GBA Written History
SYNOPSIS The Association of Soil and Foundation Engineers (ASFE) is an association of consulting geotechnical engineering firms. Established in 1969, ASFE has developed a variety of professional liability loss prevention programs and materials. By using these programs and materials, members of ASFE have gained what reportedly is the best professional liability loss prevention record of all U.S. design professionals. In the year of ASFE’s formation, geotechnical engineers had the worst liability record of all U.S. design professionals, a situation which threatened the continuance of consulting soil and foundation engineering as a distinct practice.
INTRODUCTION
The Association of Soil and Foundation Engineers (ASFE) is, perhaps, the most successful of ...
First Look: Fall Conference Speakers Announced —Register Now!
The Fall Conference agenda has been finalized and this will be an incredible gathering. The theme for the conference is "Committing to Continuous Improvement" which supports our members' daily effort to build stronger, smarter, more successful businesses. Conference speakers will help you to build a high-performance culture, communicate your brand clearly to employees and clients, stay current with new technology, and in GBA's unique way, learn from the mistakes of others as we explore several case histories from our members.
Join us in Music City, Nashville, Tennessee — November 1-3, 2018
Keynotes include:
Principles for Building a High-Performance Culture
Brent Gleeson — Former Navy SEAL combat veteran, Brent Gleeson, turned his discipline and battlefield lessons to t...
GBA TOP 10 2017 DOWNLOADS
What are your Peers Reading?
GBA’s Most Downloaded Resources in 2017
GBA provides hundreds of highly effective resources developed to satisfy the unique needs of geoprofessionals, giving members essential tools for achieving success. However, we also know that it can be overwhelming to sort through them all. So, to help, we’ve compiled a list of the top 10 GBA resources by numbers ordered in 2017. This is a great place to start your exploration of GBA’s resources, or to get acquainted with a publication loved by your peers and “new to you”.
GBA’s CASE HISTORIES were very popular downloads with over 1,100 downloads of updated Case Histories during the year.
The list below is the top 10 GBA resources, in order by popularity, with the most ordered resource at the t...
2013 Fall Conference Proceedings
Members: Make sure you are logged in when viewing these videos to get free, easy access to them.
Download the handouts.
These videos were produced when the Geoprofessional Business Association was known as ASFE.
GBA Timeline
Year
1969
GBA is launched as ASFE
1969
Loss-Prevention Seminars
Now incorporated into GBA Conference content
1970
Standard Clauses
1970
Free Publications
All materials are available free to all members
1971
Limitation of Liability
The most significant AE contract provision of the past 40 years
1972
Fundamentals of Professional Practice
A unique six-month program for firms' rising stars
1972
Case Histories
101 cases of geoprofessional mistakes, presented to help others learn
1972
Report Review
An early sharing/self-help program
1972
Loss Prevention Manual
Since replaced by a variety of specific, in-depth guides and manuals
1972
Audio Education Prog...
Member Benefits
GBA member benefits help you and your firm grow and prosper.
What Our Members Say!
GBA member testimonials explain better than we ever could why GBA membership is so important for geoprofessionals. Read on to learn why members stay for years and how GBA has helped their firm succeed.
Top 10
GBA provides hundreds of highly effective resources developed to satisfy the unique needs of geoprofessionals, giving members essential tools for achieving success. However, we also know that it can be overwhelming to sort through them all. So to help, we’ve compiled a list of the top 25 GBA resources by numbers ordered over the last two years.
Environmental Business Committee
Welcome to the Environmental Business Council Portal, your one-stop shop for information to help you in your environmental practice!
Construction Materials Engineering and Testing (CoMET) Committee
Welcome to the Construction Materials Engineering and Testing (CoMET) Business Council portal, your one-stop shop for CoMET-related information!
Find a Resource
There are many ways to find GBA resources that have been developed to satisfy the unique needs of geoprofessionals, giving members essential tools for achieving success.
Geotechnical Business Committee
Welcome to the Geotechnical Business Council Portal, your one-stop shop for information to help you in your geotechnical practice!
Publications
GBA publications are at the core of how GBA provides its members with the unique business tools that geoprofessionals need to succeed.
Reinbold Addresses GBA Leaders on the Year Ahead
Welcome to the GBA Winter Leadership Conference.
ASFE Changes Its Name to Geoprofessional Business Association
Geoprofessional Business Association (GBA) is the new name of the organization formerly known as ASFE/The Geoprofessional Business Association.
GBA CASE HISTORY # 59
Case History No. 59 Project risk is inversely proportional to project size, complexity and fee. The GBA-Member Firm conducted a Phase I ESA for a small area of a shopping center site, optioned to ano...
GBA CASE HISTORY # 60
Case History No. 60 What started out as a favor for a potentially big client, turned into a nightmare. To meet a short deadline, a GBA member located an underground tank on its own, obviating contrac...
GBA CASE HISTORY # 61
Case History No. 61 The owner of a gasoline station retained an environmental consultant to perform a Phase II ESA at the request of prospective purchasers, acting......
GBA CASE HISTORY # 62
Case History No. 62 The GBA member was retained by a general contractor for a major utility project. Corners were cut and failure occurred. Although the GBA member was......
GBA CASE HISTORY # 63
Case History No. 63 A GBA member assigned an inexperienced field representative to observe a grouting project. The field representative began giving......
GBA CASE HISTORY # 64
Case History No. 64 The GBA Member Firm's civil engineer client erred when transferring information from the member's report to a set of plans. Serious problems resulted....
GBA CASE HISTORY # 65
Case History No. 65 Knowing that its proposal was accepted as submitted, a Member Firm did not examine the contract it received from its client, a municipality....
GBA CASE HISTORY # 66
Case History No. 66 . By attaching the word "standard" to a recommended practice it had developed, a local contractors group gave the document a status it did not merit: it......
GBA CASE HISTORY # 67
Case History No. 67 . A Member Firm's written agreement with a contractor included a limitation of liability (LoL) provision. After the Member Firm completed its......
GBA CASE HISTORY # 68
Case History No. 68 . The Member Firm was retained by an owner to design a landfill and perform "related services" that included a variety of marketing functions. When the......
GBA CASE HISTORY # 69
Case History No. 69. Although a Member Firm qualified its clean-up cost estimate of $525,000-$675,000, the qualifiers were not put into the form of clear warnings......
GBA CASE HISTORY # 70
Case History No. 70 "The design is more than sufficient to keep the ship permanently moored to the pier," the dry-dock engineer told the restaurateur, more or less......
GBA CASE HISTORY # 71
Case History No. 71 A geotechnical engineer submitted its flawless subsurface exploration report which referenced an ASTM standard on soil classification. When a cost......
GBA CASE HISTORY # 72
Case History No. 72 A Member Firm was negligent, its client said, because the firm had failed to follow the precepts of a draft version of the nascent GBA standard......
GBA CASE HISTORY # 73
Case History No. 73 A contractor's expert claimed that an engineer's faulty plans, not the contractor's workmanship, were the cause of problems experienced in an......