4:00 PM (1.0 PDH)
Professional Practice Update/EthicsPresented by Rick Valdes with Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
BIO: Rick Valdes is a Supervising Investigator with the Compliance & Enforcement Department, Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (TBPELS). He has over 30 years of experience as an investigator with the State of Texas; 18 of those years with the board. As an investigator, Rick ensures that the TPBELS act and board rules are followed and investigates complaints that are received by the board regarding violations to the act and/or board rules. Rick has worked for the Travis County Sheriff’s Department, and the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and while there was the program manager of professional boxing for the State of Texas. Additionally, Rick was also the supervising investigator for the Texas Real Estate Commission before joining our team. Rick earned a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Southwest Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas, in 1986,
ABSTRACT: Rick Valdes will discuss updates on engineering and surveying ethics and code of conduct. Also discussed will be TBPELS activities, rule and statutory changes, and general updates on board initiatives.
5:00 PM (1.0 PDH)
Assessing Drilled Shaft Capacity When Anomalies are Found
Presented by Brandon Phetteplace, P.E. with GRL Engineers, Inc.
BIO: Brandon Phetteplace joined GRL in 2008 as a co-opstudent and became a project engineer upon his 2009 graduation from Case Western Reserve University with a B.S. in Civil Engineering. Brandon has a second B.S. in Physics, from the State University of New York at Fredonia. He spent six years in the Midwest working for the Ohio branch office before opening the Texas branch office in 2015. He has performed deep foundation testing throughout the US and in over ten countries spanning from South America to Asia. He has achieved Expert level on the PDI-PDCA Proficiency Test and is a registered professional engineer in the states of Arkansas, Ohio, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Texas.
ABSTRACT: GRL Engineers will present on High Strain Dynamic Testing (ASTM D4945) of Drilled Shafts and ACIP foundations that have anomalies indicated by either Thermal Integrity Profiling (TIP) testing or Crosshole Sonic Logging (CSL) testing. GRL utilizes drop weight systems (APPLE) to impact the foundations and measure the stress wave response. From these responses, measured via strain gages and accelerometers, the compressive capacity and integrity of the foundation element can be evaluated. Projects of interest will be focused in the gulf coast region.