednesday through Friday, April 25 - 27, 2012. With daily average April temperatures at 70 degrees F and the sun shining 79 % of the time, we could not have picked a better spot to host this conference.

The Hyatt Regency Albuquerque is the only Four-Diamond hotel in downtown Albuquerque and is highly regarded for its renowned services, upscale amenities and ideal central location to the uniqueness of this historic city. Located just 10 minutes from the Albuquerque International Sunport, the hotel is easily accessible by shuttle or taxi.

Preparations for this special annual event are underway. The program will include many of the traditional PDCA activities, such as informative General Sessions, Exhibit Hall, Golf Tournament, Business and Awards Luncheon, Receptions, Social and Business networking, Companion's Program, Annual Dinner and special guests.

A few quick highlights - The PDCA will be the only group at the Hyatt, so we will have all the meeting space with no interference from other groups. We will have a Keynote speaker at the Opening Ceremony and a special guest at the annual dinner. Golf enthusiast can play in the PDCA 5th Annual Golf Tournament at The University of New Mexico's Championship Golf Course, host to 5 NCAA Golf Championships. The PDCA is planning a Companion's Program with visits to the plateau villages of the Pueblos of Acoma. This adventure will provide our companion participants with a unique Native American cultural experience. The PDCA is also planning an "ala carte" program for anyone interested in taking to the skies in a hot air balloon. For the adventurous type, this is an opportunity you do not want to miss.

The PDCA will be finalizing the conference specifics soon, so watch the PDCA website and emails for more information. Mark your calendars now for April 25, - 27, 2012 to be in Albuquerque, NM with the PDCA.

Nominating Committee Formed for 2012 Ballot

Interested Parties Step Forward

On Wednesday, August 31, 2011, the Board of Directors, according to PDCA Bylaws, Article V Board of Directors and Executive Committee, Section 3 appointed the Executive Committee as the Nominating Committee and tasked them with preparing a slate of Officers and Board Members for the 2012 annual election. The Board enthusiastically encourages any and all PDCA members in good standing to contemplate submitting their name or a colleague’s name for consideration as a nominee to the PDCA Board. Anyone interested should submit their name via email to steve@piledrivers.org. Termed Director space on the Board is limited. The PDCA Nominating Committee will consider all applicants equally, but submitting a name does not guarantee a nomination to the ballot.

PDCA Website

The PDCA recently modified our website, www.piledrivers.org, adding some additional features that will further enhance your association, businesses and our industry. Most of the changes occur "behind the scene", so you won't necessarily see them from a visual perspective, but they will make the site better.

Visual changes you will see include additional links in the following areas: Professors' Driven Pile Institute - Lectures from 2011 (2009 is being uploaded soon), PDPI Photos and a PDPI Video, Gallery - General Pile Driving Equipment and Job Site Photos, PDCA Event Photos (Chapters send us your photos), PDPI Event Photos and Video Links.

Additional updated features now include PDCA News, which now includes Member News and Chapter News; Member News - Designed for companies who have General Announcements to make about their company. Announcements can be about promotions, new hires, civic or industry awards, new project awards or project completions. Please keep in mind that this section is NOT for advertising and submittals will be reviewed for proper content before uploading; Chapter News - Intended to benefit all PDCA Chapters, allowing them to announce upcoming events, special meetings, elections, etc. Information can be submitted to the PDCA for uploading;.

The PDCA has also made changes to the Leadership/Committees tab, providing the PDCA Board of Directors space to upload pictures and short bios, so the members and guests to the PDCA website can find out more about the leadership of your association. Board members have been requested to send "head shots" and bios, so this feature can be completed as quickly as possible.

To continue as a resource to the industry, the PDCA has added a link on the home page, titled "Qualified Support For Dynamic Measurement and Analysis Testing", which will take the user to links for "America" and "International" qualified individuals who can perform dynamic measurement and analysis testing.

But Wait . . . There's and Update!

How many "hits" does the PDCA website get on a monthly basis? What about yearly? Don't be surprised by the following statistics. The PDCA is a great resource to our members, industry and guests to find out all about driven piles and the PDCA family. And everyone is coming to www.piledrivers.org! The PDCA is averaging over 8,000 visits a month with half of those monthly "hits" coming from "unique visitors". The PDCA has had 1,086,723 "hits" since January 1, 2011 (as of August 30, 2011), which will average over 1.6 million hits by year's end. The top countries using the PDCA website in numerical order (pages/hits) are the United States, Qatar, Great Britain, China, Canada, India, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Australia, and Germany. The "Member Search" function ranks 3rd as the page most viewed. Keep in mind, they have to go to the home page first to get to the "Member Search", so realistically, the "Member Search" page ranks 2nd as the most active page. Do you think there are people out there looking for you??

Over 83% are connecting to the PDCA website from our direct address (www.piledrivers.org) or through a bookmark (already have our URL in their system).

Now I want to tell you about another new feature on the PDCA website. If you go to www.piledrivers.org, and scroll down the home page (or any page for that matter) you are going to see PDCA website advertisers, including Foundation Constructors, ArcelorMittal / Skyline Steel, and ICE. You will also see the PDCA Logo, but it is just holding advertising space for your company. If you realize the value of the information above, then you can realize the potential your company will have advertising on the PDCA website to reach your company's target market.

Advertising rates are very reasonable! Call the PDCA office at 888-311-PDCA (7322) for more information.