Volume 7, Issue 2 June 2022

Report from USA

Geotechnical and Foundation Engineering Societies andIndustry Associations in the United States (Part 2)
Takefumi Takuma
GIKEN LTD., c/o Giken America Corporation
There are multiple geotechnical and foundation engineering societies as well as related industry associations based inthe United States. Giken America Corp. and some of its employees, including the author, have joined these societies andhave been participating in some committee activities. As the second article of the series on these societies, let us look atthe Pile Driving Contractors Association (PDCA).
This U.S.-based industry association has the following motto since its inception.
“A driven pile is a tested pile!”
It was founded in 1996 by a group of pile driving contractors and related suppliers in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and someother countries to have it represent the pile driving industry and to promote the use of driven piles, such as pipe piles,
sheet piles, precast concrete, and timber piles.
PDCA’s webpage says, “The Pile Driving Contractors Association (PDCA) is an organization of pile driving contractors that
advocates the increased use of driven piles for deep foundations and earth retention systems. To do this, we:

Promote the use of driven pile solutions in all cases where they are effective.
Support educational programs for engineers on the design and efficiency of driven piles and for contractors on
improving installation procedures.
Encourage and support research that will improve the reliability, usefulness, and cost effectiveness of driven piles.
Give contractors a larger voice in establishing procedures and standards for the installation and design of drivenpiles.”

PDCA’s webpage: https://www.piledrivers.org/about-pdca/
Pile driving contractors can join the PDCA as contractor members, while material and equipment suppliers like Giken
America Corp. can join as associate members and engineering consulting companies as engineering affiliates. The makeupof the membership is 35% contractors, 35% associates, and 30% engineering affiliates. The PDCA is primarily based on
corporate memberships while it does have individual-based membership categories for interested individuals in academia,
government agencies, retirees, and students although they are small in numbers. The members, regardless of which
categories they are in, can join any of the following committees and participate in their missions on a volunteer basis (anapplicant needs to follow a certain process to be admitted, however).
Associate Members Council, Communications, Contracts & Risk, Education, Membership, Safety & Environmental, Steel
Sheet Pile, and Technical.
The author and some of his colleagues are active in the Associate Members Council, Steel Sheet Pile, and TechnicalCommittees. As an example of the fruit of these committees’ activities, the Steel Sheet Pile Committee compiled three
Sheet Pile Guides, i.e., “Sheet Pile Installation Guide”, “Steel Sheet Pile Corrosion Guide”, and “Retaining Wall Cost
Comparison Guide”. Use the following link to purchase these guides at a nominal fee (free for members).
URL: https://www.piledrivers.org/pdca-technical-library/sheet-pile-guides/
In addition to the above-mentioned guides, one might be interested in checking the “Noise & Vibration Database”,“Hammer Database & Guide”, and other piling related information also available in the “Technical Library” section of its
webpage. Most of them are free to access.
Chapters are geographically organized groups of the members for their local networking and pursuit of common goals for16

Volume 7, Issue 2 June 2022
the regions. The following Chapters are currently active;
Gulf Coast, Northeast, Texas, Pacific Coast, and South Carolina.
The PDCA holds annual conferences and other seminars, such as “Annual Design and Installation of Cost-Efficient PilesConference”, “Deep Foundation Dynamic Testing & Analysis Seminar” in collaboration with a dynamic pile testing
equipment manufacturer, and “Contractors Foundation Institute’s Driven Pile Academy”, which was a classroom andhands-on workshop on safety and pile driving procedures of various pile driving equipment held as its inaugural event inApril 2022.
In response to the COVID-19 global health crisis, in 2020 the PDCA quickly adapted to providing online education for its
members and other industry professionals through Zoom with remote presenters. With the success of the online format,
the PDCA has continued to offer webinar education, such as the ongoing “PDCA 2022 Value Driven Webinar Series”. The
series focus on driven pile case studies, cost saving analysis, actual project conversion methods, job site safety, driven piletypes & benefits, legalities to consider, etc. Non-members can attend the webinars for a nominal cost (free for members).
The details can be found at the following link.
https://www.piledrivers.org/conferences-and-events/pdca-2022-value-driven-webinar-series/
The bi-monthly “PileDriver” magazine is PDCA’s official publication which isedited and distributed by a contracted publisher for PDCA members. SeeFig. 1 for the cover of a recent issue.
Additionally, there is a different industry association to represent
contractors in the field of drilled shaft piles, auger cast piles, micro piles,etc. (ADSC).
The author appreciates the assistance provided by Matt Bisbee and Kathy
Harper of the PDCA, and Ian Vaz of Giken America Corp.

Fig. 1. The cover of PileDrive Magazine17