e.Geo May 2018

May e.Geo

May 2018

In this issue:

You're going to want one later, so fill out your salary survey NOW!
Prevailing wage breakfast seminars are coming up - Register today
June Regional Meetings - Montecito Mudslides
Annual conference recap
Augmented Reality (AR) in Santa Rosa
Outstanding Project Awards: Winners Announced!
Member Highlight: Siamak Jafroudi
Who's New at CalGeo?
Upcoming events - register now!

Salary Survey Time

If our job-board is anything to go by, California is in desperate need of geo-professionals. Organizations must be competitive with salaries and benefits to keep their staff.

This is the tool you need to do exactly that. We are extending the deadline and giving you 2 more weeks to complete the salary survey. The more we get in, the better the results will be. Start now to avoid our annoying phone calls later!

NEW DEADLINE: May 18th!

Attached to this e-mail please find the 2017 CalGeo Salary Survey Template. Please forward this template to your HR department or the correct person to complete the survey.

"Ugh! But this takes so long..." - we know your frustration with the time required to fill out the information. We've tried to make it as easy as possible by using Excel and redesigning the template as of last year. We appreciate your efforts to put this essential document together.

Rewards! If you complete the salary survey for your organization and return it to [email protected] by May 15, 2018 you will receive a printed hard copy mailed to you as soon as we have compiled the results. (It will be mailed to the person noted on the front of the spreadsheet)

Benefits: CalGeo's salary survey is a detailed summary of salaries, benefits and bonuses for everyone in your organization.

7-different experience levels for engineers, geologists and environmental personnel.
4-levels of experience for soil & lab technicians.
4-geographical zones across California.
Yearly salary, bonuses, qualifications AND benefits summarized.
Essential tool for performance reviews!

Regrets: If you are unable to complete the survey, the cost to purchase one is $500. Don't let the time slip away - get yours in today and save $500!!

Prevailing Wage Update - REGISTER NOW

Virtually each year this decade, California's state and local lawmakers have enacted some new prevailing wage legislation, and 2017 was no different. New laws taking effect in 2018 will directly impact contractors, governments and developers of public works projects, such as AB 1701 which expands contractors' liability for the unpaid wages and benefits of their subcontractors, and SB 96, which creates a host of new and potentially costly liabilities for contractors, developers and public entities.

CalGeo has partnered with Littler Law firm this year to present an update on state PWL developments. Our speaker, Van Allyn Goodwin, will discuss the past year's legislative and administrative developments, and offer preventive measures and practical suggestions for complying with California's ever-changing PWL.

The topics will include:

New and pending legislation amending the PWL, including AB 1701, SB 96, and other statutes expanding the reach of the PWL
Other laws impacting contractors and creating prevailing wage compliance challenges
The increasingly vigorous enforcement of public works apprenticeship requirements and strategies for compliance
Recent trends, including the expansion of prevailing wage requirements beyond public works
Compliance conundrums
Important preventive measures and practical recommendations

Program: 7:30am Breakfast & registration, 8:00-9:30am Seminar. Short and sweet and get on with your day!

Cost: $60 Members, $75 Non-members

Registration Deadline of May 14th for Irvine is only 10-days away!!

June Regional Meetings - Montecito Mudslides

Enjoy a night out with your peers this June and join us for our next regional dinner meeting. Our presenter will be Chris Doolittle from the County of Santa Barbara, Public Works.

On January 8 and 9, just a month after the Thomas Fire began and subsequently burned much of the area above Montecito and Carpinteria, the South Coast's first major winter storm triggered widespread mudslides and debris flows, destroying dozens of homes and leading to multiple fatalities.

During the Thomas Fire Debris Flow within Montecito and surrounding areas, Chris was on one of the first inspection teams sent into the disaster zone to assess the damage, report back on anticipated work, and begin directing construction crews on debris removal activities. He is presenting information on the debris flow event as well as his experiences being directly in the debris removal activities during the event and the continuing activities to repair infrastructure.

Chris received his Bachelor of Science degree in Geology with an emphasis in engineering and hydrology from the University of California Santa Barbara. He is licensed as a Professional Geologist and Certified Engineering Geologist in the State of California. Chris was awarded the County of Santa Barbara Employee of the Month in August 2015.

June 12 NorCal Regional Dinner Meeting with AEG-SF Chapter, Agrodulce Restaurant, Berkeley

June 13 OC Regional Dinner Meeting, Pacific Hills Bistro, Laguna Hills

June 14 SoCal Regional Dinner Meeting, Victorio's Restaurant North Hollywood

Cost: $45 CalGeo & AEG-SF members, $60 Non-members.

Details: Meetings will begin at 6:00pm for registration and social networking. Dinner will be at 6:30pm with the presentation to follow.

Annual Conference Recap & Save the Date

Thank you to everyone that attended our annual conference and short courses in Santa Rosa! It was a great success and we are excited to announce next year's conference in San Diego!! We will be reconvening at the Kona Kai Resort on Shelter Island and can't wait to bring in more fantastic speakers.

If you didn't get a chance, please complete our conference attendee survey to help us make 2019 the best yet!

Our general membership meeting workshop brought up lots of great feedback and ideas and we are actively working on bringing more student involvement, webinars and on-line content to our members.

We would also like to thank our students who attended, participated in our poster competion and also volunteered to help make the event run smoothly.

Don't forget to mark your calendars to join us in San Diego April 10-12, 2019!

Rocscience debuts augmented reality in Santa Rosa

Conference attendees were treated to a cool demonstration at our Annual Conference last month when Rocscience, the developers of software for slope stability analysis, allowed attendees to play around with their augmented reality (AR) headset.

The Rocscience HoloLens Extension to Slide3 and RS3 combines the immersive qualities of Augmented Reality (AR) into their 3D modelling products. This is achieved through integration with Microsoft HoloLens, the leading headset in the AR market.

Users can simply select the geometry they want to visualize and click a button to export it to the headset. The model is now “in the room” and can be “found” and “viewed” by anyone wearing the headset. Because it uses AR, HoloLens superimposes the image of the model over the real world that remains visible through the lens. This gives the wearer the feeling of immersing themselves in the model and experiencing it “live” without losing sense of their actual surroundings.

For more information, click here to view a PDF describing the AR HoloLens and its application with Rocscience software.

Outstanding Project Awards: Winners Announced!

We are pleased to announce that JC Baldwin Construction, a CalGeo Affiliate member, was the winner of this year's Outstanding Project Award in the private, medium budget category ($100k-$500k).

The winning project was their Bluff Stabilization and Sea Wall Construction at Martin Resorts Shore Cliff Lodge, Pismo Beach, California. (top picture shows erosion of bluff before stabilization, bottom photo is during construction)

TerraCosta Consulting Group (TCG) and J.C. Baldwin Construction (JCB) teamed together to provide design/build services to stabilize the bluffs behind the Shore Cliff Lodge in Pismo Beach, California. The project was completed in August of 2016, having been performed in 10 months, and consisted of three tied-back, shotcrete Sea Walls and reconstruction of a collapsed section of bluff with GeoWebb and compacted fill. The project was necessary to stabilize the bluffs which had eroded over the years, exposing a series of existing concrete caissons, and was essential to maintain the long-term stability of the bluffs, prevent further erosion and enhance public access to the bluff areas.

Danny Cohen, a past president of CalGeo, was in attendance to accept their award. Congratulations!

As for the other winners... stay tuned to our next e.Geo as we will feature one winning project a month.

Don't miss out on your chance to receive an Outstanding Project Award next year in San Diego. Any projects completed in 2018 can be submitted for consideration next January during the open application process.

Member Highlight: Dr. Siamak Jafroudi, Petra Geosciences

Dr. Siamak Jafroudi has more than 44 years of professional experience in geotechnical engineering. His area of specialization is material characterization in relation to slope stability evaluation, liquefaction analysis, pavement design, collapse potential, earth retaining structures and earthquake engineering. Dr. Jafroudi's experience encompasses the design and supervision of a multitude of soil mechanics laboratory tests and drilling programs.

He has served as a Senior Principal Engineer on several key projects for schools, university and college districts, public agencies, transportation agencies, residential and commercial developers, as well as private-sector clients. Dr. Jafroudi is a Registered Geotechnical Engineer (GE) and a Registered Civil Engineer (PE), all in the state of California, and a Geotechnical Diplomate (D.GE) with The Academy of Geo-Professionals. Additionally, he is an active member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE-GeoInstitute), the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) and is a Past President of the Board of Directors for CalGeo.

Who's new at CalGeo?

We are pleased to welcome the following new members to CalGeo! Please take a moment to welcome them at our next event.

Organizational Members: