ASTM Standards Updates – Sep/Oct

October 22, 2008 rockman Comments Off

ASTM Logo For those of you are interested, there were a number of ASTM standards updated in the last two months that apply to geotechnical engineering, soils testing, concrete, aggregate and other materials testing topics. Unfortunately the only way to see what changed is to buy the updated standards. If there are any significant changes that affect the state of the practice in our industry, I hope someone will let us know and we can post a summary here on GeoPrac for the benefit of all. In the mean time, I only highlight newly approved standards or re-approved standards, not work items. Click through for a list.

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Changes in Geotechnical Engineering Practice in Arizona

March 7, 2008 rockman Comments Off

[Editor] Note: NCS Consultants, LLC is Randy Post’s full time employer…ie. my day job! [/Editor]

There are some significant changes being made to the state of the practice in geotechnical engineering in Arizona. NCS Consultants, LLC has prepared three policy memoranda for the Arizona Department of Transportation or ADOT that have been issued to consultants all over the State. These memos are on the topics of bearing capacity and settlement of spread footings and retaining walls, the design of drilled shaft foundations in gravelly soils, and the preparation of drilled shaft axial capacity charts for use by bridge engineers.

Although primarily applicable to upcoming ADOT projects implementing the AASHTO 2007 LRFD code, the memos will have a ripple effect down through other local agencies within the state who frequently defer to ADOT guidelines for geotechnical engineering. Also, the memos and the ADOT/NCS approach to LRFD implementation in geotechnical engineering were presented by NCS at the 2008 TRB Conference in Washington D.C., and many other state DOTs and the FHWA were very excited about the memos. The approach used if not the exact content may become a model for other agencies. More info and links to download the policy memoranda are provided after the break.

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AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications – 2008 Interims Released

March 4, 2008 rockman Comments Off

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) just released the 2008 interims for the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications, Customary U.S. Units, 4th Edition. These specifications govern the design of foundations for federal and state highway projects. As soon as we find out if there are any significant changes with respect to bridge foundations or retaining walls, we’ll let you know.

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US House Passes National Tunnel Inspection Program

January 25, 2008 rockman Comments Off

The US House of Representatives passed legislation approving a national tunnel inspection program. This of course came about as a result of a fatal accident from 2006 in a tunnel on Boston’s Big Dig project where a concrete ceiling tile fell on a car killing one person. More after the break.

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ASFE: Fighting Back Against Expert Witnesses

November 16, 2007 rockman Comments Off

The ASFE website has an interesting article on the ethics involved in expert witness testimony. They have been at the forefront of that arena since the publication of Recommended Practices for Design Professionals Engaged in the Resolution of Construction Industry Disputes, a document endorsed by 37 major organizations. The most interesting part in my mind was how they point out the role of an expert witness is to provide an opinion as to whether the standard of care was followed or not. According to ASFE, many expert witnesses do not do the necessary research to determine what the standard of care is. More…

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ASTM Updates June 9 through July 9

July 11, 2007 rockman Comments Off

Here are some revised ASTM standards and work items that pertain to geotechnical engineering, pavement, construction QC/QA, and laboratory testing etc. Of special interest to some of you might be the revised standard for moisture and density testing using a nuclear density gauge or nuke gauge, ASTM D6938. There are a bunch of others as well.

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ASTM Standards and Work Items

June 6, 2007 rockman Comments Off

An update on some new and revised standards and new work items from ASTM.

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Lawsuit could prohibit geologists from making maps

May 31, 2007 rockman Comments Off

On his blog, Arizona State Geologist, Lee Allison reports: A lawsuit filed against the federal government by four trade associations could prohibit geologists, geographers, and many other professionals from making maps using federal funds, according […]

Updated ASTM Standards and Work Items

April 17, 2007 rockman Comments Off

ASTM has released some updated standards. From here on out, I will post a list of some of the ones that are related to our fields. Sometimes their relativity may be a stretch, but I’ll let you folks decide. This time around one that caught my eye was D4719 – Standard Test Method for Prebored Pressuremeter Testing in Soils. Read on for links and a full list.

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Standards and Codes