EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR UPDATE D The Future of DFI…The Same, Yet Different Education FI’s Annual Conference in Oakland this October was an event I’ll never forget, and one that will hold a special place in my DFI memories. It was a celebration of 40 years of hard work, dedication and a strong belief by the founders, early members and supporters that the community of deep foundation professionals should have a forum for exchange of information. It would be an institute to bring all disciplines together to communicate about the challenges they face on a project and to use that information to collaborate so that all benefit — owner, constructor, designer and conference, DFI’s 40 , was a magnificent success with record-breaking numbers of exhibitors and attendees, famous speakers, recognition of industry legends, student involvement, numerous networking opportunities and top-notch technical exchange (read more on page 23). Personally watching the growth of DFI supplier. And so DFI was born. The th unfold over the past 20 years and hearing of the struggles and achievements from those involved during the 20 years before I joined DFI was very gratifying. It was a pleasure to have William (Bill) Loftus, past president twice over, and Geordie Compton, past executive director, join me at the conference to tell the story of DFI’s beginning and how far we’ve come because of members like them. Though Manny Fine (past president and past executive director) and Jack Dougherty (founder and first president) could not make the trip, other long-time members including Bengt Fellenius were present to recount their recollections, bringing our history display to life. Reviewing history always leads me to looking forward; because history is what shapes our future. In 40 years we have learned what makes DFI successful and what is important to our membership, so we plan to stick with our core principles — networking, education, communication and collaboration — in the coming years, while finding new avenues through which to do so. Wi th so many new media platforms, and likely more to come, DFI will be adapting its educational events to provide practical technical guidance, experience and know-how to professionals across the globe. We’ve already used Skype and other remote presentation platforms to deliver lectures to members in India, and have recorded presentations to preserve the knowledge expounded by the experts of today to learn from in the future. As technology continues to quickly move forward, so too will DFI. Our goal is to reach out to industry professionals in remote areas of the world who would not normally be able to attend DFI’s one-day seminars or even our two- and three-day conferences by delivering the information electronically while still giving them the one-on-one personalized attention DFI prides itself on providing. Networking DFI continues to explore ways for our members to network with each other, as well as with companies and individuals from related industries, to expand their client base and think out of the box on ways their products and services can be utilized. Our newest committee of Manufacturers, Suppliers and Service Providers, who are always finding creative ways to design, construct and test deep foundation systems, are encouraging networking at DFI conferences and seminars. The result should mean members will have oppor- tunities to disseminate their ideas, know- ledge and technological expertise to others in the industry. Communication I expect that the future of DFI will also bring new ways to communicate whereby our committees can more easily have individuals from any world region work Theresa Engler Executive Director [email protected] together on projects that provide consensus on how to save time, reduce costs, enhance performance and improve the quality of deep foundation elements. DFI’s creation was born out of the need for clear communication among everyone involved in a project — the engineer, contractor, owner and suppliers — and that communication will continue in the years to come. DFI’s Committee Project Fund, which has allowed practical research to be performed, will hopefully grow each year to assure that the challenges our members face and the solutions they find are communicated in DFI presen- tations at events and in publications. Collaboration DFI recognizes the importance of working with others. More and more, rather than working on our own, we are teaming up with other associations to provide more value to our members and to respect the time of our members. I believe that trend will continue and improve. There are global challenges such as sustainability, the need for more site investigation, better ways to measure quality assurance and monitor performance, and the need for building new and maintaining current infrastructure. DFI is focusing on all these issues and seeking out other groups to collaborate with so that our voice is stronger and our ability to advocate for improvement is heard. So while we will continue to bring together members through networking, education, communication and collabor- ation in the future, the way in which we do it will change and evolve for the better. DEEP FOUNDATIONS • NOV/DEC 2015 • 9
