Among the closing events of the 2025 PDCA Annual Conference was a star-studded panel discussion among leading voices deep foundations construction. Together, they addressed the conference theme of History and Heritage is Foundational. Conceived by the PDCA Education Committee, this panel brought together seasoned pile driving contractors, a leading industry voice from the US-DOT Federal Highway Administration, and a veteran geotechnical engineer as moderator. For nearly 90 minutes, the panel presented answers and perspectives on the state of the pile driving industry through their professional experiences over several decades.

Meet the panelists: Rusty Signor, Silas Nichols, PE, Brian Heck, Bradford Roberts, PE (moderator), Buck Darling, Clayton Signor, PE (virtual).

The Education Committee, responsible for the State of the Driven Pile panel discussion, was one of eight PDCA Standing Committees which met in abbreviated meeting during the Annual Conference. The gathering of all Committees for back-to-back, shortened meetings was designed to present interested attendees in pursuing a seat on one or more of the important groups which are charged with advancing the driven pile through assigned functions. For instance, The Safety & Environmental Committee, under the Chairmanship of Chris Normand, introduced the new Pile Driving Safety and Environmental Best Management Practices guidebook, which modernized a legacy document that PDCA unveiled several years ago. 

* Technical Committee Co-Chair Clayton Signor and Steel Sheet Pile Committee Chair David Borger both attended the Standing Committees virtually; they provided attendees with information about the scope of work each of their Committee pursues.

Drawing further on the Conference theme of History and Heritage is Foundational, the Education Committee also developed a corridor-long timeline containing significant dates spanning millennia, which highlighted notable years in which advancements in driven pile construction occurred. This installation provided attendees with plenty of subject-matter fodder throughout the run of the program.

The timeline was the first exhibit conference-goers saw, once passing by the registration desk, en route to the conference auditorium and/or Exhibit Hall. Meantime, PDCA staff Kathy Harper, Marian Phillips and Mason Phillips assisted attendees with any and all Conference registrations, questions, and guidance. 

During the 2025 PDCA Annual Conference, attendees had access to a variety of programming that delivered further insight into subjects such as piling equipment, new technologies in deep foundations, trends in sustainability and resilience, storm mitigation, scientific perspective on vibrations in pile driving, smart business practices, and more.

Following the Opening Ceremony and Keynote Speaker Jason Redman, the following business and industry professionals engaged attendees in relevant subjects designed to inform their pursuits in deep foundations construction, during blocks of time at the Conference that were dedicated to Elective Sessions.

Chris Nelson from Delve Underground: Can Driven Pile Drive Sustainability? Only With Your Help! Chris is engaged in industry-wide efforts to improve the sustainability of infrastructure projects through the EFFC/DFI Carbon Calculator Task Group, the ASCE Infrastructure 2050 tunnel focus group, and ISI's Envision framework as an Envision Sustainable Professional (ENV SP). The Senior Project Engineer at Delve Underground has 6 years of geotechnical engineering experience with a focus on tunneling and design of underground infrastructure. He joined Delve Underground after three years as a field engineer for a specialty geotechnical subcontractor. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering Lafayette College and a Master of Science in Geotechnical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin.

 

Ronnie Wills, Belin Wills of Aggregate Technologies, Inc.: Advancement in Concrete Cutting & Removal The team presented on the newest & most innovative technology available to improve concrete cutting and removal for projects.   The brief and interactive class enabled learners to explore advancements in pile-cutting technology that have changed our industry forever.  Participants received an eye-opening overview into the basics of HydroDemolition.  Robotic, automated concrete removal, HydroDemolition; developments that have grabbed the attention of contractors, engineers & industry professionals for quite some time.

 

Dave Brown of Dawson Construction Plant:  Advancements in hydraulic hammer technology and pile driving data recording An overview of the latest developments in double acting hydraulic hammer technology in the drive system design and control systems. The developments enable the fastest blow rate hammers, and with positional control of the ram weight, the system can automatically adapt to varying piling conditions to maintain a desired energy output and also directly record and report precise energy and pile logging data to a mobile phone App.

 

Wayne Dalton from Pile Dynamics, Inc.: Automatic Drive Log - Saximeter-Q The Sax-Q represents a completely new user interface designed for quick entry of project information and fast auto generation of completed drive log forms. The Sax-Q senses the impact from a microphone and counts each impact. The user notes in the program when the pile advances an increment, and the Sax-Q automatically summarizes the blow count and average hammer stroke for previous penetrations. Results can be reviewed in real time onsite and once data collection is completed the results can be automatically generated into a predefined output based on a state or project authority requirement.

 

Heidi Danbrook of Gilbert Products: Enhanced Versatility with Side Grip Pile Driving The Gilbert side grip pile driver is now fully compatible with the innovative Rototilt system, allowing you to unlock new levels of efficiency and precision in your projects. As a Rototilt OEM, we've ensured seamless integration, providing you with the best of both worlds--our proven pile driving technology combined with Rototilt's advanced functionality. This means you can easily fit our sidegrip tool onto your existing Rototilt setup, adding versatility to your equipment fleet without the need for additional investments. Big savings changing from one attachment to another rather than changing from one excavator to another.

 

Cathy Aimone-Martin, Brent Meins, from Aimone-Martin Associates, LLC: Importance of Measuring Structural Response as a Result of Pile Driving Vibrations: Case Study Dr. Martin has over 40 years' experience as an applied researcher in vibration monitoring and structure response for the blasting and construction industries. She has developed specialized instrument systems to measure structure vibrations and environmental influences on structures to develop reasonable project specifications and limits that allow construction to be conducted in sensitive and otherwise restricted environments.

 

Carlos E. Cepero, PE, Regional Geotechnical and Levee Safety Program Manager of the Soutwestern Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Pile Driving and Storm Risk Management Projects Mr. Cepero discussed coastal resiliency programs and projects across USACE, with an emphasis on the Texas Gulf Coast. Climate change, and in particular sea level rise and increased storm frequency/magnitude have led to numerous Coastal Storm Risk Management studies across the nation.

 

Mike Carter of Blue Iron Foundations & Shoring and Takefumi Takuma of Giken America Corps.: Installation of Interlocked Pipe Pile Walls in Low Headroom with Press-In Piling Attendees heard about a USACE project in Louisiana called the West Shore Lake Ponchartrain Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction Project on the east bank of the Mississippi River. The $760 million project aspires to provide a 100-year flood level flood risk reduction system for more than 60,000 people with levees, floodwalls and pump stations. The presenters discussed a section of this system under constructio that involves interlocking, 36-inch diameter pipe piles.

 

Brandon Phetteplace from GRL Engineers, Inc.: Remote Testing Capabilities with SiteLink Technology GRL Engineers provides remote testing services for shaft cleanliness and verticality assessments, thermal integrity profiling, and pile driving monitoring. SiteLink® Remote Testing Technology allows an engineer to test/monitor the QA testing via any time and any location. Remote testing can save a project time and money with no travel delays and real time data analysis. Remote testing allows test scheduling at the best point in the project's timeline. All this lets you test more; more testing means more economical design (LRFD) and less site variability risk.

 

Kena Yoke, VP at Island Piling: Building Bridges - The Power of Networking in Business This was an interactive presentation where attendees engaged with Ms. Yoke, and one another while learning about the importance of forging authentic connections in your business environment. Among the key points discussed were: basics behind networking, benefits of building relationships, selling vs. relationships, leveraging opportunities, networking practice through Q&A exercise.

 

Rick Sadler from ICE-International Construction Equipment, Inc.: Case Studies on Trench Screening During Vibratory Pile Driving This presentation discusses an innovative approach to mitigating ground vibrations caused by vibratory hammers during sheet pile installation in urban environments. Through three case studies in Springfield, MA, Allston, MA, and Keene, NH, the study demonstrates the effectiveness of trenches as vibration screens. In Springfield, MA, a 4-inch wide by 18-inch-deep trench was used to screen vibrations away from the pile, and the initial observations in the reduction of vibrations led to controlled measurements at the other two sites.

Attendees of the Elective Sessions filled the various rooms in which several of the presentations were taking place concurrently. Depending the sessions, there were opportunities to hear highly technical discussions, as well as engage with one another for interactive exercises. Scenes from the Elective Sessions, follow:

The 2025 PDCA Annual Conference formally opened for sessions on Wednesday morning, February 5th. Newly-seated PDCA President Buck Darling gave welcome remarks, following a big-screen video containing a montage of still photos that highlighted the organization's work over the past year. Among the PDCA news items Pres. Darling reported was the January 2025 formation of a new PDCA Florida Chapter; he then welcomed three of the four Chapter officers to the stage to introduce their organization and preview goals they have set for member engagement in the new year.

The main event for the opening ceremony of the Conference began once Pres. Darling introduced keynote speaker, Jason Redman. The retired Navy Seal Lieutenant is an internationally-known personality and best-selling author who presents his inspirational story about his time and experience in military combat during the War in Iraq. Lt. Redman's presentation entitled Five Principles of Elite Performance, which he delivered to the PDCA audience, is widely regarded as inspiring to the human condition, particularly when formidable challenges arise. 

The auditorium for the 2025 PDCA Annual Conference opening ceremony was standing-room-only for Lt. Redman, who described his combat history and challenges. Using action videos, graphic details, emotional testimony, and unapologetic sincerity, he captured the audience's attention for more than one-hour. His program concluded with Pres. Darling presenting him a gift from PDCA as the audience gave a standing ovation  

Following his presentation for the opening ceremony, Lt. Redman took a seat in the PDCA Annual Conference Exhibit Hall where attendees stood in line to purchase signed copies of his books, Overcome and The Trident. He engaged in conversation with his well-wishers and stood for photos for those who were particularly moved by his story. Lt. Redman arrived at the conference a few days prior to his presentation, during which time he joined the PDCA Board of Directors during a dinner, played in the golf tournament, and visited with people during the opening reception.