CHAIRS PAUL GILDEA, P.E., AND TERRY HOLMAN, PH.D., P.E. New Industry-Wide Working Platforms Working Group A new working group was formed to improve design of and construction prac- tices to improve the safety of working platforms for tracked plant and equipment used to install deep foundations. The group, with industry-wide representation, held its first official meeting at the 2017 DFI Annual Conference. The goals of group are to: • Foster a general industry discussion with major industry groups • Discuss, agree and develop recom- mended practices to improve safety for large tracked plant and equipment • Discuss the international state of the practice and consider ways to improve practices • Discuss big picture concepts on platform safety, as opposed to detailed design information • Identify experiences and thoughts on how to take the initiative forward In spring 2017, Matt Meyer, P.E., D.GE, of Langan Engineering and Environmental Services and a DFI trustee, and Martin Taube, P.E., P.G., of Menard Group USA and also a DFI trustee, prepared a survey to form the basis of a presentation outlining North American practice, which charted a road map for the development of the working group. In addition, Holman prepared a presentation for SuperPile ’17 reflecting the current state of design and construction of working platforms. These presentations as well as news and the group’s activities, are available at: www.dfi.org/commhome.asp?WPWG. The group will be working with European Federation of Foundations Contractors (EFFC) to prepare a workshop on working platforms at the DFI-EFFC International Conference on Piling and Deep Foundations from June 5-9, 2018, in Rome. Contact the committee chairs or Mary Ellen Bruce Large, P.E., D.GE, at [email protected] for more information and/or if you are interested in participating and being involved. Stay Informed Visit the Technical Committee pages on the DFI website to stay up to date on the latest information and news. Go to www.dfi.org and select ‘Groups’ and then ‘Technical Committees’. DEEP FOUNDATIONS • JAN/FEB 2018 • 91
