EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR UPDATE Life BC – Before Cell Phones H ave you experienced a pounding heart, a feeling that something is not right, wanted to turn the car around to rush home (you could ALWAYS catch the later flight) but this was too important, a matter, some might say, of life and death. Where was your cell phone? The big question is where is the proper place of the cell phone in your life, personally and professionally? Does it make sense to be at the beck and call of the office 24/7? Does connectivity with the office lead to more, or less, productivity? These ques- tions are faced by a global workforce. As DFI continues to extend its membership and activities overseas, and DFI member companies open offices and win projects in new areas, cell phones have become one of our most important tools. People all over the world can communicate no matter what the time of day or day of the week, thanks to the cell phone. We can do this from an airport, a hotel room, even from home. Sounds like a wonderful solution and oftentimes it is because it allows us to be responsive to our members/clients and provide quality customer service. At DFI, our goal is to be responsive to our members no matter where in the world they are, responding in a timely fashion to their requests. In the past month, I’ve used my cell phone to “meet” with colleagues in India, Dubai, Sweden and Italy to plan conferences. As evidenced by the articles in this issue, DFI is truly international. From our cover story on a rail project in Toronto, Canada to coverage of other worldwide projects such as the Burnley Tunnel in Australia; the restoration of the Campanile in Venice, Italy; soil mixing in Japan and compaction grouting in Germany; I’m sure all companies involved in these projects used their cell phones to get the job done! However, in many ways, I find cell phone technology to be a conundrum. The downside is that our families don’t appreciate the dinner interruptions, our Two New DFI Technical Manuals Available on Flash Drives Guideline for Interpretation of Nondestructive Integrity Testing of Augered Cast-in-Place and Drilled Displacement Piles: DFI Augered Cast-In-Place Pile Committee (2011-2012) Chaired by Michael Moran. Tracy Brettmann, Principal Author; Bernard Hertlein, Matthew Meyer, Bria Whitmire, Co-Authors This 39-page, illustrated manual provides practical guidance for the interpretation of nondestructive testing (NDT) of the integrity of augered cast-in-place (ACIP) and drilled dis- placement (DD) piles. Every NDT method has associated capabilities and limitations, and ACIP and DD piles have properties that must be considered when using a specific NDT. For successful interpretation, it is essential that the test results be utilized in conjunction with all the available information on pile installation, as well as the subsurface conditions, past experiences and sound engineering judgment. This guideline supplements DFI’s primary publications on ACIP piles: Augered Cast-in-Place Pile Manual (2003) and the Inspector’s Guide for Augered Cast-in-Place Piles (2010). Seismic and Lateral Load Design and Testing Guidelines: DFI Seismic and Lateral Loads Committee (2011-2012) Chaired by Mark Petersen and Zia Zafir (2003-2009). Robert Kruger, Guideline Editor This 68-page, illustrated guidance document will assist geotechnical engineers, pile designers and contractors in analysis, design and testing of piles and drilled shafts for lateral loads. There is no single guidance document and/or standard for design and testing. Several different analytical methods are available and resulting designs can produce significantly different responses. Over the years, analysis of response of piles due to lateral loads evolved from closed-form solutions to finite element/finite difference modeling. This is especially true for analyzing and designing piles in potentially liquefiable soils with lateral spread issues. This document discusses the differ- ent analytical and testing procedures and recommends methods for analysis, design and testing of piles for lateral loads. Both Manuals can be purchased from DFI for $20 (Members) or $40 (Non-members) by contacting [email protected] DEEP FOUNDATIONS • JULY/AUG 2012 • 7 bodies react to lost sleep due to middle of the night conversations with persons on the other side of the globe and law enforcement agencies have recognized the dangers of texting or emailing as we drive or walk down a busy city street, oblivious to those around Theresa Rappaport Executive Director [email protected] us. So it’s up to us to recognize the usefulness of the tool while not letting it take over our lives. At DFI we are increasingly aware that our work day does not sync with the workday of our members. BC (Before Cell Phones) we would have slapped our hands to our heads at 5:05 p.m. and thought “Oops, missed them at the office!” Today we pick up our cell and can connect very easily to their cell. Good or bad, right or wrong, helpful or disruptive…you must be the judge of how and when to use this tool.
