GBA is committed to promoting the value of geoprofessionals and for our 2020  photo contest we asked Members to share: “How do you depict the day in the life of a Geoprofessional?”

The photos below capture our members in field activities, meeting with colleagues and clients, and observing safety in some amazing locations.

All winners receive prizes. Thank you to all who submitted photos.

And the winners are:

Grand Prize Winner

Photographer:       Spencer Ambauen, P.E. (Aspect Consulting)

Description:           Overseeing installation of 175 pier piles at iconic Seattle waterfront  Pier 62.

Spencer will receive a $100 gift card, winner’s plaque and be recognized during GBA’s 2020 Fall Conference.

Overall Runner-Up Winner

Photographer:       Undisclosed, (Inberg-Miller Engineers)

Description:           Subsurface exploration at one of three proposed wind farm observation towers, Hanna, WY.

Overall Second Runner-Up Winner

Photographer:       Justin Maffey, E.I. (GeoProfessional Innovation Corporation)

Description:           Step to Butte State Park Road Improvements, Whitman County, WA

Geotechnical Category Winner

Photographer:       Stacy Ziegler, P.E. (Duffield Associates)

Description:           Restoration of the Eleutherian Mills Dam and Millrace, Wilmington, DE

Environmental Category Winner

Photographer:       Taylor Dayton, P.E.(Aspect Consulting)

Description:           Water level monitoring at the Icicle Basin Watershed Project in Leavenworth, WA

Construction Materials Testing and Inspection Category Winner

Photographer:       Undisclosed, (Inberg-Miller Engineers)

Description:           IBC Special Inspection, Sweetwater County School District #1, Farson, WY

Safe Working Practices Category Winner

Photographer:       Undisclosed, (Inberg-Miller Engineers)

Description:           Level C Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at contaminated soil stockpile for sample collection at Casper, WY.

Client Collaboration Category Winner

Photographer:       Matthew von der Ahe, LEG (Aspect Consulting)

Description:           Discussing site conditions with teaming partners before ahead of field work at former dry cleaner site cleanup in Longview, WA.

GBA Publications Committee

Learn from others. Don’t repeat the mistakes  of the past! GBA Case Histories are being used by our members for loss prevention discussions in support of professional development and mentoring. That is why GBA case histories are so valuable, and why GBA is updating them all, while adding new ones, too. Five more Case Histories have been re-issued.

GBA CASE HISTORY # 96 (download):
A Member Firm made the mistake of agreeing to work for both the owner (a school board) and its retained architect. Complicating matters, the architect refused to sign the Member Firm’s contract and the Member Firm refused to sign the architect’s. Ultimately, $1.7M changed hands.

GBA CASE HISTORY # 97 (download):
A construction-management company retained the GBA-Member Firm to perform a geotechnical engineering study for a simple structure that involved somewhat complex subsurface issues. The Member Firm later submitted a proposal to observe construction, but the client instead asked the Member Firm to sign a purchase order that included several troublesome conditions.

GBA CASE HISTORY # 98 (download):
The GBA-Member Firm signed an owner-drafted contract, agreeing to provide construction materials engineering and testing (CoMET) services “as needed,” a phrase neither party defined. Because of significant grade changes, the project required construction of three retaining walls. The member firm provided relatively few CoMET services on one of these walls, because the Member Firm’s senior field representative believed the wall was far less important than the other two.

GBA CASE HISTORY # 99 (download):
The GBA-Member Firm agreed to provide geotechnical engineering and construction materials engineering and testing (CoMET) services for a contractor hired to construct a two-story office building on a 60-foot fill slope. “The owner can’t afford to build this,” the contractor said when reviewing the Member Firm’s recommendations.” A quick review and stamping of the final grade plan ultimately cost the Member Firm $3.25 million.

GBA CASE HISTORY # 100 (download):
A civil engineer in 1992 contacted the GBA-Member Firm asking if it could provide pile-driving criteria for a hotel to be located on a site the firm had studied three years before, for a different owner. The economy was in a down cycle, encouraging the firm’s engineering-department manager – an experienced, licensed professional – to enter into an oral agreement for a $100 service which ultimately resulted in a seven-figure settlement.

GBA Case Histories are FREE to all Members.
Access GBA’s Entire Library of Case Histories: HERE

GBA Emerging Leaders Class

GBA is legendary for engaging with amazing speakers at each of our conferences and in this series we reconnect with past keynotes that have become old friends of GBA to see where life has taken them and learn from their journey, they are American heroes, best-selling authors, business leaders, executive coaches, all experts in their fields and brilliantly engaging.

Episode #7 – Brent Gleeson     

(Keynote Fall 2018)
Topics Discussed:

• SEAL lessons to improve leadership.
• Importance of company culture.
• The importance of accountability.
• The Silver Lining in all of this is…

Direct link to episode #7 with Brent Gleeson: HERE

Episode #8 – Nancy Watt
(Keynote Spring 2019)
Topics Discussed:

• Using improv to improve communication.                                                                                                                                                                               
• Accepting the reality of the other.
• Adaptability Quotient (AQ)
• Fostering organizational trust.
• The Silver Lining in all of this is…

Direct link to episode #8 with Nancy Watt: HERE

This series is being edited and produced by GBA’s Emerging Leaders Class under the leadership of Tiffany Vorhies (SME), Donald Blackburn (Blackburn Consulting), Shawn Leyva (Crawford & Associates), and Ryan White (PBS Engineering and Environmental).

Access podcast series: Encore Performances, Reconnecting with Friends of GBA: HERE

GBA has been a leader in documenting the professional conduct Phase I Environmental assessments since 1987.

We have published many State of the Practice studies covering different time periods and these reports have been successfully used in court proceedings to defend professionals from accusations of failure to meet the standard of care.

Our last study covered the time period from 2007 to 2010, a period when EPA said a “good” professional would have considered issues that our study proved are not typically addressed. In 2013, ASTM revised the standard for Phase I report projects and so now, it is time to conduct a new study to see how that has affected the practice. It is critical to get a wide variety of reports for the project, from as many different geographic areas as possible.

See Phase 1 ESA State of the Practice 2007-2010 report HERE.

The Environmental Business Committee of GBA seeks your help. We are looking for Phase I ESA’s completed between 2014 and 2019 for inclusion in this next Standard of Care document. Please help by submitting reports from your firm. All reports should be submitted to Jerry Samford (jerry.samford@troutman.com) by October 15, 2020. You may have questions about the process, so please feel free to contact Jerry at any time.

More Information About Participation: HERE 

GBA Emerging Leaders Class

GBA is legendary for engaging with amazing speakers at each of our conferences and in this series we reconnect with past keynotes that have become old friends of GBA to see where life has taken them and learn from their journey, they are American heroes, best-selling authors, business leaders, executive coaches, all experts in their fields and brilliantly engaging.

Episode #5 – Patrick Schwerdtfeger                                                                             
(Keynote Fall 2019)

Topics Discussed:
• Data analytic trends during the pandemic.
• Technology advancements
• The future of remote workforces.
• Opportunities to leverage big data.
• The Silver Lining in all of this is…

Direct link to episode #5 with Patrick Schwerdtfeger: HERE

Episode #6 – Jonathan Edison
(Keynote Spring 2016)

Topics Discussed:                                                                                                                                     
• Shift how you see the world.
• This is a time for focus and gratitude.
• Meet your employees where they are.
• Focus on results for the best outcomes.
• The Silver Lining in all of this is…

Direct link to episode #6 with Jonathan Edison: HERE

This series is being edited and produced by GBA’s Emerging Leaders Class under the leadership of Tiffany Vorhies (SME), Donald Blackburn (Blackburn Consulting), Shawn Leyva (Crawford & Associates), and Ryan White (PBS Engineering and Environmental).

Access podcast series: Encore Performances, Reconnecting with Friends of GBA: HERE

Do you support geoprofessional consulting services or know someone that does? This is an opportunity to highlight those companies that provide extended enterprise services to hundreds of the best geoprofessional consulting businesses.

Through sponsorship of GBA’s 2020 Fall Conference, a Virtual Event,  you have an opportunity to maximize your company’s brand recognition, increase your visibility, and reinforce your reputation as an industry leader. GBA Fall Conference sponsorship will help you achieve your goals by providing premium visibility to geoprofessional leaders from across North America.

To further increase your visibility, this event is being supported by the following Collaborating Organizations:

• American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Academy of Geo-Professionals
• American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Geo-Institute
• Association of Consulting Engineering Companies (ACEC) Geoprofessional Coalition
• Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists (AEG)
• Association of Geotechnical & Geoenvironmental Specialists (AGS)
• California Geotechnical Engineering Association (CalGeo)
• Canadian Geotechnical Society
• DFI – Deep Foundations Institute
• International Association of Foundation Drilling (ADSC-IAFD)
• Pile Driving Contractors Association (PDCA)

With three levels of sponsorship and flexibility to create your own customized experience, we provide you a platform to elevate your business. Join Us!

2020 Fall Conference Sponsorship Opportunities

GBA’s Executive Director, Joel Carson has  been appointed to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Academy of Geo-Professionals’ Board of Trustees.  He will serve a three-year term as the Public Member of the Board representing the interests of the general public whom the members of AGP serve.  He shared, “This is an incredible opportunity to both represent GBA and serve the geoprofessional community as we all look for ways to
elevate our profession. I am honored to serve on the Board of Trustees.”

The Academy of Geo-Professionals, founded in 2008, is an elite group comprised of over 300 Diplomates who have gone through many years of training and experience to become eligible for Board Certification. The Academy was formed by practicing geo-professional members of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Geo-Institute as a way to recognize engineers who have a special knowledge and experience in the field of geotechnical engineering.

Mr. Carson replaces Theresa Engler, Executive Director of the Deep Foundations Institute after she served two terms on the AGP Board.

For more information: ASCE’s Academy of Geo-Professionals

GBA Emerging Leaders Class

GBA is legendary for engaging with amazing speakers at each of our conferences and in this series we reconnect with past keynotes that have become old friends of GBA to see where life has taken them and learn from their journey, they are American heroes, best-selling authors, business leaders, executive coaches, all experts in their fields and brilliantly engaging.

Episode #3- Michael Allosso
(Keynote Fall 2016 & Spring 2017)                                                                                                                                                           

Topics Discussed:
• How we continue to have our best day during these times?
• Great leaders have reinvented themselves using technology they initially resisted because they felt it was impersonal.
• You must now become a TV Star!
• What can we do to make this time an opportunity?
• The Silver Lining in all of this is…

Direct link to episode #3 with Michael Allosso: HERE

We reconnect with inspiring Eric Saperston (Keynote Spring 2019) in episode #4 which will be available on August 12, 2020.

This series is being edited and produced by GBA’s Emerging Leaders Class under the leadership of Tiffany Vorhies (SME), Donald Blackburn (Blackburn Consulting), Shawn Leyva (Crawford & Associates), and Ryan White (PBS Engineering and Environmental).

Access podcast series: Encore Performances, Reconnecting with GBA Friends: HERE

GBA is legendary for engaging with amazing speakers at each of our conferences and in this series we reconnect with past keynotes that have become old friends of GBA to see where life has taken them and learn from their journey, they are American heroes, best-selling authors, business leaders, executive coaches, all experts in their fields and brilliantly engaging.

Episode #1- Major General Vincent “Vinny” Boles (Keynote Spring 2017) 

Topics Discussed:

• Leaders must lead during challenging times.
• The importance of sharpening your leadership tools.
• Causes of employees’ stress and how to reduce stress.
• A Message of Hope – We will all get through this.
• 4-3-2-1 Leadership (Book)

Episode #2 –Eric Kaufmann (Keynote Spring 2014)

Topics Discussed:

• How to keep moving forward in tough times.                                                                                         
• The importance of grit for leaders.
• Managing risk from a professional and personal perspective.
• The power of meditation for leaders.
• The Four Virtues of a Leader: Navigating the Hero’s Journey Through Risk to Results (Book)

We reconnect with spectacular, two-time keynote, Michael Allosso in an episode #3 to be available on August 5, 2020.

This series is being edited and produced by GBA’s Emerging Leaders Class under the leadership of Tiffany Vorhies (SME), Donald Blackburn (Blackburn Consulting), Shawn Leyva (Crawford & Associates), and Ryan White (PBS Engineering and Environmental).

Access podcast series: Encore Performances, Reconnecting with GBA Friends: HERE

Let’s look forward to the future together.   GBA’s Fall Conference (a virtual event) is convening October 20-23, 2020 in the comfort of your own workspace. Plan to join geoprofessional industry professionals from across North America for this three-day conference which will include premier education sessions that will focus on leadership behaviors, business strategies, and proven tactics critical to managing corporate performance beyond crisis to take advantage of the emergent new business environment.

Conference Features:

• Keynotes by Best Selling Authors and Business Experts
• Committee Meetings
• Business Roundtables
• GBA Member CEO Panel
• Social Networking

Attending GBA’s Fall Conference (virtually) requires only 2-4 hours of engagement each day and offers over 7 Professional Development Hours (PDHs).

More Information and Registration: HERE

GBA Publications Committee   

Learn from others. Don’t repeat  the mistakes of the past! GBA Case Histories are being used by our members for loss prevention discussions in support of professional development and mentoring. That is why GBA case histories are so valuable, and why GBA is updating them all, while adding new ones, too. Five more Case Histories have been re-issued.

GBA CASE HISTORY 91 (download):

An assisted-living facility owner accepted the general contractor’s ill-advised “value-engineering” suggestions that led to a serious and costly mold infestation. The owner retained an environmental consultant to identify whom the owner could sue. Not the architect: He had disavowed further involvement after the owner authorized the value-engineering recommendations. Not the general contractor: It went out of business. The only potential victim was the geotechnical engineer. Fortunately, the geotechnical engineer had included appropriate limitations in its report, indicating, among other things, it could not be responsible for problems arising from changes about which it was not informed.

GBA CASE HISTORY 92 (download):

The bizarre tale of a politically well-connected civil engineer who retained a geotechnical engineer to provide support services on a municipal airport project. The airport manager was busy with several other projects, the civil engineer told the geotechnical engineer, explaining why the airport manager failed to approve and pay for the final plans. But the airport authority had approved and paid for the geotechnical engineer’s plans; the civil engineer had signed them – illegally – months before. When the civil engineer refused to pay the geotechnical engineer, the latter sued in small-claims court and won, but still the civil engineer would not pay. The geotechnical engineer also filed ethics charges. Soon after the state’s registration board gently slapped the civil engineer’s wrists, the civil engineer died. His son – an attorney – threatened the geotechnical engineer with a wrongful-death suit. The geotechnical engineer settled the potential suit by agreeing to forgo collection on the amount awarded by the small-claims court, which – in essence – was uncollectible anyway.

GBA CASE HISTORY 93 (download):
A geotechnical engineer was engaged to serve as the owner’s representative during earthwork operations on a five-city-block cluster of high-profile, mixed-use, high-rise buildings. The foundation subcontractor claimed a changed condition when the project’s soldier-pile system began to collapse. The geotechnical engineer suggested a study to learn why the collapse was occurring. When the developer refused, the geotechnical engineer demonstrated “financial fortitude” and undertook the investigation on his own. The engineer learned that the problems occurred because the subcontractor modified the composition of the lean-mix concrete used for backfill, resulting in the general contractor and the foundation subcontractor paying the extra cost; close to $5 million. The developer insisted that the general contractor also pay for the engineer’s study.

GBA CASE HISTORY 94 (download):

An archaeological firm that was far more astute about technical issues than business issues accepted a one-sided contract for a major project that ran into a variety of difficulties, including a long-simmering feud between the public-agency owner and the public-agency regulator; unexpected soil conditions; and unusually severe weather. The project took five years to complete; one year for the technical activity and four for the litigation, as the firm sought to recover the costs it incurred because of the client’s bureaucratic foot-dragging.

GBA CASE HISTORY 95 (download):

A rack-system supplier retained the GBA-Member Firm to test the welds of a preproduction rack assembly. The welds failed to meet specs and the Member Firm reported that result. The client paid the less-than-$1,500 fee and shortly thereafter retained the firm to test a welder’s qualifications. Three years later, the GBA-Member Firm was sued because of its involvement in the more than $100-million collapse of an automatic rack-storage system. Making matters worse, the collapse killed an employee of the warehouse where the system was installed. A representative of the client lied by saying the Member Firm had approved the qualifications of the welder whose work was faulty. The Member Firm’s documentation, which could have been better, was at least good enough to permit a comprehensive investigation whose findings ultimately helped get the firm off the proverbial hook, but at a cost exceeding $50,000 and many sleepless nights.
GBA Case Histories are FREE to all Members.

Access GBA’s Entire Library of Case Histories: HERE

Even before the 2020 economic downturn,  member firms reported an erosion in profits driven by lower net multipliers and utilization ratios along with higher operating costs.

How does your firm stack up?

For more than 15 years, GBA has been collecting key financial metrics from member-firms so our members can measure their success, improve business performance, and optimize efficiency. The newest GBA Business Brief — available only to members– is free for all members and compiles data from GBA Business Practices Committee’s 2019-2020 Financial-Performance Survey in a short report, covering key financial-performance issues of surveyed firms.

This report is enhanced to include more data and trendlines so our members can track their  progress on key financial indicators for companies that match your firm’s size.

In the spirit of our Association, GBA publications are a collaborative effort of GBA Member-Firms. They are provided to GBA Members to make them stronger, smarter and more successful and they are FREE to all members.

Download Business Brief: Fiscal Year 2019-2020 Financial-Performance-Survey Report HERE

Dreams of Outer Space Grounded in Earth Sciences

My passion for science and engineering started in high school. I was a sci-fi fan and I was inspired by 2001 A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Cosmos and all books on space exploration. I dreamed of a career as an astronaut, working on Mars or orbiting the earth on a space station. When I considered career paths that would get me there, engineering was a logical choice. Although the adults around me encouraged me to be an educator, I was focused on headed for the stars.

I attended Clarkson University enrolled as a Mechanical Engineer. In my sophomore year, while taking Rigid Body Dynamics, I found it challenging to comprehend mechanics and moving parts. While working as a mason’s helper that summer on construction sites, where everything we built stood still, I thought to myself, I get this. Upon returning to Clarkson for my junior year, I changed my major to Civil Engineering.

I graduated in 1991 with my Civil Engineering degree in hand but did not know what type of civil engineer to be. Serendipitously, I didn’t have to choose; the economic recession of the early 1990’s chose for me. I was one of the lucky few that year to have landed a job before graduation, and I started my career sharing a small office with a geotechnical engineer. I prepared boring location diagrams, classified soil in the lab, identified boring locations and logged soils samples behind drill rigs. I really enjoyed geotechnical engineering in part, because every project had different challenges and my learning curve was steep.

I joined ECS in 1997 and while working full-time, earned a master’s degree in Geotechnical Engineering. Despite my love for engineering, I found myself gravitating toward management: growing business, developing relationships with clients, improving efficiencies, and training staff. I learned over time that I enjoyed the business of engineering as much as the technical side, possibly even more, and earned an MBA in 2014.

On September 11, 2001, ten years into my career, my perspective started to change.  I had recently joined the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue team to apply my engineering background outside of work and to help the community. When I first heard of planes hitting the World Trade Center in New York, I expected that we’d becalled up to help; but being only 20 minutes away from the Pentagon, a few hours later I walked into that building while it was still burning; helping fire fighters navigate through the damaged structure searching for survivors. We spent a week there, and I saw a lot of sad, terrible things.

A couple years later I lost my first wife to breast cancer at the age of 34. I was home alone raising three young girls, the youngest only 8 months old. In two short years I went through two life changing events that helped me to understand what was most important to me in life, and to focus energy on those: My family and being a positive contributor to the success of my company and my profession.

In time, I understood why adults that encouraged me to consider teaching as a career. It is in my blood!

• In 2001, I started giving lectures about my experience at the Pentagon on 9/11.  I’ve now given my talk over 200 times, all over the country for schools, Rotary Clubs, and engineering groups (including GBA in 2003). I use the experience as an opportunity to encourage others to use their talents to help their communities.

• In 2012, I began teaching young children about engineering, hoping to inspire them to a career in engineering or space travel at a much earlier age than I discovered it.

• In 2017, I started teaching as an adjunct instructor at my alma mater, Clarkson University; instructing young professionals in a graduate level class on construction inspection.

• And now as a senior executive with ECS, one of my most important roles is working with the next generation of leaders; teaching them what I’ve learned in my almost 30-year career and prepare them to lead ECS and the geoprofessions into the future.

I’ve been very fortunate to have had a chance to be involved with GBA, a collaboration of firms like ECS that are leading the geoprofessions into the future. GBA has been a fantastic resource for me and my company, and it has allowed me to contribute to improving the geoprofessions. My time on the Board of Directors has been a rewarding experience, allowing me to develop relationships with people just as passionate and driven to improve our industry and the friendships that started at GBA will last my lifetime.

When I’m not working at ECS, engaged with GBA, or teaching future generations of engineers, I spend my spare time travelling with my wife Rosalie of 15 years, and spending time with my three daughters, Laura (23), Allison (20) and Kelley (17). As a family, we’ve been active fundraisers for the Susan G. Komen Foundation for over 15 years and together we’ve raised over $250,000 in memory of the girls’ mother and my first wife, Jen.

To unwind, I head out fishing on my kayak in the Chesapeake Bay, or pour the latest bourbon that I’ve added to my collection during my occasional bourbon hunting outings. If you like bourbon, feel free to follow my bourbon hunting adventures on Instagram at @amateurbourbonhunter.

I haven’t made it into space (yet), but my career as a geoprofessional has been very rewarding. It has allowed me to experience the fulfilling aspects of the engineering profession as well as use my natural abilities for leading and teaching people.