DFI: Conduit for Collaboration Arland is quite proud of his work within DFI. He notes that, “Along with George Tamaro and Joel Moskowitz, now retired former MRCE partners, current partner Rick Ellman, and senior associates Ray Poletto, Fred Rhyner, Bob Radske, Dominic D’Argenzio and others,” he has carried on the tradition of DFI involvement at multiple levels of leadership. He states, “MRCE, as a corporate member firm, and I value our participation in DFI, as it provides a conduit for collabor- ation between owners, engineers, contractors and suppliers.” Collaborative is a word that keeps popping up whenever Arland speaks or is talked about. His DFI service includes being a member of the Augered Cast-in-Place Pile Committee, a presenter at DFI’s 2004 ACIP Seminar and 2008 DFI Micropile Seminar, as well as chairing the Deep Basement & Underground Excavation session at DFI’s International Conference in London. He currently serves on DFI’s Tunneling and Underground Committee and is a reviewer of papers for DFI annual conferences. People Who Know Frank Agree Everyone who has worked with Arland has been extremely complimentary about all of their interactions. Prominent industry notable Joel Moskowitz, DFI past president (1995-96), worked with Arland for 20 years. Moskowitz recounts, “Many of our staff, upon joining MRCE as young engineers, or in Frank’s case, from the Coast Guard, took some time to learn the ropes at the firm. Frank jumped right to it, working under the guidance of Dr. James Gould and Hugh Lacy in the areas of geotechnical investigations and designs for tunnels and dams, as well as other generalized areas of specialization. His technical skills and gregarious personality made him an easy choice to become a partner in the firm. In the 1990s, Frank joined me on the DFI Augered Cast-in-Place Pile Committee on which I was serving as the chair. Our collaborations led to working together on many of MRCE’s signature projects. His leadership role in DFI committee work continues to this day.” Paul Schmall, vice president and chief engineer at Moretrench adds, “Moretrench and MRCE have enjoyed a very rich relationship for probably over 100 years. Over the past 20 years, every time I have worked with Frank it has always felt like all the players were on one team regardless of what side of the table you were on. Frank is what we call, ‘a good contractor’s engineer.’ He is very gifted in his geotechnical prowess and his ability to work well with everybody. He appreciates that things have to be designed so that they can be built and has the experience to know the difference. Through his professional practice and leadership in industry professional organizations he is one of the top contributors in our industry. He is very highly respected and deservedly so.” Young Engineers Take Note Arland shares his thoughts about young engineers coming into the deep foundations industry when he states, “In today’s technology- driven world, there is a tendency to let computer software do all of the thinking. It becomes easy to focus on building the model and forgetting about the importance of the input data and using classical hand calculations as a logic check of the results. Young engineers should recognize that spending time in the field is important to their development as an engineer. Working in the laboratory, getting your hands dirty doing soil/rock testing, logging borings, and being on construction sites observing work performed provides the experience and knowledge necessary to undertake practical analysis and designs.” Arland’s World Today He is pleased to report that despite his 24/7 work at MRCE and as a consummate volunteer, he still finds time to enjoy his much- valued family activities. Arland’s resume is as deep as the over- water and land-based foundation projects in which he has taken a leadership role. It’s fully expected that his copious achievements will go ever deeper. Frank Arland (far right) leading a group of Coast Guard Academy cadets at a recent Moles Student Day tour of New York City’s East Side Access Project. The group is shown in the caverns below Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. 76 • DEEP FOUNDATIONS • NOV/DEC 2019
