Micropile Immersion in Poland The International Society for Micropiles (ISM) held its 12th International Workshop on Micropiles in Kraków, Poland in June. The event was a great success, thanks to the workshop organizer and host, Titan Polska, and the local organizing leads, Jakub Sierant and Natalia Maca. It was the second event organized under the ISM-ADSC-DFI cooperative alliance established in 2012. Jakub Sierant and Natalia Maca from Titan Polska The workshop featured the 8th Lizzi Lecture, delivered by long-standing ISM member, Nadir Ansari of Isherwood Associates, who presented “Micropile Life Cycle - Experiences in Mature Markets and Expectations for New Markets.” Lizzi Scholarship winner, Maciej Szczygielski of AGH University of Science and Technology, presented “Assessment of Soil-Micropile Interface Parameters Using 3D Numerical Modeling.” Dr. Fernando Lizzi’s family attended the workshop to mark the 100th anniversary of the patriarch’s birth. His son, Professor Fedele Lizzi, addressed the delegation and presented some reflections on the inventor’s personal life. Dan MacLean of Con-Tech Systems Ltd., served as program chair. Speakers from Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Finland, Germany, Korea, Poland, Portugal, Tunisia, U.S., and U.K. delivered technical presentations on a variety of micropile innovations, applications and research. The proceedings are available for purchase through ADSC and DFI. The first World Cup of Micropiles Challenge was held to select the preeminent micropile project in the world from the past three years. Four regions of Robert Bollman (Piling and Civil Australia) and Dr. Alexis Rose (Parsons Brinckerhoff, U.K.) the globe were repre- sented: North Amer- ica, South and Central America, Europe and Oceania/Asia. Micropile practitioners in each region submi t t ed entries, and represen- tat ives from each project delivered pres- entations. ISM dele- gates voted for the winner during the workshop based on the level of innovation, usage in difficult conditions, unique application and the impact of the project on acceptance of micropiles in the region. Crux Subsurface of Spokane Valley, Wash., won the inaugural award for its Sunrise Powerlink project, a 117-mile (188 km) stretch of helicopter-assisted construction of micropile-supported transmission towers in California. (See page 37) Crux took home the Micropile World Cup trophy to proudly showcase until the next workshop. Celebrations akin to the World Cup and Stanley Cup had the delegation drinking a traditional Polish Krupnik from this coveted award. Social and cultural activities highlight Steve Davidow, Sydney Lederhouse and Nick Salisbury (Crux Subsurface) Walter Vanderpool, (Terracon Consultants) and Mike Turner (Applied Geotechnical Engineering, U.K.) A micropile short course preceded the all ISM workshops, and the delegates and companions enjoyed a buggy tour of historic Kraków and a visit to the Wieliczka Salt Mine in the Kraków metropolitan area. The mine features dozens of statues, chapels and an entire cathedral carved out of the rock salt by artists and miners. workshop, taught by ISM Steering Committee members, ISM delegates, local practitioners and specialists from the ADSC-DFI Micropile Committee. The one- day event highlighted local micropile projects and best practices for micropile design, construction and quality assurance. The Kraków workshop saw changes to ISM’s leadership. Chairman Allen Cadden of Schnabel Engineering stepped down at the Kraków workshop and is succeeded by Jim Bruce of Geo-Foundations Contractors, Inc. Steering committee members Roger Frank, Horst Aschenbroich, Ernst Ischebeck and Masao Sagara stepped down, and new committee members include: Allan Herse (Piling and Civil Australia), Andreas Brandner (IB-Brandner, Austria), Nadir Ansari (Isherwood Associates, Canada), and Bjoern Ischebeck (Ischebeck TITAN, Germany). DEEP FOUNDATIONS • JULY/AUG 2014 • 31
