G U E S T Reconnecting Our Geo-Industry As civil and geotechnical engineers who are operating in infrastructure-focused professions, we are charged with the common goal of improving peoples’ quality of life. If we are effective, the outcome of our efforts will have a positive impact in terms of optimizing project costs and schedules, assuring construction quality, and increasing the certainty of execution of built systems. This common goal inherently necessitates that designers, researchers, teachers and peer reviewers should focus on making construction activities more efficient, and built products safer, more economical and more sustainable. Do we see our roles in the geotechnical industry as supporting this broader perspective? Can we be at our professional best if we do not? In part, achieving this goal depends on how well we com- municate across the various sectors within our industry, in terms of overcoming artificial boundaries that exist between designers, builders, teachers, researchers, suppliers and equipment manufacturers, and owners/agencies. You can think of design, research and construction as being three legs of the proverbial stool supporting our industry. However, geo-industry professionals in these areas are often functioning in a disjointed and disconnected manner. Ultimately, what we need to consider is whether we as an industry have the breadth of knowledge, empathy and collaborative attitude to deliver cost-effective projects to our clients. Before my current posi t ion in construction, I worked for two consulting firms designing several challenging projects and experienced academia as a member of the civil engineering faculty at Purdue University. As a result, I have seen several changes take place in our industry over the years that have negatively impacted our ability to be efficient, cooperative and innovative as an industry. After identifying these changes, I will suggest what we, as individuals, as companies and as industry organizations, can do to improve our effectiveness in terms of providing clients with econ- omical and reliable projects. Design, Research, Construction Challenges I have seen four changes in recent decades in these areas that have negatively impacted our profession. That is, from a contractor’s perspective, most designers, teachers and researchers are disengaged from the challenges of construction. Although there are exceptions to some of these statements, these changes have resulted from: Disconnecting Design from Quality Assurance. Owners/construction mana- gers have severed the quality assurance responsibilities from design companies to save money. This transition began in the ’80s and is now the norm. Designers are getting little, and sometimes no, feedback on con- structability or on job site challenges. The qual i ty-as surance (QA) companies that are being hired as third-party inspectors often do not under- s tand the des ign assumptions or the design intent for a project, and so they are unprepared to allow for field adjust- ments that are consistent with the design objectives. Often, these inspectors are also unable to respond to items that are unclear in specifications and cannot discern what can and cannot be done when a change arises on site, or when an adjustment is necessary. This can serve as a roadblock to the development of optimal solutions. In my experience as well, the personality of the quality-assurance inspector has more bearing on decisions of acceptance than the compatibility of the construction approach with the design intent. Designers can feel in the dark because of their work’s disconnect with field activities. When this occurs, they tend to design more conservatively to protect themselves from liability risks. Ultimately, project costs are greater than they would be otherwise because the designs are developed too conservatively to be ideal, and because QA is not optimized effectively to minimize the cost of changes. Les s Focus on Ultimately, what we need to consider is whether we as an industry have the breadth of knowledge, empathy and collaborative attitude to deliver cost- effective projects to our clients. Applied Research. Funding for practical research has decreased substantially at many governmental agencies (the departments of Defense and Energy, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, state trans- portation departments, etc.). In addition, the “prestigious” funding source at universities is the National Science Foundation, whose primary focus is fun- damental research. Other countries like Japan invest substantially in the opti- mization of infrastructure development tools through applied research. Given that we are a mature industry, there is a disproportionate effort in fundamental research relative to work that will impact the constructed product. Rick Deschamps, Ph.D., P.E. Vice President, Nicholson Construction EDITORIAL DEEP FOUNDATIONS • JULY/AUG 2020 • 105
