VIRTUAL Loss Prevention Training Seminar

CalGeo is bringing our popular Loss Prevention Training to the masses this year by going virtual! This means only one date and time for all of California and no hassle with transportation or traffic.

Our 2021 LPS is now an approved course registered with ICC. To certify our professional development even more, CalGeo is now an approved on-line provider with the International Code Council (ICC) and has registered the 2021 Loss Prevention Seminar with the ICC to give attendees 4-hours or 0.4 CEUs.

Technicians and field staff will greatly benefit from attending this seminar held only once a year. We provide (4) hours of professional development on a wide range of topics from field report writing, to QAQC, to legal liability and key areas that geotechnical field staff and inspectors should be proficient and knowledgeable. By training your field technicians and inspectors well, a company can reduce losses due to accidents, miscommunication and poor quality inspection.

We are providing 4-hours of training as normal this year but are very conscious that a long seminar on-line is difficult to maintain attention. To aid attendee engagement, we will provide a 10-minute break between speakers as well as quiz assessments to ensure attentiveness. We will continue with our fun raffle prizes of e-gift cards and have sourced a large and diverse group of speakers to change things up and maintain interest.

Register now for Saturday January 23rd, 2021. Early-bird savings of $15/pp ends December 31, 2020. The seminar is geared towards field staff and technicians, inspectors and young professionals.

Program Overview:

"NICET Level 1 Certification" by NICET panel

"Understanding and Reading Site Plans" by Mary Grace Houlihan, Public Works Director, City of Emeryville & Mike Chan, Project/Construction Manager MNS Engineers, Inc.

"Observation & Testing - Preparation of Field Reports" by Neal Berliner, Geocon

"Troxler E-Gauge Demonstration" by Richard Minor, Troxler(10-minutes)

"Stump the Engineer: Audience Selected Topic Q&A" Panel Discussion with Eric Swenson (Geo-Engineering Solutions), Michael Moscrop (GMU Geotechnical), Ronald Skaggs (Condor Earth) and Neal Berliner (Geocon)

Program Details:

"NICET Level 1 Certification" by NICET panel

NICET certifications serve as a portable credential for technicians and technologists who seek to maximize their skills and knowledge and advance in their profession. By employing technicians who have demonstrated technical mastery, employers can provide higher quality services and the public enjoys a higher degree of safety and protection. 

This presentation will highlight NICET’s certification programs in Construction Materials Testing specialties of Asphalt, Concrete, and Soils. NICET’s career track certification programs were designed for field and laboratory technicians engaged in the testing and inspection of construction materials in each specialty.
The new optional Hands-On Performance Exam modules in Asphalt, Concrete, Soils and Aggregates will also be discussed.

Ahmed Farouki is the Director of Certification Services at the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies (NICET). He spent the last 40 years of his career in the field of roadway, bridge, airport and public works engineering with emphasis on materials evaluation, testing, design, construction, maintenance, research, personnel training and certification. He has a B.Sc. in Materials Engineering and an M.Sc. in Civil Engineering. He manages NICET’s candidate evaluations and certification activities.

Sara Clark is the Manager of Certification Program Development at the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies (NICET) with more than 10 years’ experience in certification test development and maintenance. Sara oversees the development and maintenance activities for NICET’s 13 multi-level career track certification programs in Mechanical, Electrical, and Civil fields.

John Quidley is the President and Senior Quality Consultant with Caliber Consulting Services, LLC. His role has involved helping businesses, serving as their Laboratory & Quality System Consultant, developing quality systems that meet industry standards, and ensure profitability. John is certified as a NICET Level IV Senior Engineering Technician (SET) in Construction Materials Testing Soils, Geotechnical Engineering Construction Inspection, and Geotechnical Engineering Exploration. He is also certified in Construction Materials Testing Asphalt and Concrete.

"Understanding and Reading Site Plans" by Mary Grace Houlihan, Public Works Director, City of Emeryville & Mike Chan, Project/Construction Manager, MNS Engineers, Inc.

Mary Grace is a public infrastructure professional with 30+ years experience in both the public and private sector.  Licensed in the State of California as a Professional Engineer & Land Surveyor she currently works for the City of Emeryville as a Public Works Director. Her goal is to work with agencies and the development community to design and build infrastructure and facilities that meet the needs of community for both today and tomorrow.

Mr. Chan has 37 years of experience in the management of design, construction, operational support, and third-party oversight activities for highway, bridge, rail, and other transportation projects. He is a licensed civil engineer and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a BS in Civil Engineering.  Mike spent 15 years with Caltrans in the Bay Area and was last responsible for the reconstruction of the realigned Interstate 880 Cypress Freeway damaged by the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake.  He then spent 3.5 years as Caltrain’s representative responsible for coordination with BART during the construction of the BART extension to SFO and Millbrae, as well as the  delivery of Caltrain’s Capital Program.

"Observation & Testing - Preparation of Field Reports" by Neal Berliner, Geocon

We are bringing back this presentation again this year as it was so popular and useful. Many experienced technicians walked away with increased knowledge on items pertaining to clear communication, liability and actual phrases/wording to use in their reports.

Mr. Berliner is responsible for the management of Geocon’s technical practice in the greater Los Angeles, Orange County, and Riverside County areas. He began his professional career in 1992, gaining geotechnical engineering experience throughout southern California.

Mr. Berliner started his career working in a soils testing laboratory, followed by years of inspection and testing on construction sites. He is familiar with construction site politics, the need for proper communication between the responsible engineer and field technician/inspector, and is mindful of the importance of a properly detailed inspection and testing report which could cause or prevent the need for a costly construction change order, or potential litigation.

"Troxler E-Gauge Demonstration" by Richard Minor, Troxler(10-minutes)

"Stump the Engineer: Audience Selected Topic Q&A" Panel Discussion with Eric Swenson (Geo-Engineering Solutions), Michael Moscrop (GMU Geotechnical), Ronald Skaggs (Condor Earth) and Neal Berliner (Geocon)

CalGeo is introducing a new session format to close out our Loss Prevention Seminar this year. Attendees will be supplied with a list of 10+ short topics and common questions, how-to's and mistakes at the beginning of the seminar. Using a poll feature in the webinar, attendees can select their topics of interest and the highest ranked topics will be discussed by our panel of experts. Many of CalGeo's board members provide in-house training and advice to their field staff and inspectors each year and now they will share their knowledge with attendees.

Sample topics may include:

• Proper stabilization methods for various soils
• The importance of proper moisture content in clay soil
• The importance of limiting cut/fill differentials across building pads
• Methods of stabilizing the bottom of trenches
• What to do when you are observing an item that does not have a detail or a detail without the proper dimension and specifications?
• What should you do when the contractor has made a field change that is not on the approved plan set?
• What should you do when someone asks for a density test in an un-shored trench?
• When is it ok to use gravel as backfill? How is it placed and how do you test compaction?
• What do you do when you arrive onsite to take density tests and you do not have a Proctor for the soil or base being placed and compacted?

Panel members will include:

Ron Skaggs, Condor Earth - Ron Skaggs has worked in geotechnical engineering and construction materials testing for 30 years and is currently Vice President of Condor Earth. His specialties include pavement rehabilitation, mitigation of expansive soils, construction in contaminated ground conditions.

Michael Moscrop, GMU Geotechnical

Eric Swenson, Geo-Engineering Solutions

Neal Berliner, Geocon

Cost:

Members: $75/pp SAVE $15/pp and register before the end of 2020!

Non-members: $175/pp

Full-time student members: $40/pp

Attendees will receive a link to register for the live webinar as well as access to CalGeo's Online Learning Library course with materials, recordings and assessments for 60-days following the live webcast.

Register Now

Thank you to our generous sponsors!

Click on the logos below to visit their websites and meet during our virtual event.

Sponsorship Opportunities:

$300 Seminar Sponsor Includes:

• 3-minute pre-recorded or live video introduction before the next session/speaker
• Seminar registration for (1) attendee
• Large logo on event webpage, e-mail blasts and all marketing images and posts
• Large logo on event welcome page at login
• Large logo on Online Learning Library course page with recorded sessions (available to paid attendees up to 60-days after seminar date)
• (1) PDF handout available for attendees to download
• List of attendees and contact info for follow-up marketing

Only 4 Seminar Sponsorships available!

$100 Raffle Sponsor Includes:

• Seminar registration for (1) attendee
• Small logo on event webpage, e-mail blasts and all marketing images and posts
• Small logo on event welcome page at login
• Acknowledgement of donation during raffle between each session.
• Opportunity to use branded/customized gift cards to send to winners (may require small fee)

Register and Sponsor CalGeo's LPS