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 10 GBA resources by numbers ordered over the last six months. 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.”
The list below is the top 10 GBA resources, in order by popularity, with the most ordered resource at the top. Topics cover a wide range of geoprofessional business issues, so there is certain to be something on this list that could help your business succeed. Select a title to learn more and order it today.
TOP 10 GBA RESOURCES
GEOHEROES : LESSONS FROM 500 + YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
What drives long-term success in the geoprofessional industry? Drawing on insights from 26 GeoHeroes interviews on the GBA Podcast that represent more than 500 years of combined experience, this GBA Best Practices document identifies six repeatable behaviors shared by high-performing professionals. Learn practical lessons that can help strengthen your career, your firm, and the profession.
This best-practices guide shows geoprofessional firms how to communicate value beyond billable hours—positioning expertise as risk mitigation, regulatory know-how, and “peace of mind,” not a commodity. It explains how to craft project-specific narratives, differentiate with meaningful proof, and consider value-based pricing options. You’ll also find practical guidance on professional follow-up, go/no-go decisions, and pursuing the right projects at appropriate fees with clients who value expertise.
EMPOWERING EARLY CAREER PROFESSIONALS
This Best Practices guide provides firm leaders, managers, and HR professionals with practical strategies to intentionally develop the next generation of geoprofessional leaders. It explores recruitment, onboarding, mentorship, sponsorship, career development, leadership opportunities, and retention. Learn how proactive investment in early career professionals can strengthen succession planning, build a stronger talent pipeline, accelerate leadership readiness, and support the long-term success of both your firm and the geoprofessions.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT FUNDAMENTALS, PROGRAM 04 CONTRACTS AND CONTRACT FORMATION
Part of GBA’s outstanding audio-education designed for one-on-one listening by project managers, and/or as material to spur discussion during brownbag seminars or other informal training sessions. Like other GBA audio education programs, Program Four (“Contracts and Contract Formation”) uses dramatization to make its points. All roles are played by professional actors, supplemented by sound effects, to create a “mind’s-eye video” that can be played in vehicles during commutes to and from home or project sites, while jogging, or during other times when training would be possible if only a means were available to make it happen. This is the means, developed by GBA’s former Practice Education Committee.
This Best Practices document examines language use and focuses on six “taboo words:” certify, inspect, monitor, supervise, safety, and represent. The six are not necessarily dangerous in and of themselves. How they are used and their context are important. Nonetheless, the consequences of using any one of them improperly can be so severe, many risk managers believe the words should be used only on a carefully considered, by-exception basis.
FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS FOR PROJECT MANAGERS
Effective Project Managers are key to the success of all geoprofessional businesses. GBA recognizes development of highly effective Project Managers requires training, experience, and mentorship in numerous areas. GBA has developed, with support of member-firm volunteers, a Project Manager essential skills training course to support and augment training available by member-firms.
The foundation of this 11 module Project Manager course has been generously donated by a GBA member firm. While the slides have been rebranded by GBA, there may be content or concepts that are specific to this GBA member firm and may require slight modifications to make presentations appropriate for your firm. This course will help you introduce and discuss the essential skills needed as a Project Manager.
This 11 module Project Managers course covers the following topics:
Understanding responsibilities of a Project Manager;Communicating about the project effectively with the client, project team and management (including written documentation);Generating new business opportunities and winning proposals;Understanding client requirements;Planning the project scope, schedule and budget;Negotiating client contracts.Coordinating project resources (including subs);Monitoring and managing project scope, budget and schedule.Establishing the appropriate quality of deliverables.Monitoring and managing cash flow, including invoicing and collections; Leading the project team.
There are very good reasons why we would choose not to spend time and effort pursuing a client or a project.GBA’s Business Practices Committee has prepared a comprehensive, simple to use, Go/No-Go checklist for your use. The goal of the go/no go check list is to evaluate opportunities to see if they are the ones which will be beneficial for the firm currently and in the future. This checklist may be a tool you use to evaluate opportunities in new sectors, new clients, or a new line of service for your firm.
CRANE PAD AND WORKING PLATFORM DESIGN AND INSPECTION
This document serves as a guide for GBA member firms involved in projects with crane pads and other working platforms for heavy drilling, hoisting, and pumping equipment. It summarizes recommended practices related to these critical components of construction projects to reduce risk to member firms.
GBA GUIDE TO THE IN-HOUSE REVIEW OF GEOPROFESSIONAL REPORTS
The publication provides step-by-step instructions – as well as overarching concepts – for report writers and reviewers. Organized into three principal content areas to help reviewers consider major issues and to give report writers a clear framework for preparing reports and considering reviewers’ comments, the guide addresses a report’s ability to satisfy the contractual obligations it was intended to fulfill; the quality of its technical and risk-management content; and the clarity of presentation. Supplemental materials include a report-control log, copies of GBA’s widely used report-insert sheets (geotechnical, environmental, and construction-materials engineering and testing), and three best-practices monographs covering “taboo” words, absolutes, and “slipshod synonyms.”
INITIAL CURING OF CONCRETE TEST SPECIMENS: WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT
ACI Standard 301-10, Specification for Structural Concrete, sets forth ambiguous requirements for initial curing of concrete test specimens in the field, requiring the contractor to “provide space and source of electrical power on the project site for facilities to be used for initial curing of concrete test specimens as required by ASTM C31/C31M, for the sole use of the Owner’s quality assurance testing agency.” Does “space” mean that the contractor must set aside an area at the construction site where the construction materials engineering and testing (CoMET) consultant or some other party will place or construct initial curing facilities? Or does “space” mean “an environmentally controlled space” for initial curing in the field? Because uncertainty and confusion are common precursors of delays, disputes, and claims, and because CoMET consultants are likely to be blamed for any that occur, CoMET consultants need to take appropriate action to help the project team avoid related problems. This Best Practices document provides valuable guidance.
This is a revised version of a previously Practice Alert and it has been updated by COMET experts.
TOP 10 GBA CASE HISTORIES
SMALL PROJECTS CAN CREATE BIG RISK YET AGAIN, AND AGAIN AND AGAIN…
The Member Firm performed an ESA for a commercial real estate developer. After the Member Firm reported that laboratory tests, which indicated unacceptable levels of a contaminant, the prospective purchaser reneged and demanded a return of its deposit. After getting a second ESA from another laboratory, the Member Firm reviewed the second laboratory’s results and agreed that the initial lab did not record the results correctly, and the contamination levels were not as severe. Both the developer and prospective purchaser sued the Member Firm who, in turn, sued the other laboratory. The Member Firm prevailed against the initial lab but recovered less than half the total amount of the settlement it reached with the developer and prospective purchaser.
GBA CASE HISTORY NO.99
THE OWNER CAN’T AFFORD THIS…NOW WHAT?
Member Firm provides geotechnical engineering and COMET services for a two story office building on a 60 ft tall fill-slope. When the owner’s budget was not sufficient, things got interesting and project quality suffered.
IT CAN BE A COSTLY DAM, SHAME IF CLIENTS WON’T TAKE YOUR ADVICE
Despite identifying nearly every risk in advance, a GBA Member Firm found itself entangled in a multi-million-dollar dispute after its recommendations were ignored in favor of shortcuts and siloed decision-making. This case is a powerful reminder that even the most professional performance can’t shield you from litigation when communication breaks down and documentation is lacking.
BEWARE! A FRIEND’S SMALL PROJECT CAN BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR FIRM’S HEALTH
The Member Firm performed a preliminary geotechnical study to estimate foundation-construction costs for a small housing development. The project stalled and years later the developer sold the land to another developer. The new owner retained a different firm for a geotechnical study for the new project. When the new firm identified problematic soils necessitating a deep foundation system, the new owner filed a $650,000 claim against the Member Firm alleging negligent misrepresentation. Adamant that the suit was unjustified, the Member Firm’s CEO finally acquiesced and accepted a $70,000 settlement offer from the new owner rather than risk the uncertainty of a jury trial.
COMPROMISE MUST BE PART OF YOUR BUSINESS STRATEGY
An innovative casing-removal technique promised big savings—but led to soil-contaminated shafts, costly remediation, and finger-pointing among project stakeholders. This case illustrates the hidden risks of high-stakes shortcuts and why visual observation alone isn’t enough when the margin for error is razor-thin.
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IF THE BUS DRIVER DOESN’T HAVE A LICENSE, GET OFF THE BUS
The architect for the church retained the Member Firm to perform a limited-scope geotech study for a federally-funded retirement home. Only boring logs and a brief letter report to the structural engineer were needed for the design of a pile foundation. Unfortunately, the design was not within the budget and the structural engineer refused to change the design and withdrew from the project. The replacement structural engineer redesigned the foundations and satisfactory load tests were performed but the federal agency balked until a geotech study was provided for the revision. A new geotech was retained but after the agency reviewed their report, the agency directed that a mat foundation be used. The church filed suit against the original Member Firm for the new costs.
DON’T OVERLOOK THE DETAILS OR BE READY TO PAY THE BANK
After performing the geotech study and CoMET services during initial construction for a four-story building, the Member Firm’s services were interrupted for the relocation of utility lines. Because of the delay, fill was being placed simultaneously in several locations and density testing was limited. As the steel erection began, one row of footings began settling. Investigation revealed inadequate fill compaction and loss of soil into the sewer lines that had been abandoned and left unplugged. The repair costs were shared by all parties.
CLIENTS WHO DON’T FOLLOW ADVICE SHOULD BE SOMEONE ELSE’S CLIENT
The Member Firm performed a geotech study for a repeat client, a custom-home builder, to identify potential groundwater problems for construction of a two-story home near the flank of a ridge. It was a hand-shake deal. Despite recommendations for drainage provisions and construction monitoring, the client went silent. Two months after completion, the basement began experiencing cracking, buckling, and water seepage. While admitting he ignored important recommendations, the client representative wanted the Member Firm to contribute money to help pay for repairs. In exchange for a full release, the Member Firm contributed a token amount for the repairs and quickly walked away.
Because underground and foundation construction have a high incidence of claims, having the geotechnical engineer of record prepare or review the geotechnical parts of a project’s specifications can significantly reduce the risk for all the parties involved. This document provides general guidance and serves as a starting point for geoprofessionals to use in developing geotechnical-related specifications, or for those who have been retained to review specifications prepared by others.
CHEAP CONTRACTOR PAVES WAY FOR PROBLEMS
The Member Firm was retained by an out-of-town contractor to perform a geotech study for a light manufacturing facility including surrounding pavement. After several discussions (with no documentation) about pavement-design recommendations and temporary vs. permanent pavement sections, the “final” pavement was installed before opening the plant. Within a year, heavy traffic caused pavement failures and the lawsuits followed. Once again, a cheap project turned expensive for the Member Firm.
CHALLENGE YOURSELF…BE A CONSULTANT…SERVE YUR CLIENT…THE GBA STORY
A GBA-Member Firm performed construction materials engineering and testing (CoMET) services for a new nine-story hospital. Another firm’s geotechnical report recognized the pavement subgrade would include poorly graded soil-rock fill and recommended a bearing ratio that the GBA Member Firm recognized as a “worst case” for design purposes. It became apparent early in the grading process that the
fill should produce a higher bearing ratio. This conclusion, based on field observations made during construction, proved to be correct.
Despite a lack of precedent, the GBA-Member Firm recognized an opportunity to save the owner a significant amount on asphalt paving costs by reducing pavement section thickness. This resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars of savings.
The result fostered a great relationship with a new client. Unfortunately, the Member Firm overlooked an opportunity to be fairly compensated for the additional risk and value derived.