2020 Conference Videos Available Now:

Those that attended GBA’s 2020 Fall  Conference agreed that the presentations were educational, entertaining, and inspiring. Now you can watch, listen to, and learn from these speakers too, on your own schedule. These videos are available for all GBA members on-demand at your convenience.

Presentations included:

Turning Barriers into Bridges: How to Accelerate Results through Inclusive Actions – Lenora Billings-Harris

Dramatic recent events highlight the necessity for deliberate  discussions related to perceptions and realities as it relates to supporting an inclusive and diverse workforce.

This highly interactive, non-judgmental, and fun session presented by Lenora Billings-Harris, CSP, CPAE provides an opportunity for participants to discover how and why unconscious bias  impacts decisions and then how to  implement behaviors that strengthen trust leading to positive bottom-line results.

Looking Beyond Crisis: GBA Leaders Forum

In support of our Conference theme, “Recovery, Revitalization, & Resurgence Beyond Crisis,” we convene a panel of GBA leaders to help you start looking         beyond the COVID-19 crisis. This forum focuses on leadership behaviors, business   strategies, and proven tactics critical to leading corporate performance beyond crisis.   This helps you take advantage of the emerging new business environment.

Watch this session to learn what other GBA Member Firms are doing to elevate performance, innovate delivery processes, diversify their businesses, and thrive in a new economy post COVID-19.

  Great Leaders Pivot, Not Panic: 6 Keys to Help Your Team Buy into Change, Adapt Quickly & Innovate for Future Success –Betsy Allen  Manning

With change comes many challenges. During this presentation, Betsy Allen-Manning shares her research, as well as experience managing change for billion-dollar corporations. Discover why some leaders fail through change, and others succeed; and walk away with a 6-step  strategy to communicate your change effectively, generate higher levels of innovation and buy-in, reduce the conflict that comes with change, and reshape your culture for a positive and successful team moving forward.

Get Big Things Done: The Power of Connectional Intelligence – Erica Dhawan
During this unprecedented time of change and uncertainty, we are collaborating faster and more often than ever before. We feel like we’re connected –but are we really? Erica Dhawan teaches you the art and science of working better together using Connectional Intelligence, the key to productivity and collaboration for geoprofessionals in the “new normal”.

   Pivot, Don’t Panic: The Four Investments Smart Teams Rely on During Uncertainty – Jon Acuff

Six months ago, “change” was something we all knew we’d need to deal with someday. It was just over the horizon. It was around the corner. We knew it would come, we just didn’t know when, and we didn’t know how. Then the world got flipped upside down. Change is no longer a topic of conversation for your team, it’s the norm. The new vocabulary. The new reality. The elephant isn’t hiding in the corner of the room now. The elephant is the entire room.

Join New York Times bestselling author Jon Acuff as he shares practical steps and inspiring insights to help your team navigate this brave new world.

General Membership Meeting

GBA President Kenneth R. Johnston provides his 6-month report and shares his thoughts on GBA’s role in helping members manage risk and optimize performance as we continue to navigate through these unprecedented times. Hear how your firm and region are performing relative to the rest of the country from the most recent Business Snapshot Survey. In addition, GBA’s Board of Directors recognizes the dedicated individuals and firms who provided significant contributions to the profession and our association during in FY2019-2020.

As added value to all members, GBA recorded the 2020 Fall Conference Presentations and made them available to all through our on-demand platform. These videos make great lunch-and-learns for professional development of small groups or your entire staff.

Watch On-Demand: HERE

Case History #101, the last of the archived real-life stories of member-firms’ projects that went wrong and how they overcame problems
is now available.

When a GBA-Member Firm realized it had committed a serious error while conducting construction-materials engineering and testing (CoMET) services for a new hospital building, it knew it was in trouble. The project – a 738,000-square-foot hospital – was the key element of a high-profile, $800-million project and the constructor-in-charge faced significant penalties if it failed to complete its work by the targeted date. The errors made by the CoMET firm were likely to cause a significant delay that would result in major penalty payments, plus a serious cost overrun, all of which the GBA-member CoMET firm feared it would have to pay for. Applying what it had learned from GBA, however, the firm not only avoided even a moment’s delay, it emerged from the project with an even stronger reputation for excellence.

    Learn from others. Don’t repeat the mistakes of the past! GBA Case Histories are being used              by  our members for loss prevention discussions in support of professional development and                      mentoring. That is why GBA case histories are so valuable, and why GBA is updating them all,                    while adding new ones, too.

GBA Case Histories are FREE to all Members.

Download Case History 101: HERE

Possibly the most important of all GBA loss-prevention/risk-confrontation resources is its unique series of Case Histories. In February 2018, GBA volunteers embarked on a seemingly impossible challenge to refresh the first 101 Case Histories. We are thrilled to report, the mission has been accomplished and now all are rebranded, updated, and refreshed. Most
importantly they are all available to all our members.

This effort was made possible under the leadership of Woodward L. “Woody” Vogt, P.E., D.GE, F.ASCE, F.ACI, F.ASTM, F.GBA (Paradigm Consultants) who established the schedule and led the review process. Woody was assisted on each update by Kurt R. Fraese, L.G., F.GBA (Fraese and Associates) and Dr. James L. “Jim” Withiam, Ph.D., P.E., D.GE, F.GBA (retired) with additional volunteer support from Stephanie Cook, Esq., Marie Starich, P.E. and GBA Committee members. Additionally, we received valuable contract support from Bachner Communications, Inc. (editing) and Greg Kauffman Designs (graphics).

“I would like to thank everyone that helped support the Case History Update effort. For more than 2½ years we have been chipping away at this task and it took a team effort to accomplish it. I would especially like to thank volunteers Kurt and Jim for their heavy lifting. Their input and support of the GBA Staff was critical to keep this project moving toward the finish line.” said Mr. Vogt.

GBA Case Histories are obviously important to our members too. Since we started this project, our members downloaded on average more than 11 issues per business day, totaling about 7,700 downloads.

Given the importance of GBA’s case histories, this was a valuable project to help our members improve their businesses  through real-life examples. This mission is complete, but we are not done! While we continue completing new Case Histories,  we are also completing a comprehensive Case History index and new programs that emphasize the important information   compiled from the library of all these valuable references.

Access GBA’s Library of Case Histories:  HERE

GBA is committed to promoting the value of geoprofessionals and for our 2020  photo contest we asked Members to share: “How do you depict the day in the life of a Geoprofessional?”

The photos below capture our members in field activities, meeting with colleagues and clients, and observing safety in some amazing locations.

All winners receive prizes. Thank you to all who submitted photos.

And the winners are:

Grand Prize Winner

Photographer:       Spencer Ambauen, P.E. (Aspect Consulting)

Description:           Overseeing installation of 175 pier piles at iconic Seattle waterfront  Pier 62.

Spencer will receive a $100 gift card, winner’s plaque and be recognized during GBA’s 2020 Fall Conference.

Overall Runner-Up Winner

Photographer:       Undisclosed, (Inberg-Miller Engineers)

Description:           Subsurface exploration at one of three proposed wind farm observation towers, Hanna, WY.

Overall Second Runner-Up Winner

Photographer:       Justin Maffey, E.I. (GeoProfessional Innovation Corporation)

Description:           Step to Butte State Park Road Improvements, Whitman County, WA

Geotechnical Category Winner

Photographer:       Stacy Ziegler, P.E. (Duffield Associates)

Description:           Restoration of the Eleutherian Mills Dam and Millrace, Wilmington, DE

Environmental Category Winner

Photographer:       Taylor Dayton, P.E.(Aspect Consulting)

Description:           Water level monitoring at the Icicle Basin Watershed Project in Leavenworth, WA

Construction Materials Testing and Inspection Category Winner

Photographer:       Undisclosed, (Inberg-Miller Engineers)

Description:           IBC Special Inspection, Sweetwater County School District #1, Farson, WY

Safe Working Practices Category Winner

Photographer:       Undisclosed, (Inberg-Miller Engineers)

Description:           Level C Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at contaminated soil stockpile for sample collection at Casper, WY.

Client Collaboration Category Winner

Photographer:       Matthew von der Ahe, LEG (Aspect Consulting)

Description:           Discussing site conditions with teaming partners before ahead of field work at former dry cleaner site cleanup in Longview, WA.

GBA Publications Committee

Learn from others. Don’t repeat the mistakes  of the past! GBA Case Histories are being used by our members for loss prevention discussions in support of professional development and mentoring. That is why GBA case histories are so valuable, and why GBA is updating them all, while adding new ones, too. Five more Case Histories have been re-issued.

GBA CASE HISTORY # 96 (download):
A Member Firm made the mistake of agreeing to work for both the owner (a school board) and its retained architect. Complicating matters, the architect refused to sign the Member Firm’s contract and the Member Firm refused to sign the architect’s. Ultimately, $1.7M changed hands.

GBA CASE HISTORY # 97 (download):
A construction-management company retained the GBA-Member Firm to perform a geotechnical engineering study for a simple structure that involved somewhat complex subsurface issues. The Member Firm later submitted a proposal to observe construction, but the client instead asked the Member Firm to sign a purchase order that included several troublesome conditions.

GBA CASE HISTORY # 98 (download):
The GBA-Member Firm signed an owner-drafted contract, agreeing to provide construction materials engineering and testing (CoMET) services “as needed,” a phrase neither party defined. Because of significant grade changes, the project required construction of three retaining walls. The member firm provided relatively few CoMET services on one of these walls, because the Member Firm’s senior field representative believed the wall was far less important than the other two.

GBA CASE HISTORY # 99 (download):
The GBA-Member Firm agreed to provide geotechnical engineering and construction materials engineering and testing (CoMET) services for a contractor hired to construct a two-story office building on a 60-foot fill slope. “The owner can’t afford to build this,” the contractor said when reviewing the Member Firm’s recommendations.” A quick review and stamping of the final grade plan ultimately cost the Member Firm $3.25 million.

GBA CASE HISTORY # 100 (download):
A civil engineer in 1992 contacted the GBA-Member Firm asking if it could provide pile-driving criteria for a hotel to be located on a site the firm had studied three years before, for a different owner. The economy was in a down cycle, encouraging the firm’s engineering-department manager – an experienced, licensed professional – to enter into an oral agreement for a $100 service which ultimately resulted in a seven-figure settlement.

GBA Case Histories are FREE to all Members.
Access GBA’s Entire Library of Case Histories: HERE

GBA Emerging Leaders Class

GBA is legendary for engaging with amazing speakers at each of our conferences and in this series we reconnect with past keynotes that have become old friends of GBA to see where life has taken them and learn from their journey, they are American heroes, best-selling authors, business leaders, executive coaches, all experts in their fields and brilliantly engaging.

Episode #7 – Brent Gleeson     

(Keynote Fall 2018)
Topics Discussed:

• SEAL lessons to improve leadership.
• Importance of company culture.
• The importance of accountability.
• The Silver Lining in all of this is…

Direct link to episode #7 with Brent Gleeson: HERE

Episode #8 – Nancy Watt
(Keynote Spring 2019)
Topics Discussed:

• Using improv to improve communication.                                                                                                                                                                               
• Accepting the reality of the other.
• Adaptability Quotient (AQ)
• Fostering organizational trust.
• The Silver Lining in all of this is…

Direct link to episode #8 with Nancy Watt: HERE

This series is being edited and produced by GBA’s Emerging Leaders Class under the leadership of Tiffany Vorhies (SME), Donald Blackburn (Blackburn Consulting), Shawn Leyva (Crawford & Associates), and Ryan White (PBS Engineering and Environmental).

Access podcast series: Encore Performances, Reconnecting with Friends of GBA: HERE

GBA has been a leader in documenting the professional conduct Phase I Environmental assessments since 1987.

We have published many State of the Practice studies covering different time periods and these reports have been successfully used in court proceedings to defend professionals from accusations of failure to meet the standard of care.

Our last study covered the time period from 2007 to 2010, a period when EPA said a “good” professional would have considered issues that our study proved are not typically addressed. In 2013, ASTM revised the standard for Phase I report projects and so now, it is time to conduct a new study to see how that has affected the practice. It is critical to get a wide variety of reports for the project, from as many different geographic areas as possible.

See Phase 1 ESA State of the Practice 2007-2010 report HERE.

The Environmental Business Committee of GBA seeks your help. We are looking for Phase I ESA’s completed between 2014 and 2019 for inclusion in this next Standard of Care document. Please help by submitting reports from your firm. All reports should be submitted to Jerry Samford (jerry.samford@troutman.com) by October 15, 2020. You may have questions about the process, so please feel free to contact Jerry at any time.

More Information About Participation: HERE 

GBA Emerging Leaders Class

GBA is legendary for engaging with amazing speakers at each of our conferences and in this series we reconnect with past keynotes that have become old friends of GBA to see where life has taken them and learn from their journey, they are American heroes, best-selling authors, business leaders, executive coaches, all experts in their fields and brilliantly engaging.

Episode #5 – Patrick Schwerdtfeger                                                                             
(Keynote Fall 2019)

Topics Discussed:
• Data analytic trends during the pandemic.
• Technology advancements
• The future of remote workforces.
• Opportunities to leverage big data.
• The Silver Lining in all of this is…

Direct link to episode #5 with Patrick Schwerdtfeger: HERE

Episode #6 – Jonathan Edison
(Keynote Spring 2016)

Topics Discussed:                                                                                                                                     
• Shift how you see the world.
• This is a time for focus and gratitude.
• Meet your employees where they are.
• Focus on results for the best outcomes.
• The Silver Lining in all of this is…

Direct link to episode #6 with Jonathan Edison: HERE

This series is being edited and produced by GBA’s Emerging Leaders Class under the leadership of Tiffany Vorhies (SME), Donald Blackburn (Blackburn Consulting), Shawn Leyva (Crawford & Associates), and Ryan White (PBS Engineering and Environmental).

Access podcast series: Encore Performances, Reconnecting with Friends of GBA: HERE

Do you support geoprofessional consulting services or know someone that does? This is an opportunity to highlight those companies that provide extended enterprise services to hundreds of the best geoprofessional consulting businesses.

Through sponsorship of GBA’s 2020 Fall Conference, a Virtual Event,  you have an opportunity to maximize your company’s brand recognition, increase your visibility, and reinforce your reputation as an industry leader. GBA Fall Conference sponsorship will help you achieve your goals by providing premium visibility to geoprofessional leaders from across North America.

To further increase your visibility, this event is being supported by the following Collaborating Organizations:

• American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Academy of Geo-Professionals
• American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Geo-Institute
• Association of Consulting Engineering Companies (ACEC) Geoprofessional Coalition
• Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists (AEG)
• Association of Geotechnical & Geoenvironmental Specialists (AGS)
• California Geotechnical Engineering Association (CalGeo)
• Canadian Geotechnical Society
• DFI – Deep Foundations Institute
• International Association of Foundation Drilling (ADSC-IAFD)
• Pile Driving Contractors Association (PDCA)

With three levels of sponsorship and flexibility to create your own customized experience, we provide you a platform to elevate your business. Join Us!

2020 Fall Conference Sponsorship Opportunities

GBA’s Executive Director, Joel Carson has  been appointed to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Academy of Geo-Professionals’ Board of Trustees.  He will serve a three-year term as the Public Member of the Board representing the interests of the general public whom the members of AGP serve.  He shared, “This is an incredible opportunity to both represent GBA and serve the geoprofessional community as we all look for ways to
elevate our profession. I am honored to serve on the Board of Trustees.”

The Academy of Geo-Professionals, founded in 2008, is an elite group comprised of over 300 Diplomates who have gone through many years of training and experience to become eligible for Board Certification. The Academy was formed by practicing geo-professional members of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Geo-Institute as a way to recognize engineers who have a special knowledge and experience in the field of geotechnical engineering.

Mr. Carson replaces Theresa Engler, Executive Director of the Deep Foundations Institute after she served two terms on the AGP Board.

For more information: ASCE’s Academy of Geo-Professionals

GBA Emerging Leaders Class

GBA is legendary for engaging with amazing speakers at each of our conferences and in this series we reconnect with past keynotes that have become old friends of GBA to see where life has taken them and learn from their journey, they are American heroes, best-selling authors, business leaders, executive coaches, all experts in their fields and brilliantly engaging.

Episode #3- Michael Allosso
(Keynote Fall 2016 & Spring 2017)                                                                                                                                                           

Topics Discussed:
• How we continue to have our best day during these times?
• Great leaders have reinvented themselves using technology they initially resisted because they felt it was impersonal.
• You must now become a TV Star!
• What can we do to make this time an opportunity?
• The Silver Lining in all of this is…

Direct link to episode #3 with Michael Allosso: HERE

We reconnect with inspiring Eric Saperston (Keynote Spring 2019) in episode #4 which will be available on August 12, 2020.

This series is being edited and produced by GBA’s Emerging Leaders Class under the leadership of Tiffany Vorhies (SME), Donald Blackburn (Blackburn Consulting), Shawn Leyva (Crawford & Associates), and Ryan White (PBS Engineering and Environmental).

Access podcast series: Encore Performances, Reconnecting with GBA Friends: HERE

GBA is legendary for engaging with amazing speakers at each of our conferences and in this series we reconnect with past keynotes that have become old friends of GBA to see where life has taken them and learn from their journey, they are American heroes, best-selling authors, business leaders, executive coaches, all experts in their fields and brilliantly engaging.

Episode #1- Major General Vincent “Vinny” Boles (Keynote Spring 2017) 

Topics Discussed:

• Leaders must lead during challenging times.
• The importance of sharpening your leadership tools.
• Causes of employees’ stress and how to reduce stress.
• A Message of Hope – We will all get through this.
• 4-3-2-1 Leadership (Book)

Episode #2 –Eric Kaufmann (Keynote Spring 2014)

Topics Discussed:

• How to keep moving forward in tough times.                                                                                         
• The importance of grit for leaders.
• Managing risk from a professional and personal perspective.
• The power of meditation for leaders.
• The Four Virtues of a Leader: Navigating the Hero’s Journey Through Risk to Results (Book)

We reconnect with spectacular, two-time keynote, Michael Allosso in an episode #3 to be available on August 5, 2020.

This series is being edited and produced by GBA’s Emerging Leaders Class under the leadership of Tiffany Vorhies (SME), Donald Blackburn (Blackburn Consulting), Shawn Leyva (Crawford & Associates), and Ryan White (PBS Engineering and Environmental).

Access podcast series: Encore Performances, Reconnecting with GBA Friends: HERE

Let’s look forward to the future together.   GBA’s Fall Conference (a virtual event) is convening October 20-23, 2020 in the comfort of your own workspace. Plan to join geoprofessional industry professionals from across North America for this three-day conference which will include premier education sessions that will focus on leadership behaviors, business strategies, and proven tactics critical to managing corporate performance beyond crisis to take advantage of the emergent new business environment.

Conference Features:

• Keynotes by Best Selling Authors and Business Experts
• Committee Meetings
• Business Roundtables
• GBA Member CEO Panel
• Social Networking

Attending GBA’s Fall Conference (virtually) requires only 2-4 hours of engagement each day and offers over 7 Professional Development Hours (PDHs).

More Information and Registration: HERE

GBA Publications Committee   

Learn from others. Don’t repeat  the mistakes of the past! GBA Case Histories are being used by our members for loss prevention discussions in support of professional development and mentoring. That is why GBA case histories are so valuable, and why GBA is updating them all, while adding new ones, too. Five more Case Histories have been re-issued.

GBA CASE HISTORY 91 (download):

An assisted-living facility owner accepted the general contractor’s ill-advised “value-engineering” suggestions that led to a serious and costly mold infestation. The owner retained an environmental consultant to identify whom the owner could sue. Not the architect: He had disavowed further involvement after the owner authorized the value-engineering recommendations. Not the general contractor: It went out of business. The only potential victim was the geotechnical engineer. Fortunately, the geotechnical engineer had included appropriate limitations in its report, indicating, among other things, it could not be responsible for problems arising from changes about which it was not informed.

GBA CASE HISTORY 92 (download):

The bizarre tale of a politically well-connected civil engineer who retained a geotechnical engineer to provide support services on a municipal airport project. The airport manager was busy with several other projects, the civil engineer told the geotechnical engineer, explaining why the airport manager failed to approve and pay for the final plans. But the airport authority had approved and paid for the geotechnical engineer’s plans; the civil engineer had signed them – illegally – months before. When the civil engineer refused to pay the geotechnical engineer, the latter sued in small-claims court and won, but still the civil engineer would not pay. The geotechnical engineer also filed ethics charges. Soon after the state’s registration board gently slapped the civil engineer’s wrists, the civil engineer died. His son – an attorney – threatened the geotechnical engineer with a wrongful-death suit. The geotechnical engineer settled the potential suit by agreeing to forgo collection on the amount awarded by the small-claims court, which – in essence – was uncollectible anyway.

GBA CASE HISTORY 93 (download):
A geotechnical engineer was engaged to serve as the owner’s representative during earthwork operations on a five-city-block cluster of high-profile, mixed-use, high-rise buildings. The foundation subcontractor claimed a changed condition when the project’s soldier-pile system began to collapse. The geotechnical engineer suggested a study to learn why the collapse was occurring. When the developer refused, the geotechnical engineer demonstrated “financial fortitude” and undertook the investigation on his own. The engineer learned that the problems occurred because the subcontractor modified the composition of the lean-mix concrete used for backfill, resulting in the general contractor and the foundation subcontractor paying the extra cost; close to $5 million. The developer insisted that the general contractor also pay for the engineer’s study.

GBA CASE HISTORY 94 (download):

An archaeological firm that was far more astute about technical issues than business issues accepted a one-sided contract for a major project that ran into a variety of difficulties, including a long-simmering feud between the public-agency owner and the public-agency regulator; unexpected soil conditions; and unusually severe weather. The project took five years to complete; one year for the technical activity and four for the litigation, as the firm sought to recover the costs it incurred because of the client’s bureaucratic foot-dragging.

GBA CASE HISTORY 95 (download):

A rack-system supplier retained the GBA-Member Firm to test the welds of a preproduction rack assembly. The welds failed to meet specs and the Member Firm reported that result. The client paid the less-than-$1,500 fee and shortly thereafter retained the firm to test a welder’s qualifications. Three years later, the GBA-Member Firm was sued because of its involvement in the more than $100-million collapse of an automatic rack-storage system. Making matters worse, the collapse killed an employee of the warehouse where the system was installed. A representative of the client lied by saying the Member Firm had approved the qualifications of the welder whose work was faulty. The Member Firm’s documentation, which could have been better, was at least good enough to permit a comprehensive investigation whose findings ultimately helped get the firm off the proverbial hook, but at a cost exceeding $50,000 and many sleepless nights.
GBA Case Histories are FREE to all Members.

Access GBA’s Entire Library of Case Histories: HERE