At this midway point during my term as PDCA president, it is always good to reflect on the past in preparation for the second half of this adventure. This has been a busy first half of the year both difficult and exciting.
We welcomed Frank Peters into our group of pile driving enthusiasts and said good-bye to our longtime friend, Steve Hall, as he moved into retirement. Our committees and chairs are running double-time to stay on top of everything that PDCA has on the go: conferences, educational programing, new building codes all while getting to know an almost completely new PDCA office team. Our board is committed to fully engaging and taking an active role in the daily actions of PDCA.
For me, personally, I chose to get involved with and learn about the Education Committee as a board liaison. In this transitional year, with many new PDCA team members, there was some concern about the tremendous amount of work placed on the shoulders of the Education Committee to plan and execute a successful annual conference. However, the committee and the PDCA staff washed away that fear within the first couple of meetings. I am very impressed with the Education Committee's dedication to tirelessly prepare for our conference. This team has created outstanding educational programming and speaker schedules for all PDCA members to enjoy at the PDCA 22nd Annual International Conference and Expo this July in Orlando, Fla., at the Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort.
Other PDCA officers and directors are also actively engaged. For example, Jason Moore, PDCA vice-president, is focusing on PDCA membership. Moore, along with the PDCA secretary on the board, Karl Higgins, and Matt Bisbee, PDCA's director of member services in the national office, are actively promoting PDCA to prospective members while benchmarking our current membership.
As much as I want to make this message about accolades to these committee members, there is something weighing heavily on my mind. I have learned over the past few months that we absolutely need more members to become involved on our committees. I have personally called and spoken to members of the Education Committee, asking them to re-commit and re-engage. If you are a member of a PDCA committee, I ask you to please re-commit to your committee and be an active member. Your committee needs your energy, your suggestions and your ideas to create outstanding programs for today and tomorrow.
Getting involved is your first step to becoming part of the action and ideas. We need members not only paying dues, but also becoming part of the transformation of our deep foundation industry as our committees make it safer and more technologically savvy, in order to surpass other deep foundation methods and trends. However, you have to be involved walk the talk to have a real influence.
Please consider "walking the talk" with me and joining one of our committees or recommitting to the committee you are already a member of. With your engagement, you can positively influence our driven pile industry.

From an early age, we all understand that certain things are meant to go together. Salt and pepper, baseball and bat, nut and bolt, pen and paper, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, knowledge and power. This list could go on and on. We can agree that separating certain items is just not acceptable or productive in the long run.
Membership in a trade organization such as the Pile Driving Contractors Association has some of these same characteristics. There are certain things about association membership that just go together and shouldn't be taken apart, ever.
It is very easy to join PDCA. Simply complete the membership application and pay the appropriate dues. However, is that all there is to it? Once the dues are paid, does the obligation stop? Hardly. It is at this point that the responsibility of association membership begins. Each individual must lean in and determine their part to help make the organization work, prosper, grow and succeed.
We can make the same strong comparison here about commitment and engagement regarding association membership. Commitment is the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, an activity, an idea. The word also elicits a sense of responsibility, obligation, duty, a tie or charge, or a burden. A company has a commitment to quality, safety and service to its customers. There is nothing passive in this word. It requires a decision, evokes action and demands results.
Engagement is the action that is required by commitment. It is an arrangement to do something, to be involved, to follow through with what has been promised.
We want to encourage all PDCA members to make a commitment and become engaged in the activities provided by the organization. Through this active process members will be informed, fulfilled, satisfied and encouraged. The organization will be supported, move from one level to the next, made relevant and remain current. This is the water and sunshine that will allow PDCA to grow and become strong. It produces the success that is altogether necessary for PDCA to represent the driven pile industry.
Each year PDCA schedules, plans and organizes events and activities for the benefit of its membership. These are purposeful and meaningful, and intended to help members expand their knowledge and influence. Only when members take advantage of these important opportunities will they realize the value of each event.
The PDCA 22nd Annual International Conference and Expo is a great example of an event that is scheduled primarily to benefit members. It is something that every member should consider attending as often as possible. The immediate benefits are real, and the extended experience is, well, priceless.
An event like the PDCA annual conference does not happen by accident. There are many people working behind the scenes planning this year's event. PDCA members who serve on the Board of Directors, the Education Committee, the Sheet Pile Committee, the Communications Committee and the Associate Member Council are diligently expending time and resources to put together a meaningful and exciting conference. Their efforts are to be lauded, commended and each member should make the opportunity to express appreciation for their work. These PDCA members' efforts are considerable and they are working solely to provide the best experience possible.
Education is a key part in everything that PDCA works hard to produce and the annual conference is no exception. A Pile Driving Inspection pre-conference short course is scheduled along with a "Driven Pile Quality Assurance and Quality Control for Engineers, Contractors and Inspectors" program. The information provided in the pre-conference short course will be significant and is worthy of your consideration. This is only the beginning.
The Annual Conference will present three separate tracks over two days to provide participants with information on various facets of the pile driving industry.
Track One will kick off the sessions early on the first full day of the annual conference with "Legislation and Advocacy in Pile Driving: Are you at the Table or on the Menu?" This thought provoking and informative presentation will challenge members to consider their part in a process that literally could affect every aspect of their business.
Additional Track One sessions will include presentations on "Operator Training: This is How We Approach It," "Working Platforms/Safety/Best Management Practices" and "Workforce Development and Industry Issues." These programs will bring members up-to-date with the latest activity related to jobsite performance.
The first day afternoon sessions will present programs starting with a keynote on "Geotechnical Design & Construction: Why This Relationship is Important." Additional presentations will include "An Engineer's Role in Mitigating Risk on Pile Driving Projects: An Operational and Legal Perspective," followed by "Current Guidelines and Code Issues Impacting Driven Pile Practice" and concluding with "Pile Foundations Work on Design/Build Projects: Opportunities and Challenges."
The second day of the conference will present Track Three, starting with the keynote presentation on "Sheet Piling Past, Present and Future," followed by "A 2,700-Foot Quarry Wall Becomes an Engineering Challenge for Pioneers," project spotlights featuring the Project of the Year award winners and a presentation on the "Pile Driving on the I-4 Ultimate Improvement Project."
Considering the scope of the education programming, this would be enough to attend the annual conference but there is more.
All PDCA standing committees as well as the Board of Directors will meet during the annual conference. This is a significant opportunity for these individuals to connect on a personal level for the important work they are performing on behalf of the organization throughout the year.
If you are a golfer, don't miss the golf outing at the Four Seasons Disney World Resort course. The shotgun event will be held at the Tranquilo Golf Club, walking distance from the hotel. This course is built through a preserve and is simply beautiful. It is also a private course and is kept in pristine condition. Your registration fee for the golf outing will help provide resources for the PDCA Education fund.
The opening reception to officially kick-off the annual conference is a time to connect with your PDCA friends. This informal event will be held in the Exhibit Hall area and will provide attendees an opportunity to get a sneak peek of material and information provided by our PDCA industry partners. We encourage all members to take the time to visit each exhibit to take full advantage of the services provided.
An awards luncheon will be held the first day of the annual conference to highlight efforts by industry leaders, acknowledge companies for their project efforts and provide members an opportunity to relax and connect.
A highlight of the annual conference is the Annual Awards Reception and Dinner that will be held the evening of the first day. You do not want to miss this dinner!
Everything mentioned here has been planned to work together and should not be separated. Did I mention the Disney Magic Kingdom, theme parks, fireworks and characters? All of that magic is close by the conference and can be part of your 2019 ExPEERience! The only question is will you commit and engage? I hope the answer is yes and I look forward to seeing you at the Four Seasons Resort at Walt Disney World Resort for a magical and successful event.
The annual conference and more
This edition of PileDriver magazine is designated as our annual conference edition, and you may be reading a copy that you found in your delegate bag or picked up at the PileDriver booth. I hope you find some quality time to spend with the pages of this issue, as it exemplifies both the traditional roots of the driven pile industry while also highlighting the excitement of new technologies, construction methods and safety initiatives.
Firstly, I must offer a heartfelt and sincere PDCA congratulations on an outstanding milestone by one of our longstanding contractor members: Blakeslee, Arpaia, Chapman (BAC) is celebrating 175 years in business in 2019 yes, 175 years! BAC president, Dave Chapman, has served two separate terms as president of PDCA, and we are honored to include a feature-length article about the company to help celebrate such an extraordinary achievement. Please turn to page 98 of this magazine to read the article, and I encourage you to reach out to Dave with your commendations.
In reviewing the articles of a few of the other PDCA members profiled in this issue, the success and longevity of the driven pile industry becomes increasingly apparent. Consider Illinois-based James McHugh Construction Co., in business for 122 years as of 2019. Engineering firm Hardesty & Hanover has more than 130 years in business under their belt this year. Another engineering firm, Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers, is marking 109 years in business. Further, L.B. Foster Co. is celebrating a 50-year tenure by one of its employees, John Knapp. These are incredible achievements.
In terms of innovative construction techniques, turn back to the cover of this magazine. The project you see pictured there is the Pier55 project in New York City; PDCA contractor member Weeks Marine, Inc. describes the work as their most unique and challenging project to date. I won't spoil the details for you here, but turn to page 90 and read why the pile driving for Pier55 has been so fascinating.
Discussing safety, there is always room for our industry to improve. You may have read the joint statement from ADSC-IAFD, DFI and PDCA in 2018 regarding a consensus position on working platforms for pile driving and drilling rigs. While the working platform is such a critical safety component for any project we work on, there are no current guidelines in the U.S. pertaining to their construction and use, and in fact, much confusion surrounds platform use and specification. Turn to page 70 to read an in-depth overview about what working platforms are, the issues surrounding them and how the U.S. industry is learning from worldwide best practices to make meaningful change. At the end of the day, we all want to keep our workers and our equipment safe, and PDCA members can play a valuable role in changing our industry for the better as it relates to working platforms.
Lastly, even though this is the PDCA Annual Conference edition of PileDriver magazine, please don't forget about another important upcoming event: the Design and Installation of Cost-Efficient Piles (DICEP) conference, taking place Nov. 56 in Cleveland, Ohio. This event presents its attendees with the opportunity to connect with peers, collaborate on industry research and strengthen commitments to the driven pile profession. This year is the 20th time that PDCA has organized the DICEP conference; if you've never attended before or if it's been some time, mark your calendars and come to Cleveland. You can read more about DICEP on page 63; it's important that we see you there.
The content that I have highlighted for you here is just a fraction of what you'll read about in this issue of PileDriver. The PDCA Communications Committee works diligently throughout the year to carefully plan every issue of the magazine, discussing and researching articles that will prove valuable to our membership and industry at large. If you would like to join the Communications Committee or suggest an article, please contact our PDCA staff liaison to the committee, Matt Bisbee, at 904-215-4771 or by email to matt@piledrivers.org.
I look forward to shaking your hand at the PDCA Annual Conference in Orlando.

The first of two Deep Foundation Dynamic Testing and Analysis (DFDTA) courses took place in Orlando, Fla., March 1315. Thirty-one attendees and 25 test takers were present for the three-day workshop. The DFDTA course has been offered for many years as a joint program between PDCA and Pile Dynamics, Inc. The course is typically offered in early spring in Orlando, Fla., and late fall in Cleveland, Ohio. Occasionally, the course will be offered in a third location to meet industry demand.
The DFDTA course presents the one-day seminar "Deep Foundation Integrity Testing and Wave Equation Analysis," followed by the two-day workshop "High Strain Dynamic Foundation Testing." On the third-day of the course, the "Dynamic Measurement and Analysis Proficiency Test," a 90-minute, multiple-choice exam that covers the theory of wave mechanics, case method (PDA) equations, data quality assessment, data interpretation and basic CAPWAP analysis, is offered.The next DFDTA course will be offered in Cleveland, Ohio, Sept. 1113, 2019, and registration is open on the PDCA website. An early bird discount with $50 off both the seminar and workshop registration fee will be offered until Aug. 9, 2019.

It is often said that collaboration is core to innovation, and that statement stands true throughout the deep foundation construction industry. In support of that notion, the GeoCoalition was formed more than a decade ago after seemingly competitor organizations realized that by working together on certain initiatives, conflicts and duplication of effort by volunteers could be avoided. 
One of the GeoCoalition's most important initiatives focused on Chapter 18 of the International Building Code (IBC). In 2012, members of the GeoCoalition began to review IBC 1810, which outlines the manner in which deep foundations are to be analyzed, designed, detailed and installed.
The GeoCoalition determined that due to advancements in construction materials, equipment and methods, Section 1810 of the IBC needed to be updated and modernized to be more consistent with actual industry state-of-practice and formed a committee to propose updates to the International Code Council (ICC). 
The 1810 GeoCoalition Code Committee is comprised of 37 members those 37 participants represent PDCA's Technical Committee; DFI's Codes and Standards Committee, Augercast Committee and Helical Committee; and ADSC's Drilled Shaft Committee and Micropile Committee. Dale Biggers a vice president of Boh Bros. Construction Co. in Louisiana and chair of the PDCA Technical Committee chairs the 1810 GeoCoalition Code Committee.
The committee quickly realized that updating the IBC, however, is no simple task.
"You can only propose changes every three years," said Biggers. "We've worked on this for seven years, and it isn't over yet."
While work began in 2012 to identify changes the committee wanted to propose to the ICC, the group first formally submitted a proposal in 2016.
"We had all these wonderful changes and we were run over by a steamroller," said Biggers. "We thought we would pass everything [in 2016], and we only passed six minor changes. That was a deflation."
The 1810 GeoCoalition Code Committee's changes were not rejected on merit but on writing structure. The group believed that their changes were helpful in that they shifted responsibility from the building official to the registered design professional, but the building officials wanted to have the final say.
"The ICC has a certain style of how they want to write things," said Biggers. "There is a very strict structure for the wording of changes the building code officials are used to the code being written their way. And that's what we learned."
Since 2016, the committee has worked diligently to revise sections of IBC 1810 in a manner that the ICC will accept.
"It took us a long time," said Biggers. "We submitted [our proposal] in January, and we were still making changes the day before we presented them [in May]."
Representing the 1810 GeoCoalition Code Committee, Biggers flew to Albuquerque in May with Lori Simpson of Langan Engineering and Dan Stevenson of Berkel & Company to present the changes the committee was proposing for IBC 1810. They outlined the suggestions in front of a group of 14 people, building code officials familiar with construction, plus geotechnical and structural engineers.
One area on which the 1810 GeoCoalition Code Committee focused its efforts was increasing the stresses allowable on steel, as industry advancements have made higher yields on steel possible.
"The changes will increase the allowable stresses on steel H-piles and pipe piles, as well as the allowable stress on concrete inside a pipe pile, and increased stress on reinforcing steel inside piles," said Biggers. "Sometimes, the load on a pile is limited by the structural strength of the pile and not the soil. So with these IBC changes, engineers will be able to use a higher load on a pile than they could previously."
The ICC agreed.
"The ICC in Albuquerque passed all 17 of the changes we suggested," said Biggers. "One of the changes passed 13 to 1, but the others passed by a vote of 14 to 0."
Having suggested changes pass that initial group of 14 is a major accomplishment, according to Biggers, but the celebration doesn't begin just yet. The next step for the 1810 GeoCoalition Code Committee is to have the changes passed by another ICC committee in the fall a committee not necessarily comprised of engineers. 
"There are hundreds and hundreds of changes being proposed [to the IBC] a lot of changes aside from foundations," said Biggers. "Many of the voters at the fall ICC meeting are not really that familiar with foundations that was why it was so important to pass our 17 changes in Albuquerque."
Biggers expects that since 14 people more familiar with construction, geotechnical and structural engineering have passed the suggested changes to IBC 1810, the fall ICC committee will view the changes with increased credibility. In the fall, the changes must be approved by a two-thirds margin.
"One of the things that helped us is that the ICC in Albuquerque realized we were trying to make the code and the world better by bringing in experts from all areas of practice," he said. "A lot of people make proposals to the ICC to give their product an advantage over other products. The ICC reviewed and discovered the 1810 GeoCoalition was there honestly. I think this new-found trust is building a bond to make the code even stronger."

Earlier this spring, members gathered for the chapter dinner. Thanks to sponsor Linde-Griffith Construction Company, around 50 area contractors, industry associates and affiliated engineers enjoyed an evening of food, fellowship and networking at Bocelli Ristorante in Staten Island, N.Y. This was the first time this event was held at the Staten Island restaurant. The change in venue attracted some new members and guests who were treated to a presentation by Tenna co-founder, Jose Cueva, and his colleague George Heck, on the new and innovative system for asset management.
The chapter gathers for a September Membership Drive and a second chapter dinner in November. See the events page at www.piledrivers.org for more information.

The PDCA of the Pacific Coast Chapter raised funds for the chapter's Scholarship Fund during the 9th Annual Scholarship Shoot, which took place April 12, 2019, at Birds Landing Hunting Reserve in Birds Landing, Calif. Following a General Membership Meeting, 114 participants displayed their shotgun shooting accuracy during the half-day event that included a raffle and a BBQ lunch.
Several sponsors helped make the event possible, including Pile Drivers Local 34, Pileco, the Northern California Carpenters, PJ's Rebar, Stroer & Graff, Taylor Heavy Hauling, Kiewit, Wall and Ceiling Alliance and Bigge Crane and Rigging Co. Some of the lucky participants took home raffle prizes which included a Browning BPS Hunter 20 gauge pump shotgun, a CZ 75B 9mm, a Beretta A300 12 gauge shotgun and a CZ 455 Lux 22lr. PDCA Pacific Coast thanks all who participated in this successful event.

Each year, members of the PDCA Gulf Coast Chapter look forward to the second quarter dinner meeting, which takes place at the L'Auberge Casino Hotel in Baton Rouge, La. On April 25, more than 60 members gathered in the popular venue for an evening of networking and fellowship, beginning with an open bar reception. A dinner and a business meeting led by chapter president Travis Schonacher of SeaLevel Construction immediately followed.
The assembly heard a program, "Innovative Use for Instrumented Pile in Design," by Travis Richards, P.E., project manager and vice president of testing at Eustis Engineering, LLC. Before attendees were released to the casino floor, they took a few moments to recognize the efforts of previous chapter leaders current vice president Kirt Jackson (Cajun Industries) presented a plaque to last year's president, Michael Kelly from Gulf South Piling. Then, current secretary Dylan Andre (Patriot Construction and Industrial) honored his immediate predecessor Daniel Sprunk of Cajun Industries. The evening's events were made possible by several valued sponsors: DeSoto Treated Materials, Inc., Tadano, Scott Equipment and Kobelco.
The PDCA Gulf Coast Chapter convenes next for the third quarter dinner meeting in Biloxi (venue TBA). The chapter is also planning a professional development seminar in October and a clay shoot. Watch your inbox and future editions of PileDriver for further details.
PDCA of the Gulf Coast Chapter presents to geotechnical engineers
Several members from the PDCA Gulf Coast Chapter participated as exhibitors at the 43rd Southwest Geotechnical Engineers Conference, May 6 to 9 at the Hilton Capitol Center in downtown Baton Rouge, La. This initiative was a partnership between the chapter and the PDCA national office. The Louisiana Department of Transportation & Development hosted the annual event sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration.
PDCA members networked with engineers from throughout the southwestern U.S. and engaged with interested parties about pile driving practices from the construction perspective. Gulf Coast Chapter members who participated include Dylan Andre of Patriot Construction, Brandon Phetteplace of GRL Engineers, Scott Williams of Cajun Industries, Bennett Dulaney of Southern Earth Sciences, Greg Major of DarkHorse, Jacob Indest of Eustis Engineering, Robert Baker of Baker Pile Driving and Taylor Stiles of SeaLevel Construction.

The standard, ANSI/ASSP A10.19-2017, "Requirements for Pile Installation and Extraction Operations," is a solid resource for conducting safe operations in the installation and extraction of piles whether concrete, steel, timber, sheets, composites or synthetics. This standard establishes safety requirements for the installation and extraction of piles during construction and demolition operations and is designed to prevent injuries and illness to persons exposed to hazards associated with pile driving and extraction operations.
You can purchase a copy of the standard by visiting this link: bit.ly/30pQPgS
Hard copy and electronic version
List Price: $110 $140
ANSI Member Price: $95  $125
PDCA can provide input to future revisions to ANSI/ASSP A10.19-2017 in areas that relate to requirements found in the new OSHA crane standard and new general technology in the pile driving industry.
Individuals interested in providing comments can contact the PDCA office at 904-215-4771.

Every year in the United States, dedicated pile driving rigs, drilling rigs and cranes tip over or experience near misses due to issues involving inadequate working platforms. These preventable incidents often involve serious injuries or fatalities to operators and ground crews, and extensive damage to equipment. Despite the importance of safe, stable working platforms and the dire consequences that can result in their absence, there are currently no specific guidelines or regulations in the U.S. for the design, construction and ongoing maintenance of safe working platforms.
Exacerbating the issue, due to increasing demand for bigger structures that require more intricate, deeper and larger-diameter foundations, deep foundation construction equipment has become larger, heavier and more complex in order to deliver challenging requirements. As well, less desirable sites with very poor soils are now commonly being developed.
"Although this type of rig is typically stable when tracking over a firm, dry surface, if the underlying subgrade has insufficient bearing capacity, under certain adverse loading conditions, this can cause stability issues due to either deformation or even failure of the underlying subgrade material," wrote Paul A. Gildea, P.E., a senior director of Langan International and co-chair of the Working Platforms Industry-Wide Working Group, in the Spring 2019 edition of the ASCE News. "Even something as relatively small as a one-square-meter soft spot can be sufficient to unbalance a rig/crane and cause it to topple over."
In a 2014 article for the International Association of Foundation Drilling (ADSC-IAFD)'s Foundation Drilling magazine, James Finbow, HSEQ manager at Bauer Foundations Canada, wrote, "As an industry, we are continually seeking solutions for [...] challenges and we usually step up to the plate, but we seem to have missed one key part of the equation: the working platform."
However, in recent years, the topic of safe working platforms has experienced growing attention in the U.S. market. Finbow now says that he believes there has been a change in people's perception and understanding of what a working platform is and what the industry needs to do to make work sites safer. The ANSI A10.23 drilled shaft safety standard has been recently updated to include more robust language regarding working platforms; the revised standard is scheduled to be published in late-spring 2019.
"Part of [the increased attention] has to do with the great outreach that the different organizations have been doing regarding working platforms," said Martin Taube, P.E., P.G., the vice president of business development with Menard USA. "But it's certainly not that it's more of an issue now, it's just that it's being discussed more. [Working platforms] have been an issue for a very long time."
Contributing to the difficulty of developing these conversations about working platforms is the uniqueness of the market here.
"Part of the problem in the U.S. is that [the market] is so fragmented," said Gildea. "It's like you're looking at 50 different countries, in some respects."
That fragmentation can make it tough to organize a unified position when it comes to much-needed safety initiatives. However, in 2018, the ADSC-IAFD, the Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) and the Pile Driving Contractors Association (PDCA) came together and published a deep foundation industry consensus position on working platforms for foundation construction and related equipment in the U.S. In the consensus document, the organizations outline that they will support the general guidelines used in the UK, spearheaded in the early 2000s by the Federation of Piling Specialists (FPS), the piling association in the UK.
"The [consensus document] was a big step forward, in my eyes, in an agreement and understanding on this side of the Atlantic that [working platform safety] is something that we as an industry need to lead and need to do," said Finbow. "The sad part is that often, safety legislation is written in blood. That's what gets authorities to change. But now, we're getting a lot of support in the industry to drive this through [and prevent future accidents]."
"It's organizations like ADSC-IAFD, DFI and PDCA that are very important in bringing together people from all over the country so that we can get some sort of consensus view on how to deal with issues," said Gildea. "Everyone appreciates that [working platform safety] is a concern, but nobody, until the last couple of years, has stepped up as a collective group rather than analyzing the problem on a micro-basis or by individual states."
Working platforms what are they?
Essentially, the working platform is the part of the construction site above the natural subgrade on which a rig is placed and that holds the rig level in order to start its foundation construction activity. The working platform is what prevents these large pieces of machinery from tipping over and causing catastrophic damage. The scope of the consensus position from ADSC-IAFD, DFI and PDCA is focused on ground-supported working platforms and includes not only the platform itself, but also its associated ramps/roads and access points.
"The working platform is the natural or human-made ground surface or subgrade capable of safely supporting construction equipment," said Timothy Siegel, P.E., G.E., D.GE, a senior principal engineer with Dan Brown and Associates. Anywhere that a rig is driving or working from must be able to support the weight of the equipment and any bearing pressures during construction activity.
"You [also] need a safe area to assemble the equipment we call that a laydown area," said Taube. "And then from the laydown area, ramps or access roads to the actual site where the work will be performed [requires an adequate platform]."
"The platform must safely support any type of tracked equipment whether it be a crawler crane, a piling rig or whatever it may be under all loading conditions," said Gildea. "And the way we look at this is under extreme loading conditions; we're looking at the worst case here because the platform needs to be fully stable under all potential loading conditions for these rigs so that there is no possibility that it can collapse and the rig topple over."
The duty of the platform is to provide a stable, safe environment for piling contractors and other construction trades to work on, day in and day out.
The concerns
According to Terry Bolsher, former chairman of FPS, approximately one-third of all accidents in the piling industry result from defects in working platforms.
DFI conducted a survey of its membership in 2017 about experiences with working platforms. The results highlighted the significance of the problem. Eighty-eight percent of respondents to the survey indicated that inadequate working surfaces caused safety issues for their company, and 98 percent said that they caused operational issues for their company. Even more alarmingly, 68 percent admitted that their company had tipped a large piece of equipment due to inadequate working surfaces.
"These results weren't surprising," said Taube, who along with Matthew Meyer, principal at Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, assisted DFI in creating the survey questions and gave a presentation on the results during DFI's SuperPile '17 Conference. "You can see that it's a huge issue."
Inadequate working platforms have myriad issues that result in safety concerns.
"The most common hazard is soft soil that is too weak to support the construction equipment," said Siegel. "The soft ground can deform or experience a shear failure beneath construction equipment and result in overturning."
Gildea agrees, adding that soft ground in the upper three meters of the site's ground profile is a major site issue.
"If the rig is on a platform sitting on top of soft grade, that's a recipe for disaster," he said.
In addition to soft soil, steep slopes can result in failure, as can inadequately constructed ramps, or platforms that do not have enough coverage over a site. Uneven terrain, ineffectively backfilled utility trenches and poor site drainage can also be causes for concern.
The size of the working platform can be a potential problem, too.
"Sometimes the working surface isn't large enough," said Taube. "You might not have a working platform in the laydown area or access roads to the site. And then within the site, the working platform may be laid out only to encompass the installation point locations, not considering that some of the equipment may need to traverse out beyond the actual perimeter of the installation area."
And in some cases, there is no working platform to speak of.
"Another issue is that a platform isn't provided at all," said Taube. "Either contractually it's not required, or it's an oversight. There are still contractors that will go out and work without a working platform."
"We're almost taking the moral high ground to get platforms in, and there will be other people who come and say, 'I can do it for cheaper,'" said Finbow. "We've let jobs go where we've been uncompetitive through the platform. But we're a lot bigger and we can take that stance."
There are no official guidelines in the U.S. for the design and construction of safe working platforms, and so there is no official procedure to mitigate these potentially catastrophic risks. As employers are legally obligated to provide their employees with a workplace absent of serious hazards, according to OSHA, in addition to having a moral obligation to keep workers safe, says Finbow, it's of critical importance that the industry works to collectively resolve the concerns surrounding working platforms.
"We always think about equipment, but keep in mind the safety of workers just walking across the site," said Taube. "You can have issues from very slippery surfaces whether from ice, mud or very slick clay surfaces but they pose a hazard to laborers and other personnel walking across the site, especially as they carry tools, materials or equipment."
As Finbow wrote in 2014, "Equipment is expensive, and our people are priceless. We do not want to damage either."
Obviously, the consequences that can result from an inadequate platform are immense, and the risks are high.
"The greatest risk is toppling or overturning equipment, and that's a catastrophic event," said Taube. "It's going to certainly lead to extensive equipment damage, and quite likely lead to injury or loss of life."
While injury or loss of life, along with equipment damage, are the most critical consequences, there are also secondary effects such as project delays, being removed from the project and incurring a negative safety record, which can affect a specialty contractor's ability to bid on future projects.
"People may not be aware of potential quality issues associated with inadequate working platforms," said Taube. "This is the subgrade or subbase of a structure that's going to be built on our work. We are, in some cases, turning it to muck, and that's typically not good for what we're supporting."
Quality is a by-product of a safe and level working platform, says Finbow.
"[With a proper working platform,] you install a higher quality product...because your equipment is level and vertical," he said. "Lastly, you're more able to reach your scheduled production levels if you get your safety right and your quality right."
Learning from protocol in the UK
"If we go back to the early 2000s, it was recognized that the incidents of piling rigs falling over because of poor platforms was too high," said Derek Egan, B.Eng., Ph.D., C.Eng., FICE, with Remedy Geotechnics Ltd. in the UK, in a webinar called "UK Working Platform Initiative and Calculation of Rig Bearing Pressure" presented live from DFI's SuperPile '18 Conference. "That's why FPS launched their working platform initiative."
"I was a piling contractor in Ireland and the UK for many years; I owned my own piling company," said Gildea. "I was involved in the early initiatives back in the UK when we started [discussing working platforms.] What we did in the UK was a lot easier [than it will be in the U.S.], because we probably only had 15 to 20 piling companies at that stage. We had a lot of accidents and quite a few fatalities. The FPS got together and said, 'What can we do about it?' And that's how it started."
In order to ensure proper working platforms on construction sites, members of FPS created a simple form for general contractors to sign that indicates there is an adequate platform built to a proper design and specification and that it will be maintained by the general contractor throughout construction activities.
"We call it the Working Platform Certificate," said Egan during his 2018 webinar. "It summarizes what the project is, what part of the project [the specialty contractor] is working on [and] under what load the working platform is designed to operate. It names the designer, the designer's organization and any testing that is required.
"And then the principal contractor has to sign in ink to say that they are confirming the platform has been correctly designed, correctly installed and will be correctly maintained before the piling contractor goes to the site."
Egan says that an early version of the Working Platform Certificate was created in 2004 and that the initial reaction from principal contractors was less than positive.
"In my experience, [...] as a subcontractor, you feel like you're down at the bottom of the food chain sometimes," said Egan in his webinar. "So how do you influence [project owners and general contractors]?"
It was through FPS members collectively insisting on the form's use and refusing to enter sites without one that it became standard practice for both FPS members and non-members alike.
At the same time, a group of specialists was assembled by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) at the direction of FPS to create a unified approach to working platform construction and design that defined the health and safety requirements for safe platforms. BRE published a document titled "Working platforms for tracked plant: good practice guide to the design, installation, maintenance and repair of ground-supported working platforms," also known by the title BR 470, in 2004.
"Working platform safety is now written into health and safety executive guidance in the UK, but that took a long time almost 15 years," said Gildea.
The Working Platforms Industry-Wide Working Group
The Working Platforms Industry-Wide Working Group was initially created in 2017 after another DFI committee realized the scope of the issue.
"I'm the former chair of the Ground Improvement Committee for DFI, and several years ago, we tried to take on the topic of working platforms," said Taube. "We tried to come up with some guidance [for the industry], but as we worked on the initiative, we realized that it's a much bigger topic with more relevance than just that committee's focus. This is a topic that extends basically throughout the entire construction industry."
The Working Platforms Industry-Wide Working Group was formed to start gathering information, such as the existing documents and guidance from the industry experience in the UK, to provide to DFI members. Formally adopting the implementation of working platform certificates is a topic currently up for debate in the Working Group, says Taube.
"That might be the direction we're heading in," he said. "I don't think that we're committed to adopting it in its entirety, and that's what's being hashed out now."
Although there are key takeaways from the protocol that the UK industry followed that the Working Platforms Industry-Wide Working Group believes would be of benefit in the U.S. market.
"The biggest five or six piling companies [in the UK at that time] were the first ones to say, 'We want to take the lead on this,'" said Gildea. "If you look at the $1.5-billion market in the U.S., if you take the top 10 contractors, they probably have about 70 percent of that market. And through ADSC-IAFD, DFI and PDCA, all of them are represented. If you can get the bigger companies on board to start off, it starts to filter down."
He acknowledges that seeing legal enforcement in the U.S. is not the goal at this time, as it would take years of dedicated lobbying.
"Initially, we're just looking for acknowledgement from the major piling contractors [of the issue]," he said. "That's our starting point: enlargement of the issue, and getting people to start implementing best practices, in a general sense."
Finbow agrees.
"Once the main group starts doing it, then it becomes the accepted norm," he said.
It's obviously in the best interest of the piling contractor to have a safe platform, says Gildea, but specialty contractors are only a small part of the construction process. In addition to capturing the attention of North America's largest piling companies, the Working Group is hoping to convey the importance of the working platform conversation to other parties.
"[The purpose of the Working Group has] developed further into more outreach outside of the [deep foundation construction] industry, like to owners," said Taube. "We realize now that we have to go beyond the specialty trade organizations and talk to general contractors, owners, possibly insurance companies, engineers, etc."
It's complicated
Without governing guidance on working platforms in the U.S., determining the party responsible for the design, maintenance and ongoing repair of the working platform is complicated, at best, but is of the utmost importance when it comes to resolving platform issues.
Taube outlines a prospective bidding process that demonstrates the complexity of the working platform conversation.
"Imagine a scenario where a general contractor has ground improvement within his scope, and let's say the ground improvement is either design-build or the ground improvement allows for several alternates," he said. "The GC is getting multiple bids, and different contractors might be approaching the job using different techniques, and each specialty subcontractor would have different equipment that they're proposing to use on the job for these different techniques."
So now, says Taube, the general contractor is in a position where they have the contractual responsibility to provide a safe working platform. However, there will not be enough time prior to the bid to figure out what the working platform is, and so the GC will typically make some allowances. A specialty contractor may decide to make basic recommendations about the working platform, but they may not always have the time or ability to design the platform at bid time, either.
"[At Bauer,] we have our own engineers in Calgary who can calculate bearing pressures, and we have the facilities through the FPS to use their tools to calculate bearing pressures," said Finbow. "But some companies guess, and can be fairly accurate through experience, but they don't truly know what their bearing pressure is."
Further complicating matters, says Taube, is that the site will change. Even if a specialty contractor has bid documents and borings, conditions change between the time those borings are taken to the time that the work is performed, which can affect the design of the working platform.
"Let's say the borings are collected in summer when the groundwater is lower, but the work is done in the springtime when the groundwater is higher and closer to the surface," said Taube. "Also, what if the work is being done in the winter and we know there's going to be a lot of snow? If you are working in wet weather or dry weather, there could be significantly different working platform design and maintenance requirements. Significant grading or cut and fill could take place between the time the project is put out to bid and the time the work is performed, making it even more difficult to properly design an adequate working platform.
"It's not a simple issue at all."
Outlining the responsible party
"One of the problems we're grappling with at the moment is who takes responsibility for not just designing the platform, but also for the long-term maintenance of the platform," said Gildea.
"Identification of the responsible entity is the crux of this issue and it must be part of the solution," said Siegel.
He says that as the party with the overall site control, the owner should bear the responsibility for a proper working platform, but that in practice, it doesn't often work that way.
"Ideally, it's the owner who should be responsible for ensuring a proper working platform and it should be part of the overall cost of the project," he said. "However, in reality, the very important consideration of the working platform can get obscured in the bidding process as multiple parties try to shed the liability using their contracts."
As a project cost, the working platform can become a so-called bargaining chip in the bidding process. Taube says that's because working platforms are not well defined, general contractors and bidding parties are not in a position to put a lot of extra money or allowances for them.
"Unfortunately, the working platform sometimes becomes part of the currency of the bid," he said. "In other words, sometimes we will say that we require a certain thickness of working platform and we might hear, 'Your competitor only needs one foot instead of two feet. Can you do it with a one-foot working platform?' Or, 'I wanted to give you the work, but these other guys are going to do it without a working platform. Can you do that?' It puts the subcontractor in a position of possibly accepting a less substantial quality or even no working platform."
The consensus of the Working Platforms Industry-Wide Working Group, and noted in the joint position document from PDCA, ADSC-IAFD and DFI, is that the responsibility for providing a safe working platform needs to be acknowledged by controlling entities and considered an integral cost for every project.
"If the responsibility, or at least some of the responsibility, was shifted to the owner, I believe that we would see better working platforms," said Taube.
The party that has control of the site for the full duration is typically the most appropriate entity to have control of the working platform, says Gildea, especially concerning maintenance of the platform.
"In the UK, the piling contractor provides the rig loads [to the principal contractor]," said Gildea.
With that information, says Egan, the principal contractor is responsible for designing the working platform, either using in-house temporary works designers or by engaging a specialist geotechnical design firm.
"The maintenance responsibility resides with the GC, who is in control of the site," said Gildea. "The piling contractor will flag any issues on site and the GC will maintain them."
According to Finbow, he believes that inspection responsibilities should fall to the specialty contractor.
"We're using the platform with our rigs... my view is, if I'm going to put a rig on there, I'm going to make sure that it's okay. I think it's very clear," he said. "We build platform inspection into our own site management reporting back to the person(s) responsible for the maintenance of the platform's current condition. I would hope that everybody does that to make sure that the rig is safe and isn't going to implicate the safety of their people."
"It's a complicated issue and it's not something that everyone agrees on," said Taube.
How to start improving
Since there are no regulations or guidance specific to the U.S. market at this time, piling contractors must rely on other sources to dictate best practices when it comes to safer working platforms. For contractors interested in learning how they can improve today, members of the Working Platforms Industry-Wide Working Group recommend reviewing the BR 470 document as a crucial first step.
"It's got very good, practical recommendations for the construction and maintenance of platforms, and also good guidelines on designing platforms," said Gildea. "[Reviewing that document] would be the first [step] for anyone in the U.S. If you apply the general recommendations in there, you're taking a step up from where you would be otherwise."
Due to copyright, BR 470 is not available through ADSC-IAFD, DFI or PDCA, but a digital copy can be purchased for £45 (just under US$60) from BRE by visiting www.brebookshop.com and searching "BR 470."
"Review the BRE document and become familiarized with that, and another good tool would be the [Working Platforms Industry-Wide Working Group], which is open to the public," said Taube. "We definitely encourage participation and having discussions with other specialty contractors. Those are the first steps."
"Take the knowledge that's out there because there is knowledge out there now," said Finbow. "The knowledge pool is growing week by week. Join [organizations like ADSC-IAFD, DFI or PDCA] and benefit from that pool of knowledge. Don't stand alone; we're much more powerful as a group."
The Working Platforms Industry-Wide Working Group is looking to improve safety across the construction industry, and believes that, collectively, specialty contractors can make a difference by insisting on proper working platforms and refusing to compromise on safety.
"Safety is a responsibility, morally, of all of us," said Finbow.
"Be bold. Stand up for what's right and what you know is right and needed to protect your workers," said Taube. "Don't sacrifice your standards in order to win work. It can be very tempting to say, 'Hey, the other guys can do it without a working platform, so that's what we're gonna do.' It can be a race to the bottom in terms of working platform safety." t
Your participation is needed in order to improve working platform safety across the industry. PDCA members interested in joining the Working Platforms Industry-Wide Working Group should contact frank@piledrivers.org to learn how to get involved.

For pile driving contractors, hiring the right staff members can lay the foundation for a successful business. Contractors look to hire employees with a diverse set of skills, which can make the process of finding new employees long and arduous.
It's a prospect that can lead some companies to ask, "Where do we even begin?"
Hays is a recruiting company with a worldwide presence. The company, which has been in the industry for over 50 years, is spread over 33 countries, employing 10,000 people. Last year, the company placed 77,000 people into permanent jobs and 244,000 people into temporary roles.
Hays originally entered the U.S. market in 2009 and then acquired veteran staffing firm Veredus in 2014. Today, the company operates as Hays and has 12 office located across the U.S. The company has divisions that specialize in construction and often works directly with the pile driving industry.
"Within our company, we have many specialists who only recruit in certain areas. I look after the civil construction transit and marine areas," said Greg Belpomme, a principal consultant with Hays. "Obviously, within the marine areas there's a great deal of foundation and pile work. We also have another division here that solely looks after the foundation and excavation portions of civil construction. We do significant work for heavy general civil contractors. My colleagues and I specifically look after different parts of the divisions including marine, transit and a subdivision with a focus on the excavation side in the northeast corridor of the U.S."
Belpomme says that Hays can help pile driving contractors hire a range of employees: project managers, estimators, superintendents, health and safety representatives and cost controllers.
Hays is often hired by employers that bid on public agency roles, such as jobs for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey or the United States Army Corps of Engineers. This means that Hays puts a lot of work into recruiting top notch estimators.
"We get a lot of estimation requests, from junior estimators right up to chief estimators," said Belpomme. "Anyone can bid on a project and win, but it doesn't mean you're going to make money. We place the people that are able to bid on projects and ensure those bids are feasible. That's huge for us."
Hays also receives many requests to hire project managers or superintendents, employees who have a firm knowledge of driving piles, and are able to enter the field and get the job done. The employees also must be able to ensure the project is done safely and to scope.
Creating careers
Although every hire is different, Belpomme said some of the key similarities with the clients they deal with is that they're looking for seasoned employees who want to make a significant and lasting career move.
"Companies tend not to use us for hiring graduates as that area isn't a pain point for them," said Belpomme. "For instance, I tend to focus on superintendents, project managers, safety engineers and managers, all the way up to the vice president of operations or director level. We find people that oftentimes don't want to be found; we bring them in by being ambassadors for the company we represent.
"Most of the contractors we work for are looking to hire permanent staff. While we do have temporary staffing solutions where we can find employees for two- to three-month projects, the majority of our clients hire for succession; they don't want to hire someone who's here today and gone tomorrow."
A recruiting process that many people are familiar with is where a job posting is published online and companies hope that qualified employees will see the posting and apply. As Belpomme explains, Hays goes beyond this standard practice and that's one of the factors that makes the company stand out. He says the process starts by meeting with a client and entering into a contractual agreement to be its staffing partner.
"We almost become an ambassador of that company," he said. "A lot of our clients like to think of us as their internal recruiters, just sitting externally."
After the relationship between Hays and the company begins, Belpomme says Hays begins its headhunting services in "a pretty niche way." The company develops a hiring plan by talking with key figures in its client's organization such as the president or owner. This plan includes examining the specific companies who might be their competitors as long as these companies aren't also clients of Hays. Then, Hays turns its attention to finding prospective employees through its vast network.
"We will meet and interview every single candidate, reference check every single candidate and then take those candidates to our clients and arrange for them to meet; we guide them through the entire process," said Belpomme. "If our client is focused on project managers with piling experience, for example, we can compile a list of clients and send a newsletter to our client that highlights the skills of those employees, without naming them at this point. As the process progresses, we then go to resume reviews, shortlisting, and help our clients with interview prep so they can ask questions that will help find the right person for them."
Finding the right person takes time
Belpomme said the time period for finding the right candidate can vary greatly depending on the job. Some recruitments can take a couple weeks while certain specialist roles can take months to fill. One of the factors that affects the process can be the employees themselves.
"We've had cases where we've been speaking to a candidate for two years who isn't quite ready to move, but when that particular company says, 'We're looking,' you just know culturally that the candidate is the right person for the job," said Belpomme. "Some of these skilled employees are sceptical. We help to boost awareness of the company we're recruiting for."
He adds that most job placements are fairly seamless. If a job takes longer to fill, companies are usually fine with that because they'd rather have the right person than a person who will leave or be detrimental to the organization. A lot of people engage in counteroffers when it comes to hiring, so Hays' support isn't just on finding employees but may also include the entire counter-offer process.
One of the tools that Hays frequently utilizes in its recruitment process is LinkedIn. If you're registered on the business and employment-oriented social networking platform, you may already follow Hays; the company is one of the top 20 most followed companies along with the likes of Pepsi and Nike.
"We're seen as the recruiter of choice, which is a great way to have a vast reach," said Belpomme. "If we're looking for a pile driver in New York, the ideal candidate could be all the way out in Kansas or Canada on a business project, and they'll be able to see the job opportunity due to our reach. We actually are partners with LinkedIn in terms of having it built into our database, which is a great tool for us."
Belpomme says Hays is aware that the pile driving industry is a complex one. The company felt that becoming a member of the Pile Driving Contractors Association (PDCA) and networking with members would help it gain a better knowledge of the industry. Belpomme noted that while Hays may be specialists in its field, the company knows it can always benefit from different perspectives. Hays is looking forward to continually working alongside the industry.
"Our business is not just about providing staffing solutions, but also building relationships," said Belpomme. "There's people that have been in the pile driving industry for 30 to 50 years. We decided to become a member of PDCA because the best way for us to be able to understand and facilitate those people is to network directly with them. We can always learn more from other people and it's great being part of an organization that helps to spread awareness through educational materials. It helps to unite people that are all doing similar things. That's one of the best ways everyone can work together and assist one another. That was the main driving factor for why we joined the PDCA."
Moving forward, Belpomme says Hays hopes to continue being the go-to company for anything market or hiring related. The company also has some exciting new initiatives planned.
"We're looking to do industry-specific webinars or dial-in sessions featuring presentations by senior professionals within the industry who can share some insight into some of the challenges that they're facing to keep being successful," said Belpomme. "It's a way for companies to bounce ideas off each other."

New York City is for many people the city, vibrant and rich in culture, known for its diverse communities, always moving. Even with its dense population and ubiquitous skyscrapers, the city is famed for green spaces, from the 843-acre Central Park to small, hidden gardens that provide a retreat from busyness.
A new and unique green space is being constructed in Hudson River Park, on the west side of Manhattan, where the former commercial waterfront is gaining new life. The project has been controversial and rife with delay, but is now underway and expected to be completed by Summer 2021.
Weeks Marine, Inc., a PDCA member based in Cranford, N.J., is involved in the project.
Preparation for construction: A long process
Rick Palmer, vice president at Weeks Marine, says the construction of Pier55 in the Hudson River Park has been the "most interesting and challenging project" in his 30-year career. He has worked on job sites around the world, but none have required as high a degree of precision or encompassed the range of conditions found at Pier55.
Funded by billionaire couple Barry Diller and Diane von Fürstenberg, the Pier55 development initially met with opposition from a local organization concerned with the project's selection and approval process. After multiple lawsuits, a construction stop and sustained opposition after a restart, the continuing conflicts led Diller and von Fürstenberg to reluctantly withdraw their support, shutting down the project in mid-September 2017. Work on site was halted and Weeks demobilized their barges after two weeks on the project.
High-level intervention by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo brought life back to the project a few weeks later. Governor Cuomo brokered an agreement with the opposing parties and convinced Diller to renew his commitment to the project at the end of October 2017. Weeks and the other engineers, contractors and fabricators dusted off their plans and rebooted. On May 1, 2018, a year after they had originally planned to start work, the Weeks Marine crew was back on site.
The Hudson River Park Trust, a partnership between New York State and City responsible for the four-mile park along the west side of Manhattan, is governed by the Hudson River Park Act, which mandates that the park will encourage, promote and expand public access to the Hudson River, as well as protect and conserve the critical marine habitat within the park. That mandate guided the design of the new Pier55, as well as the earlier demolition of its two neighboring piers, Pier 54 and Pier 56, which had both fallen into a state of disrepair.
The wood piles supporting the Pier 54 and 56 structures were left in place to provide a sheltered habitat for aquatic life. The Pier55 footprint overlaps portions of those pile fields; the handful of old timber piles that conflicted with the new pile locations were extracted using an ICE® 44-50 hydraulic vibratory hammer with a timber pile clamp with the Weeks 574 barge-mounted crane. Concrete debris from the two piers was also removed from the river bed using a clam shell bucket on the same crane. The demolition and debris-removal work took two weeks to complete.
Ultra-precise pile driving in challenging conditions
Over a span of just 300 feet the width of the new Pier55 the driving depth increases dramatically. At the east side of that 300-foot width, concrete piles 93 feet long will support the new structure. At the west side, piles more than 260 feet in length are required. The mica-schist bedrock into which the piles are being driven drops off from east to west at a 45° to 60° angle.
Bedrock elevations were confirmed during a week-and-a-half-long indicator probe pile program completed using a two-piece HP 18x204 steel probe, the Weeks 574 crane barge and an ICE® 110C vibratory hammer. At 35 locations, the Weeks team drove the pile to rock, splicing the upper probe segment on at each location as the rock depth increased.
The next phase comprised three weeks of precise probing to a depth of 75 feet at each of the 267 locations where the concrete piles were to be driven. The Weeks 526 derrick crane barge with its hanging fixed lead system was outfitted with an ICE® 66-80 vibratory hammer and a 130-foot-long, 36-inch-diameter steel pipe for this job. Because each pile is required to be within three inches of its planned location, the company needed to find any obstructions that would deflect or block the piles. In two locations, the probe would not advance, and the pier design was modified before production pile driving began to allow the piles to be relocated.
Throughout the probing work, Weeks Marine tested an innovative lead-mounted GPS and laser survey system, which they then utilized during the production pile driving to ensure adherence to specifications. Probe locations were double checked in real-time by a conventional land-based total station, as well.
With this phase completed, the company removed the probe pile equipment from the crane and mounted a Junttan HHK25S hydraulic hammer into the leads. This "very large" Finnish hammer, a new one for the company last year, "is the only one in the U.S. right now," according to Palmer.
The piles and the pots
While this changeover was being done, the company installed four 24-inch square concrete piles made by Jersey Precast in Hamilton, N.J. (of a total six on the project; the other two will be driven this summer).
With the Junttan hammer ready to go in the last week of June 2018, the team began the installation of 164 prestressed concrete 36-inch-diameter cylinder piles, work that lasted into the first weeks of October, completed before the end of the six-month in-water construction season. (Time-of-year restrictions require that all pile driving be completed between May 1 and October 31.) The balance of the piles another 103 are being installed this summer.
Starting on the east side of the site, where about 80 feet of organic material directly overlays the bedrock, Weeks experienced "the quickest drive times I've ever seen," said Palmer. For many of the initial piles, 30 blows or less from the hammer were all that was required to fully seat the piles into the schist, the piles having settled to within inches of the rock due to their self weight and the deadweight of the hammer. In fact, a concern for the early piles was they could be damaged by overdriving, so the refusal threshold was closely monitored and adhered to by Weeks and third-party inspectors.
Moving west along the width of the new pier, the loose material overlays clay and further still, to sand under the clay before rock is reached. Consequently, piles take longer to drive as the team moves further west, because of both the different material layers and the increased depth. Palmer expects that some piles this year may require more than a thousand hammer blows each. Further, because of the deeper driving conditions on the west side, most of the piles will require steel stingers to extend the length of the pile.
Depending on the load and conditions, a steel tip or plate is attached to the bottom of each pile. The pile designs, which include both hollow and solid concrete sections, with steel rock tips and three sizes of HP 18 stingers, require 10 separate tip types to cover all of the possibilities. The tips were manufactured by Macuch Steel Products in Augusta, Ga.
"Almost every pile is unique and tracked by its final location in the plan," said Palmer.
The concrete piles, fabricated by Coastal Precast Systems in Chesapeake, Va., are cast monolithically in steel forms, then transferred to Weeks' transport barges on the Elizabeth River.
"We tow the loaded barges up to our marine yard in Jersey City, N.J. about six miles south of the Pier55 project site," said Palmer. "Then, due to the limited water depth at the Pier55 site, we transload the piles onto smaller, shallower barges 10 piles at a time to bring them to the project for installation."
The piles are cut off after driving using a Mactech Offshore 48-inch wire saw, which results in "a very smooth, flat finish," said Palmer. The saw is "very good," says Palmer. "This was our first experience with it, and we're sold on it."
About half of the piles will support precast concrete "pots," each one unique, that are being cast as individual "petals" and "column heads" by Fort Miller Corporation in Greenwich, N.Y. The individual precast elements are trucked to the Port of Coeymans on the Hudson River, where Weeks Marine and P&M Brick erect and weld the pieces together to form the pots. Once assembled, they are loaded into Weeks Marine hopper barges and towed down the river to the Pier55 site.
The Weeks 526 crane barge, with the fixed lead system removed, is used to pick and install the pots on the piles.
The pots, the piles that support them and additional pier piles in the two to three rows closest to the outer pier edges are cast using a white concrete mix, per the design by architects Heatherwick Studios of London, England.
"This means," said Palmer, "we have two colors of piles to keep separate, and we must handle the white piles carefully to ensure that we don't mark or damage them during installation."
The team is using non-marking synthetic slings on the upper portion of the white piles to prevent scuffing and chipping, and they mark pile depths/lengths, which are typically painted directly on the pile surface, on removable tape that is taken off once the piles have been driven.
Weeks Marine anticipates finishing the pile driving in late summer this year, after constructing the first 50 percent of the pier's concrete deck over the past winter and spring. By the spring of 2020, the deck work will be complete, and the entire pier structure will be turned over to the follow-on contractors who will complete the park structures and landscaping. Palmer says the undulating surfaces the pots create, both above and below the pier, are "very artistic and truly unique. This is an exceptional project we are thrilled to be a part of."