In this issue:
- Last chance to register for the Annual Conference today!
- Bring an EP and save $250
- Speaker Spotlight: Litigation in the limelight
- Speaker Spotlight: My Sources say...
- Short Course Bonanza
- LPILE Sacramento
- Slope-W comes to California
- Member News
- New Members
- Upcoming Events
Last Chance: Register for our Annual Conference today!
Register for CalGeo's conference today - Single day registrations are also available. Join us for some excellent key-note speakers, topics you NEED to know about, good food and great people.
Find out why CalGeo's conference is the most FUN, INTERESTING and POPULAR event in the geotechnical community.
Download our Conference Brochure to get all the details on topics and speakers! Keep your eyes on your mail as we'll be sending out conference flyers and postcards shortly. Please distribute these around your office to make sure everyone is "in the know".
Thinking of attending our Annual Conference April 10-12, 2019? Here are a couple reasons why you shouldn't miss it:
- Great hotel and location - make it a getaway! No more Saturday sessions lets you enjoy San Diego for the weekend.
- Everything's included: 2 Breakfasts, 2 Lunches, 2 Reception style dinners and 1 Banquet dinner. We don't nickle and dime you for tickets to everything.
- We're growing: Out membership is growing and so is attendance at our events.
- Quality key-note speakers: We are bringing in knowledgeable speakers to cover the topics California's Geotechnical Engineers want. All speakers get an hour to dive deeper into their topic.
- Mix and mingle: Enjoy great food and drinks and network with suppliers, peers and students. Groom your new hires from our talented student chapter attendees. Plus we're a fun group!
- Short courses: Send some staff members to the short courses April 9th and 10th to invest in their knowledge and training. Or attend them yourself and make the trip worth your time and money. Limited space: THESE WILL SELL OUT!
REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS March 18, 2018: This is also the deadline to book your hotel room at the Kona Kai Resort. Late registration fees for conference go into effect after this date and are based on availability.

Bring an EP to our Conference and Save $250!
To encourage more companies to send younger emerging professionals to events that will increase their technical and overall industry knowledge, we are introducing a new program for our conference in 2019.
Register one attendee at full price and bring an EP to save $250!
Here's how it works: Register at least one attendee from your company at full price ($900 until Feb. 10th) and you can bring an emerging professional (EP) from your company for only $650 - you SAVE $250 off their registration! And you invest in the future of your firm by showing commitment to their personal growth and leadership training.
Step 1: Register someone from your firm for the conference
Step 2: Select "Register Linked Profile" or "Register Guest" to add an additional registrant.
Step 3: Select "Add an EP" in the registration field.
Speaker Spotlight: Litigation in the Limelight
What is everyone's biggest fear now-a-days? Liability? Law suits? Accidents? At this year's Annual Conference we are doubling down and bringing in not one, but two construction defect attorneys to give us a spirited debate on take on a case history of a "simple" elementary school paving project. Learn how poor contracts, site observation and lack of client communication can lead to a host of pitfalls including risk management, indemnity and injuries.

Mr. Broghammer is an attorney specializing in the representation of design professionals in contract formation and litigation. Following admission to the California Bar in 1990, his practice area has focused on Civil Litigation with a particular emphasis on the representation of architects and engineers. John advises and counsels design professionals in all aspects of contract preparation, risk allocation and insurance issues.

Mr. Scoffield is a partner at Evans, Wieckowski, Ward & Scoffield LLP and has received an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the national directory of lawyers. This is the highest possible rating an attorney can receive, indicating preeminent levels of professionalism and the utmost ethical standards. Mr. Scoffield focuses his litigation practice in the area of construction litigation, mechanics liens, stop notices and related bond claims for private and public construction projects, premises liability, real property claims, business litigation, and insurance coverage for personal and commercial liability carriers.
Economic Outlook: My Sources say...
What is the next most important issue on every business owner and construction professional's mind? Why the economy of course! Join us Friday afternoon April 12th as we learn our fate with Dr. Eyler of Sonoma State University.
Dr. Eyler will provide a forecast of the US and California economies starting with global issues down through how different regions of California are performing. With elections over, and more on the way, where is California headed. How are housing and labor markets doing regionally throughout California? Will current forecasts change as 2019 rolls along? What pressure will interest rates rising have on forecasts for 2019 to 2022? Dr. Eyler shares his insights on macroeconomic data, housing and labor markets, California’s experiments with legal cannabis and longer term issues to affect the state and national economies.
Dr. Robert Eyler is President of Economic Forensics and Analytics, specializing in public policy analysis for firms and governments. He is also Dean of the School of Extended and International Education and Professor of Economics at Sonoma State University. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis and a B.A. in Economics at CSU, Chico. He is often called up by the media for his expertise, and for legal clients acts as an expert witness and forensic economist. Robert is a Sonoma County native, and his family have been sheep and cattle ranchers in Marin and Sonoma counties since 1910.
Short Course Bonanza April 9-10, 2019
Ownership/Leadership Transition seminar
Presented by PSMJ (includes lunch) April 9, 10am - 4pm @ Kona Kai Resort, San Diego
Time and time again, PSMJ research shows that transition planning is one of the biggest long-term challenges facing A/E/C firm leaders. Many are struggling to answer the question of who will run their firm tomorrow.
But, instead of taking action to develop and implement a proven transition plan, too many firm leaders are putting it off...instead staying focused on near-term client demands, keeping backlog high, and other day-to-day priorities. However, ignoring transition planning puts the firm's capitalization, clients, and employees in great jeopardy...to say nothing of the evaporating shareholder value that is a near certainty.
For more than 40 years, PSMJ's transition planning experts have been helping A/E/C firm leaders to avoid the land mines and capitalize on the proven strategies that work to manage affordability, leadership development, and all of the other facets of this complex challenge. Many of these ACTUAL transition planning mistakes that we've helped to fix or manage likely seemed innocuous at the time, but the impact was severe.
Cost:
Members: $500 Early bird before Feb. 10, $650 after. Non-members: $750 early bird before Feb. 10, $900 after.
Mission Impossible MMXIX: Understanding The California Prevailing Wage Law
Presented by Van Allyn Goodwin of Litter Law (includes lunch) April 9, 10am - 2pm @ Kona Kai Resort, San Diego
This extended seminar will include a discussion of The Basics (what is the prevailing wage requirement, when does it apply, and to whom must prevailing wage be paid) It will cover the topics and answer questions pertaining to
- The collection of soil samples and any work performed by an engineer, off-site and lab work
- Certified Payroll Reporting (what and when it is required, what must be included, electronic submission, registration of the project and as a “public work contactor,” and responding to requests for CPRs by awarding bodies and “members of the public”)
- Apprenticeship Requirements (when does it apply, what does it entail, what is the ratio, to whom are Training Contributions payable, etc.)
- Compliance Options and Strategies (how to satisfy the prevailing wage rate and apprenticeship requirements, classification/mis-classification issues, etc.).
This will be followed by “a deeper dive into the intricacies of the California Prevailing Wage Law,” including:
- An interactive discussion of new developments such as AB 3018 and the “Skilled and Trained Workforce” requirement (what it means, when it applies and how it can be satisfied, and how can non-union firms comply)
- Project Labor Agreements
- Municipal ordinances, resolutions and contracting policies adding prevailing wage requirements and/or requiring project labor agreements
- Prevailing wage developments beyond those that apply to public works projects.
- New sexual harassment prevention training requirement that applies to California employers with 5 or more employees
Cost:
Members: $135 Early bird before Feb. 10, $150 after. Non-members: $225 early bird before Feb. 10, $250 after.
Slope Stability short course
Presented by Rocscience April 10, 8am - 12pm @ Kona Kai Resort, San Diego
Rocscience is back with their popular half-day short course on 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional slope stability analysis.
The objective of this course is to provide a background on numerical modelling for slope stability analysis using various Rocscience software tools (Slide, RS2, Slide3). Get the most out of the Rocscience slope stability suite through a balanced mixture of lectures and hands-on computer analysis using practical examples collected over the years.
Please bring a laptop with Rocscience software or download a trial version ahead of time.
*Lunch is included for all-day short course attendees 12pm - 1:30pm
Cost:
Members: $180, Full-day bundle with CPT course $340 (includes lunch!). Non-members: $300, Full-day bundle with CPT course $550 (includes lunch)
CPeT-IT and CLiq short course and worked examples
Presented by Dr. Peter K. Robertson April 10, 1:30pm - 5pm @ Kona Kai Resort, San Diego
Dr. Robertson will be demonstrating two software programs used to interpret CPT data through example data and case histories. This is a hands-on demonstration so please bring a laptop with the software or a trial version installed. Visit Geologismiki's website to download a free trial.
CPeT-IT takes Cone Penetration Test raw data and performs basic interpretation in terms of Soil Behaviour Type (SBT) and various other geotechnical parameters using the current published correlations based on the comprehensive review by Lunne, Robertson and Powell (1997), as well as recent updates by Professor Robertson.
CLiq is a soil liquefaction software that addresses advanced issues such as cyclic softening in clay-like soils and thin layer/layer transition zone detection. CLiq provides results and plots for each calculation step, starting with the basic CPT data interpretation through to final plots of factor of safety, liquefaction potential index and post-earthquake displacements, both vertical settlement and lateral displacements. CLiq provides consistent output results by applying the state-of-the-art NCEER method (Youd et al, 2001) along with the calibrated procedures for post-earthquake displacements by Zhang et al (2002 & 2004). It also includes the latest assessment procedure developed by Robertson (2009) which is applicable to all soil type combining a check for cyclic liquefaction (sands) and cyclic softening (clays).
Cost:
Members: $180, Full-day bundle with CPT course $340 (includes lunch!). Non-members: $300, Full-day bundle with CPT course $550 (includes lunch)
**Welcome reception (Wednesday 6-8pm) ticket can be purchased for an additional fee. Please join us!
LPILE 1/2 Day Workshop - Sacramento
Please join us on Friday morning for breakfast and a half-day (7am-12pm) revised short course on LPILE software provided by Ensoft.
We listened to your feedback after our 2018 full day course and have worked closely with Ensoft to revise the seminar to make it more hands-on, example based and really get you using the software. Space will be limited to allow for more hands-on instruction and Q&A so please register early.
The speaker will also spend 30-mins introducing the new PYWALL v2019.
Cost: $250 for CalGeo members, $375 non-members
Want to join? Contact Kelly Cabal for information on becoming a member!
Thank you to Ensoft, our new Affiliate member for donating their time to prepare this specific course for CalGeo members after requests for a example and case-based seminar on the LPILE software. Ensoft provides one, two and three-day seminars in Austin Texas starting at $560/day if you are interested deepening your knowledge with their software program.
Click here for more information
About the Software:
LPILE is arguably the most advanced software for analyzing the response of any deep foundation element under lateral loads. The new LPILE v2019 introduces the concept of "Equivalent Elastoplastic Moment Curvature," a definition used by engineers and consultants in seismic areas (based in technical documentation from CALTRANS) to define the formation of plastic hinges in piles analyzed under extreme loading or for push-over analyses. The post-hinge behavior is clearly defined in the deflection curves for pushover models. LPILE v2019 also introduces the ability to open data files with complete soil layering and properties defined by the new EnCPT v2019 program. This separate program allows geotechnical consultants to offer to their clients new services for detailed interpretation of their CPT tests into various layering and soil properties that can be used quickly and customized in LPILE v2019 models. Finally, LPILE v2019 allows the optional input of a nonlinear moment-vs-rotation curve at the pile tip that can be used to account for the response of short or very large diameter piles. A new 3D View graphics is produced to more easily observe and present LPILE models and main results.
Slope-W 1/2 Day Workshop SoCal & NorCal
Presented by Chris Kelln, PhD, P.Eng., Vice President of Engineering
We are bringing down Chris Kellen, the VP of Engineering at GEOSLOPE International for this 1/2 day short course and hands-on workshop on their popular software program, Slope-W.

This half-day workshop will focus on slope stability analysis using SLOPE/W, with an emphasis on integrating pore-water pressures and stresses from SEEP/W and SIGMA/W, respectively. Topics will include an overview of the software user interface, a brief review of limit equilibrium theory and convergence, and the stability analysis of geotechnical structures in response to transient pore-water pressure changes. Other topics will include modeling reinforcement and an introduction to GeoStudio 3D (time permitting). Attendees will be provided with a 30-day activation license along with the necessary resources for hands-on exercises.
GEOSLOPE normally offers workshops that follow a 2-day or 3-day format, covering SLOPE/W & SEEP/W + SIGMA/W (3-day), but as your time is valuable we are condensing the course and focusing just on Slope-W for this half-day course.
Class will be limited to 60 attendees.
Registration will include a hot breakfast, morning break and parking at the hotel.
SoCal Workshop: May 22, 7am-12pm Embassy Suites, Glendale
NorCal Workshop: May 23, 7am-12pm Hyatt House, Pleasanton (1 mile from Dublin/Pleasanton BART station)
Cost:
$150 CalGeo Members, $225 Non-members.
Register by clicking the location links above.
Member News
CalGeo's Member News section: where member firms can submit updates and press releases.

Geotechnical & Certified Lab Business for SALE
BUSINESS FOR SALE asking price $ 250,000. Specializing in Soil Engineering operating for more than 22 years. CERITIFED Soil Lab. The business is operated in Palmdale. Owner is retiring, at one time there were 9 employees. The real property is also listed for sale, you can follow the attached link to view property information. There is a Lender who specialized in Business Financing- Rodney Borges at Plumas Bank 530-283-7305. SBA Financing may be available to purchase both the Business and the Real Property- SBA specialist Kelvin Davis 818-341-4661. All inquiries are Welcome Thank you for your consideration- Gail Kopp Real Estate Broker Associate DRE# 01059833 direct line 661- 250-8677 Cell Phone 661-313-4062. View listing online >>
Slope Creep Instrumentation Data Needed
Help out a local PhD. Candidate looking for data from slope creep instrumentation for his dissertation on Normal and Customary Slope Creep. Please e-mail Andre Hawks if you have any leads! Andre will be at CalGeo's Annual Conference this April.
Welcome CalGeo's Newest Members
Please welcome our newest Affiliate member who will be attending our 2019 Annual Conference in San Diego:

RamJack Pacific, serving San Diego and surrounding areas & NorCal Ram Jack, serving the Sacramento to Santa Rosa area and beyond.
Ram Jack Pacific is a name you can trust for commercial, industrial, and residential foundation inspection and repair services in San Diego and El Cajon. We have in-house engineers, can fabricate custom products, and offer long-lasting solutions. Our team specializes in foundation recovery, stabilization, and repair—we are here for all your foundation services in San Diego, El Cajon, and beyond. More than that, we make sure you never have to deal with the same problem twice when we are on the job. We do things right the first time!
Ram Jack has over 40 years of experience helping customers with their foundation repairs – trust us, we know what we’re doing! Our Sacramento foundation experts have a comprehensive understanding of the trade and can help recover the foundation integrity of a building. Our in-house engineers are always pushing the envelope in repair methods and technology. NorCal Ram Jack serves Vacaville, Santa Rosa, Fairfield, and surrounding areas!
The e.Calendar & Upcoming Events - The Geo-Calendar
Please note: There will be no November Emerging Professional Meeting due to Thanksgiving
Quick Browse: SoCal events in ORANGE, NorCal events in GREEN
April 9, 2019 10am-2pm: Prevailing Wage Workshop, San Diego
April 9, 2019 10am-4pm: Ownership Transition Short Course, San Diego
April 10, 2019 8am-12pm: Rocscience Slope Stability Software Short Course, San Diego
April 10, 2019 1:30-5pm: CPT Interpretation using CPeT-IT and Cliq by Dr. Peter K. Robertson, San Diego
April 10-12, 2019: Annual Conference, San Diego
April 16, 2019: ASCE Cross Country Lecture Series: Prof. Paul Mayne, UC San Diego
April 17, 2019: ASCE-Geo Institute Los Angeles Chapter 42nd Annual Spring Seminar @ Queen Mary, Long Beach
May 3, 2019 7:30am-12pm: LPILE 1/2 day Short Course by Ensoft, Sacramento
May 22, 2019 7:30am-12pm: Slope-W 1/2 day Short Course by GEOSLOPE International, Glendale
May 23, 2019 7:30am-12pm: Slope-W 1/2 day Short Course by GEOSLOPE International, Pleasanton
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