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Tips,TricksandIdeastoMakeFieldInvestigationsBetter
4/10/2013
Lawrence Taber received his bachelors and masters degrees in civil engineering from the University of Missouri at Rolla in 2000 and 2001, respectively. Since graduating, he has worked for the Water Division of Black & Veatch, Kansas City, MO. His experience includes designing structures and performing field work and inspections. He is Chair of ACI Committees 308A, Curing-Guide, and S801, Student Activities, and is a member of the Student and Young Professional Activities Committee, the Convention Committee, and AC I Committees 120, History of Concrete; 308, Curing Concrete; 308B, CuringSpecifications; and E702, Designing Concrete Structures. He is Past President of the ACI Missouri Chapter, and he received the AC I Young Member Award in 2007. Taber is a licensed professional engineer.
BriefSpeakerBio
LetsBePractical!
Tips,TricksandIdeastoMake FieldInvestigationsBetter
LarryTaber,P.E. StructuralEngineer Black&Veatch
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LeadStructuralEngineerforBlack&Veatch BSCE2000fromUniversityofMO Rolla MSCE2001fromUniversityofMO Rolla Hasperformednumerousfieldinvestigations onallsortsofstructures(conc,steel,etc) ConfinedSpaceandWorkatHeightsTrained Serveson12ACIInternational Committees ServesonBoardofACIKansasChapter PastPresidentofACIMissouriChapter
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Agenda
FieldInvestigation Basics ThinkAboutSafety PreparationintheOffice YourInspectionBag Improving YourAccess Picture&VideoTips&Tricks KeepYourInvestigation Organized Documenting YourFindings WorkingwithOthersOnSite
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Introduction
Thisisaprettybroadtopic Presentationattemptstogivemyviewofit othersmaydothingsdifferently,andthatsok Hopefullyifyouareawellseasonedfield investigator, youwillpickupafewthings Ifyouarenewtogettingoutoftheofficeand performingfieldinvestigations, hopefullyyou willgetalotoutofthispresentation Presentationcoversexistingstructuresbut someaspectsareapplicabletoconstruction
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LetsBePractical!
Tips,TricksandIdeastoMakeFieldInvestigationsBetter
FieldInvestigationBasics
Ahh,isntitgreattogetoutoftheoffice! Butyourfreedomdoesntcomefree Timeconstraints,budgetconstraintsand otherfactorsoftencreatestress beaware Bringyourproblemsolvingskillswithyou
Detectiveworkandpuzzlesawaityououtside
4/10/2013
ThinkAboutSafety
PerhapsoneoftheTHE mostcritical aspectsofafieldinvestigation! Everyonewantsyoutobesafe gone arethedaysofbeingrecklessandunsafe ProperPPEisimportant
Checkwiththesitetoseewhatspecial precautionsareneededforthatsite
ChecklistsandPermits
Preplanningchecklistsarean importantsafetyandplanningtool
Completeaheadoftime UsuallyincludesaJobHazard Analysis Helpsyouidentifyhazards Promotesgoodcommunication withintheteamandothers Identifiesrescueplan Helpsidentifygapsinknowledge
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ChecklistsandPermits
Usepermitssuchasconfinedspaceorrope accesspermits
Requiredinsomesituations Usuallyrequirestraining DONOTjustjumpintoahole Permithelpsidentifydanger pointsandmitigationoftherisks Permitsgenerallyfocusonaspecificareaorrisk
LockOut/TagOutproceduresareaformof permitsandrequiretraining
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LockOut/TagOut
Planaheadtokeepyourinvestigation on scheduleandavoiddelays Understandyourcompanyandyourclients policiesandrequiredtraining LO/TOhelpstokeepyousafebutisoften overlookedbyinspectorsandclientsalike Dontfeelbadaboutaskingquestions
Itisyourlifeandsafetyontheline
PreparationintheOffice
Asuccessfulinvestigationbeginsintheoffice Gatherdrawings,pictures,previousreports Dontforgettosearchthewebforpictures Workwithmanagersforrealisticexpectations ofscheduleandbudget areoftenlimited Assembletherightteamofpeople Dontforgetthatpreplanningchecklist! Understandtheendgoaloftheinvestigation
Rehabconstructionwork?Orjustareport?
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LetsBePractical!
Tips,TricksandIdeastoMakeFieldInvestigationsBetter
PreparationintheOffice
Insomecases,performsomebasicanalysisof thesituationintheofficetoarriveprepared Gatherequipmentthatyouwill needandalso thatyoumight reasonablyneed
Beawareofitemsyouneedtoshipororderfrom somewhereelse,suchasairmetersorNDTequip.
4/10/2013
YourInspectionBag
Fewthingsruinaninvestigationmorethan missingorinappropriate tools Experiencedoeshelpbutthinkingthe investigation through issmart Makesureyouhavefreshbatteriesandyour equipmentisfunctioning Ifdrivingtoasite packextrastuffjustincase Ifflyingandcheckingluggage beawareof airlinelimitsandregulations(weightmatters)
Youmayhavetobuyitemswhenyougetthere
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Ifneeded,meetwithyourteamaheadoftime
Discussboththeprojectworkandlogistics
Communicate withyourclientandthesite
Addressaccessissues,pointofcontact,etc
YourInspectionBag
Keepabagpackedwiththecommontools, supplementwithspecializedtools
Firstaidkit Camera Qualityflashlight Notepads Pens/pencils Tape measure Shortruler Sharpiemarkers Conccrackgauge Inspectionmirror Compass Masonshammer Water Snacks/lunch Lockouttags/locks (ifappropriate) YourPPE(hardhat, safetyglasses,dust mask,hivis vest,ear plugs)
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ImprovingYourAccess
Someareasarejustplaintoughtogetto Trytoplanaheadoftimeusingsitepictures anddrawings
Sometimesasmallchangemakesabigdifference, suchasanextraplankoraDavitbaseforajib
MyCameraonaStickTrick
Yougettostaycleanandsafe,letthecamera dothedirtyworkinthatnastyhole! Mostcamerasusea1/420threadforthe tripodmountonthebottom Simplyuseashortpieceofallthread(ora boltwiththeheadcutoff)andahoseclamp toattachthecameratoapoleorstick
Broomhandles,shovels,piecesofrebar,etc
MyCameraonaStickTrick
Dontforgetthescrewdriverinyourtoolbox! Setyourtimerandautoflashandsnapaway
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LetsBePractical!
Tips,TricksandIdeastoMakeFieldInvestigationsBetter
PictureTakingTips
Yourcameraisavaluabletool
Notonlyusedforshowingwhatyouareseeing, alsogoodfordocumentationandnotes
4/10/2013
PictureTakingTips
Knowhowtouseyourcamera practice Considermultiplecamerasonlargerormore remotelocations.Eachpersongetstheirown. Useashort,easilyread,rulerinyourshotfor easyscalinglater Avoidobliqueanglesifyouwanttoscalelater Photograph equipmentnameplates Digitalisfreeandstorageischeap youcan neverhavetoomanypics snapaway! Bringfullychargedbatteriesandextraones
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UsingVideoDocumentation
Usevideotosupplementyourpictures Helpfultojogyourmemorylaterorlookat spotsyoumissedgettingpicturesthere Longvideosshouldbeavoided,takeseveral shorteronesinstead Useslotsofmemorysoshowsomerestraint Becarefulwhatyousayinthevideo justthe facts!Lawyerslovevideos. Canbeusefulwhenyoucanttakenotes
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KeepYourInvestigationOrganized
Makelifeeasieronyourself Priortogettingdeepintoyourinvestigation, takeaminutetoplanyourpathandsticktoit Wonderingaroundsnappingrandompictures makesittoughlatertodocumentyourwork Includeinyournotesyourroughpath Notekeyobservationsondrawings orsketchesinyournotes Cleanupyournotesshortlyafter youfinishthefieldwork
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DevelopaSimpleInspectionForm
DocumentingYourFindings
Thebestfieldworkisworthlessifyoucant communicateyourfindingtoothers Dontforgetyouraudience! Makesureyouunderstandtheexpectationsof yourclientpriortoperforminginvestigation
Documentationisdifferentiftheywantalarge reportversusifasimplememoisexpected
Becarefulandconfidentwhenreportingyour findings,especiallywhenwritingthemdown
Answerthequestionaskedbutdontoverstep
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LetsBePractical!
Tips,TricksandIdeastoMakeFieldInvestigationsBetter
WorkingwithOthersOnSite
Haveacontactonsiteandexpectdelays Leaveanybadattitudesatthegate Understandtherolesothersplayonsite
Contractors,Owners,etcseethingsdifferently
4/10/2013
GoodCommunicationisImportant
Communicate.
Beforeyougetonsitewiththeclient,etc Whenyoufirstgetonsitetocatchanylastminute changesorproblems Duringyourinvestigationwiththosearoundyou Withyourteamtobesafeandcorrectlydocument theinvestigation Holdawrapupmeetingprior toleavingsitewithclient Duringthedocumentation phasetoavoiddisappointment
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SomeConcludingThoughts
Fieldinvestigations canbefunhardwork Safetyisapriorityformanyreasons! Whatyoudointheofficeaheadoftime directlyimpactsyourfieldwork Yourtoolbagshouldhavesomeconsistent itemsinitalongwithsomespecializedones Goodaccesswillhelpyouseetheissueup closesothinkofwaystosafelyimproveit Goodpicturesandvideoshelpdocumentation
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SomeMoreConcludingThoughts
Keepyourinvestigation organizedfor efficiencyandsoyoudontmisssomethingbig Knowwhatkindofreportingyouneedtodo beforeyoustartyourfieldwork Usepicturesandvideodocumentation tohelp youlaterrememberthefinedetailsofatrip Keepaprofessionalbutfunattitudewhileon site itwillhelp Agoodsiteinvestigation canleadtomore work,abadonecouldmeandisaster
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LetsBePractical!
Tips,TricksandIdeastoMake FieldInvestigationsBetter
Thanks! AnyQuickQuestions?
LarryTaber,P.E. StructuralEngineer Black&Veatch
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