2021 PDH Boot Camp Program

ALL VIRTUAL EVENT

September 17, 2021

	TRACK 1		TRACK 2
TIME	SPEAKER/S	PRESENTATION TITLE	SPEAKER/S	PRESENTATION TITLE
8:00 AM	Joe Duckett	Environmental Concerns and Project Engineering	Leon Jeziorski III, PE, PTOE and Jason Molinero	Allegheny County Road Diet – Springhill Road
9:00 AM	Douglas Clark P.E.	Mining Impacts and Mitigation Measures for Site Development – 2 Case Histories in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania	Charles Gerbe	VFD’s for Pumps-Benefits, Savings, and Limitations
10:00 AM	Nicole Mangino	Choose Your Own Ethics Adventure	Brandon Chavel	Steel Bridges in the 21st Century
11:00 AM	Jeff Tornatore and Andrew Hughes	Terrestrial Remote Sensing: LiDAR Solutions for ADA Compliance	Matt Nieman	Work Plans: Use a single program for tasks, deadlines, hours, and dollars  (this presentation repeated at 3:00 PM)
12:00 Noon	LUNCH BREAK – NO PRESENTATIONS SCHEDULED
1:00 PM	Gennaro Marino	Mine Subsidence: Cause, Effect, Mitigation	John Powers	Patent Law Basics for Engineers
2:00 PM	Brandon Chavel	All You Need to Know About Cross-frames for Steel Bridges	Drew Ference	The Compressed Air System
3:00 PM	Alicia McConnell	UAS Recommendations for PennDOT’s Bridge Inspection Program	Matt Nieman	Work Plans: Use a single program for tasks, deadlines, hours, and dollars

8:00 AM

Joe Duckett, EJD Consulting
Title: Environmental Concerns and Project Engineering
Abstract: Almost every project engineer or manager has to contend with “environmental” factors, which can motivate, restrict, accelerate or justify their projects. We’ll review the complex ways in which environmental issues affect projects and discuss some counter-intuitive real world experiences. We’ll point out the varied skills involved in managing environmental aspects of projects. We’ll suggest several simple steps to successfully streamline the environmental regulatory and approval process, thereby controlling scope, schedule and costs. These steps involve virtually all project participants. Special emphasis will be on air pollution control regulations but other fields of environmental engineering will also be covered (water, wastewater, wetlands, erosion control, etc.).

Leon Jeziorski III, PE, PTOE, Michael Baker International and Jason Molinero, Allegheny County Department of Public Works
Title: Allegheny County Road Diet – Springhill Road
Abstract: “Allegheny County’s road diet project of Springhill Road was executed to provide enhanced pedestrian and bicyclist connectivity along Springhill Road between Natrona, Alsco Community Park, and the neighborhoods and businesses along Freeport Road in Natrona Heights located in northeastern Allegheny County. This project is part of a master plan to expand the Three Rivers Heritage Trail system.
The road diet transitioned a low volume four lane roadway to a two and three lane roadway with a pedestrian and bicycle side path. This was achieved by means of full depth reconstruction of a relocated curb line and by signage, pavement markings, and delineation. The project also improved traffic flow and safety for pedestrians and bicyclists along Springhill Road.”

 

9:00 AM

Douglas Clark P.E., Civil & Environmental Consultants 
Title: Mining Impacts and Mitigation Measures for Site Development – 2 Case Histories in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania 
The Pittsburgh Coal seam is the thickest and most widespread bituminous coal seam in Western Pennsylvania and the surrounding region. Subsurface mining of the seam is prevalent in Allegheny County, and large portions of the developable land in the county is undermined, presenting ground subsidence and development risks that continue today. The presentation will discuss two site development projects that were impacted by abandoned deep mining that was between 25 and 75 feet below the proposed structures. The methods used to investigate the mining conditions, and the different measures taken to mitigate the risk of future damages to the structures due to mine subsidence and other hazards will be presented.

Charles Gerbe, Total Equipment Company
Title: VFD’s for Pumps-Benefits, Savings, and Limitations
Abstract: Presenter will discuss a wide range of topics regarding the application of VFD’s for centrifugal pumps. Key take away will include 1) estimating savings, 2)when VFD should be used vs trimming impellers, 3) predicting off speed performance using Affinity Laws, limitations of VFD’s, and how VFD’s improve reliability.

 

10:00 AM

Nicole Mangino, AXA XL
Title: Choose Your Own Ethics Adventure
Abstract: Participants will review NSPE/ASCE professional rules of ethics. We will discuss the rationale behind the rules and review some real life situations allowing participants to understand the context that ethical issues arise. The “choose your own adventure” will walk participants through options of how to handle real life scenarios and familiarize the with the application of professional responsibility rules applicable to engineers

Brandon Chavel, National Steel Bridge Alliance
Title: Steel Bridges in the 21st Century 
Steel bridges have been designed, fabricated, and constructed for over 100 years, with many centurion steel bridges still in-service today! However, the steel bridges we design and fabricate today are not your parents, your grandparents, or even your great-grandparents bridges. This presentation will address both historic trends, as well as recent innovations and developments in the steel bridge industry, touching on available resources, materials, repair and maintenance strategies, and design advancements that may be a benefit to you on your next steel bridge project.

 

11:00 AM

Jeff Tornatore, and Andrew Hughes, Michael Baker International
Title: Terrestrial Remote Sensing: LiDAR Solutions for ADA Compliance
Abstract: Capitalizing on previous advancements in sensor design and 3D Modeling successes, Mobile LiDAR provides innovative opportunity to support today’s critical infrastructure and ADA assessments while creating a pathway for the sustainable designs of tomorrow. This session will highlight terrestrial remote sensing technology and the innovative solutions to streamline ADA curb ramp and sidewalk compliance assessments and prioritize capital investments via spatial analysis.

Matt Nieman, Borton-Lawson
Title: Work Plans: Use a single program for tasks, deadlines, hours, and dollars
(this presentation will be repeated at 3:00 PM)
Abstract: “Most Project Managers are familiar with Critical-Path-Method (CPM) scheduling using MS Project, Primavera, Asta Powerproject, etc. software.
Regardless of what software you are using the rules of CPM and task sequencing are universal.
If you have built a schedule (created tasks and sequenced them to eachother so that the software calculates dates) and you’re interested in taking these schedules a further; than this demonstration and discussion is for you.
The demonstration (using Microsoft Project) will focus on assigning staff and hours (and thus $/hour) to create a Work Plan that provides more than just Gantt Charts. When resources (staff, sub-consultants, and expenses) are added; it opens up other Reports such as, Projected Cash Flow and Cost-Breakdowns by Discipline.”

 

12:00 Noon – Lunch Break

 

1:00 PM

Gennaro Marino, Marino Engineering Associates, Inc.
Title: Mine Subsidence: Cause, Effect, Mitigation
Abstract: This presentation covers key aspects of mine subsidence engineering, a subject that is not well understood, and embraces a number of engineering disciplines. It focuses on the causes of mine subsidence and how mine stability relates to the resulting ground movements. Different mining and geologic conditions determine the mode of failure of the mine. The mode of mine failure in turn affects the resulting subsidence movement. Prediction of subsidence and damage potential are also key aspects of subsidence engineering. Case histories will be presented which illustrate different ground movement and damage scenarios. This presentation will be presented in a manner that will be understandable to anyone that would be interested in learning more about mine subsidence.

John Powers, Powers IP Law Firm
Title: Patent Law Basics for Engineers 
John Powers will be discussing answers to common questions surrounding patent law, questions concerning both patent procurement and patent enforcement. These include, among others, how long does it take and how much does it cost to procure a patent, how difficult is it to obtain a patent, and what should be kept in mind when filing for a patent.

 

2:00 PM

Brandon Chavel, National Steel Bridge Alliance
Title: All You Need to Know About Cross-frames for Steel Bridges 
Cross-frames and diaphragms are important steel bridge components as they provide stability to primary longitudinal girders and improve lateral or torsional stiffness and strength of the bridge system during construction and in-service. Over the last few years, the steel bridge industry has seen a general increase in the size of cross-frames used in steel I-girder bridges across the country, in terms of both the individual member sizes and the connections themselves, resulting in significant inefficiencies. This presentation will review the design history of cross-frames, and then provide guidance to designers so that they can make better choices regarding cross-frame layouts, type, members, connections as well as loads, analysis, and design.

Drew Ference, Total Equipment Company
Title: The Compressed Air System
Abstract: The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the different technologies, their operation, and application within the compressed air industry. Topics such as oil free, contact cooled, and centrifugal compressors as well as desiccant and refrigerated dryer technologies will be covered. The presentation also discusses storage and controls as well.

 

3:00 PM

Alicia McConnell, Michael Baker International
Title: UAS Recommendations for PennDOT’s Bridge Inspection Program
Abstract: This presentation will summarize the results of PennDOT’s UAS research by testing six airframes for bridge inspection capabilities. Participants will benefit from this program’s lessons learned, as more owners look to leverage this new technology and implement similar programs to better manage their bridge assets.

Matt Nieman, Borton-Lawson
Title: Work Plans: Use a single program for tasks, deadlines, hours, and dollars
Abstract: “Most Project Managers are familiar with Critical-Path-Method (CPM) scheduling using MS Project, Primavera, Asta Powerproject, etc. software.
Regardless of what software you are using the rules of CPM and task sequencing are universal.
If you have built a schedule (created tasks and sequenced them to eachother so that the software calculates dates) and you’re interested in taking these schedules a further; than this demonstration and discussion is for you.
The demonstration (using Microsoft Project) will focus on assigning staff and hours (and thus $/hour) to create a Work Plan that provides more than just Gantt Charts. When resources (staff, sub-consultants, and expenses) are added; it opens up other Reports such as, Projected Cash Flow and Cost-Breakdowns by Discipline.”