The Construction Institute Regional Seminar, this year located in Los Angeles, took place on January 19, 2007. Held on the morning of the Beaver’s Awards Dinner, the seminar was held at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza. Over 100 people registered for the half-day event, which followed a two-track format. One track featured presentations on mega projects in the region, while another track focused on technical sessions. The 2007 regional seminar was sponsored by Zurich North America, Traylor Brothers, Inc., and HDR, Inc.
The program opened with the 2005 Roebling Award Presentation and Lecture. Chris Traylor, CI’s President, presented the award to Keith Jacobson, P.E., M.ASCE of Massman Construction Company, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to toward the advancement of construction engineering.
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Keith Jacobson |
Mr. Jacobson then spoke about “five parallels to the life, career and accomplishments of John A. Roebling [that] continue to influence construction engineers today.” His “interesting talk about passion for engineering and why we are engineers,” as one attendee put it, was well-received and “very inspiring.” The lecture will be printed on CI’s Web site and in the next issue of The Construction Zone.
The event then moved into the two track format. The project track began with sessions on the Colorado River Canal lining and the LA Metro Gold Line, while the technical sessions opened with a two-part presentation on temporary structures.
Attendees found value in all three morning talks; one noted that John Brain and Ron Welch’s discussion on temporary structures “indicates a need for designers of
temporary structures to be professional engineers and take responsibility for their designs.”
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Ron Welch |
After a mid-morning break, the program transitioned into sessions on the California maglev project and construction field operations automation on the project track, while the technical track featured sessions on construction quality management and claims avoidance.
One attendee found the construction quality management discussion, led by Stuart Williams, to be a “good rundown on the owner-contract relationship,” while several enjoyed the information and presentation style of David Chow’s maglev lecture.
The next CI Regional Seminar is scheduled for the morning of the Moles’ Annual Dinner on January 30, 2008 in New York. Look for more information on the Web at www.constructioninst.org and in future issues of The Construction Zone.
Construction Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers