#116 - Case History - Went Fishing...Caught a Whale

GBA Case History Series – Case History #116 - Went Fishing...Caught a Whale

Summary

A GBA-member firm was hired to evaluate and design the repair of a sheet pile dock at a food processing plant. The owner was pleased with the design but did not have the capital to construct the full repairs and tasked the engineer with devising a temporary solution.

In the early morning hours on the first day of mobilization for the project, the dock collapsed and the project immediately shifted from repair to replacement. Daily, it seemed, new problems or concerns arose, and the geotechnical engineer was on-site to make observations, answer questions, and present solutions.

Through the extraordinary efforts of the contractor and trust from the owner, the project was completed before the plant’s operating season began and the geotechnical engineer was made to look like a hero.

Our Hosts:

• Elizabeth Brown, PE - Principal Geotechnical Engineer/JLT Consultants

Elizabeth is the Principal Geotechnical Engineer at JLT Consultants in Boise, Idaho. Elizabeth has performed and/or assisted with numerous geotechnical investigations throughout Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming managing projects, providing geotechnical design, project quality control, cost and value engineering, and evaluating geotechnical constructability issues.

• Abi Corbett – Project Consultant/SME.

Abi is a Project Consultant at SME experienced in managing a variety of steel, concrete, coatings, and nondestructive testing projects. She specializes in managing projects related to DOT fabrication quality assurance reviews but also supports project managers throughout SME’s various service groups.

Lessons Learned:

• Communicate actively to resolve problems
• Understand your own intuition
• Develop strong relationships with client representatives
• Understand project relationships

Calls-to-action:

• Download Case History #116
• Visit the following link to access all of GBA’s Case Histories: https://www.geoprofessional.org/gba-case-histories/
• An account is required to download the individual Case Histories, which are free for GBA Member Firms.
• Visit the GBA Website at https://www.geoprofessional.org for other training resources and reference materials and/or to become a member.
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• Contact us at info@geoprofessional.org with any podcast-related questions or comments

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This episode was produced by the following GBA Members:

• Abi Corbett – Project Consultant/SME.
• Elizabeth Brown, PE - Principal Geotechnical Engineer/JLT Consultants
• Ryan White, PE, GE – Principal Geotechnical Engineer/Apex Companies, LLC