More than 350 deep foundation professionals attended SuperPile ’17 on June 14-16, 2017, at Loews Coronado Bay Resort, Coronado, Calif.
This conference, hosted by DFI in partnership with ADSC, was supported by nine DFI Technical Committees: Augered Cast-in-Place Piles, Drilled Shafts, Driven Piles, Ground Improvement, Helical Piles and Tiebacks, Marine Foundations, Micropiles, Seismic and Lateral Loads, and Testing and Evaluation.
The event featured 45 technical presentations on pile design and construction, nearly 70 exhibits of innovative technologies and services, committee and working group meetings, and networking events.
A feature of this year’s SuperPile conference was the focus on safety throughout all aspects of geotechnical construction work. During the plenary sessions, six presentations were delivered that highlighted concerns and risks associated with working platforms and heavy equipment operation, specific concerns with the installation of drilled displacement piles, designing for safety on deep foundations and earth retention projects, and the issues pertaining to integrity testing and QC/QA programs. During the parallel sessions, one track was devoted to safety and presentations were delivered on lifting and handling of rebar cages, drill rig and driven pile safety, installation of helical piles, and mobile crane operations.
Highlights of SuperPile ’17 included the presentation of two DFI Lectures and Awards. The Osterberg Memorial Lecture, “Lessons (Re)learned from Geotechnical Failures,” was delivered by Professor Richard Finno, Ph.D., P.E., D.GE, of Northwestern University. The 2017 Ben C. Gerwick Award for Innovation in Design and Construction of Marine Foundations was presented to Robert B. Bittner, P.E., of Bittner-Shen Consulting Engineers and past DFI president, for his body of work to advance the technology of deep foundations.
SuperPile ’18 will be held June 26-29, 2018, at the New York Marriott Marquis in New York, NY.
Visit www.dfi-superpile.org for event photos and to download or purchase SuperPile ’17 conference proceedings.
