PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE LRFD — Get Behind It Y es, I know…those of you who have heard me voice my opinion on LRFD may be surprised to read the title of this message. Although I have taught courses in LRFD and used it to design elements when necessary, I do not harbor a great love for the methodology. I know ASD works and I feel comfortable and confident with it. But the bottom line is — LRFD is coming, whether we like it or not. Already our members are getting immersed in the design methodology. As you will read in this issue, all deep foundation elements are moving toward compliance with LRFD. Some tech- nologies, such as ACIP piles, are just brushing the surface. Others, including drilled shafts, are often designed using LRFD as standard practice. And still others are effectively halfway between the two methodologies — they use the inverse of the load factors for each failure mechanism as “temporary” resistance factors until the necessary rigorous testing has been completed to obtain validated resistance factors. This may be 10 to 20 years down the road. If and when there are requests for testing data from agencies such as FHWA (Federal Highway Administration) or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to build databases and establish resistance factors, let’s be the ones volunteering. Sharing information can help lead the industry to more accurate and efficient designs. Many of our members have written and continue to author the guidance documents that shape the design of these geotechnologies. Being on the forefront of the LRFD John Wolosick, P.E., D.GE President [email protected] Associates and former chief engineer of the FHWA, presented the ADSC Michael O’Neill Get behind LRFD- it’s here to stay! movement will also allow us to work better with our structural engineering neighbors. At the IFCEE conference in San Antonio in March, Jerry DiMaggio, P.E., D.GE, principal engineer at Applied Research Lecture. He discussed changes in deep foundations over the past four decades (1974-2014), and LRFD implementation was a major theme. DiMaggio urged the audience to look at LRFD as a positive thing and to rise to the challenge. He also said, “If you mention the words ‘factor of safety,’ you get your hand slapped and have to put a quarter in the pot!” So I say to you, “Get behind LRFD — it’s here to stay!” Let’s make sure DFI continues to lead the change and set an industry example by being on the forefront of this design methodology. LRFD Course Offerings through DFI and NHI Through DFI’s partnership with the National Highway Insti- tute (NHI), the following LRFD courses are offered. Learn more and register at http://www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/ and contact DFI at [email protected] for information on course dates and availability or to request a course be delivered for your company. 132010A Earthquake Engineering Fundamentals (Web-based) 132014 Drilled Shafts 132036 Earth Retaining Structures 132037 Spread Footings: LRFD Design and Construction 132042 Design of Mechanically Stabilized Earth Walls and Reinforced Soil Slopes 132082 LRFD for Highway Bridge Substructures 132083 Implementation of LRFD Geotechnical Design for Bridge Foundations 132085 Soil Nail Walls 132094 LRFD Seismic Analysis and Design of Transportation Structures, Features and Foundations 132094A LRFD Seismic Analysis and Design of Transportation Geotechnical Features 132094B LRFD Seismic Analysis and Design of Structural Foundations and Earth Retaining Structures DEEP FOUNDATIONS • MAY/JUNE 2015 • 7
