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Geotechnical News • December 2012
www.geotechnicalnews.com
GEO-INSTITUTE NEWS
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What’s on viewers’ minds:
• What are vertical elevation toler-
ances for a total station?
• Does anybody know about FLAC
3D software?
• Capital Funding for Geotech Startup
• How is the latest development of
Green Materials for Slope Protec-
tion?
• Retaining Wall Details
G-I News
ASCE national election results
President-elect Elect (2012-2013):
Randall S.Over, P.E., F.ASCE. Mr.
Over assumes the role of president-
elect during the Society’s Annual
Business meeting in Montreal, Que-
bec, Canada.
A
t-Large Director-Elect (2012-2014)
James A. Rispoli, P.E., BCEE, F.ASCE
Region Directors-Elect (2012-2015)
Region 3: John A. Frauenhoffer, P.E.,
S.E., M.ASCE
Region 4: David B. Peterson, P.E.,
F.ASCE
Region 8: Kristina L. Swallow, P.E.,
M.ASCE
Technical: Brian R. Manning, P.E.,
F.ASCE
Region Governors-Elect (2012-2015)
Region 1: Anthony L. Cioffi, P.E.,
M.ASCE
Shawn P. Kelley, Ph.D., M.ASCE
Region 2: Thomas J. Imholte, P.E.,
M.ASCE
Region 3
: Carl C. Sutter, P.E., C.C.S.,
M.ASCE
Region 4
: Jonathan D. Keeling, P.E.,
CFM, M.ASCE
Aaron K. Robinson, P.E., P.S.,
M.ASCE
Region 5
: Eric S. Czerniejewski, P.E.,
M.ASCE
Anthony L. Palmer, P.E., M.ASCE
Region 6
: Elvidio V. Diniz, P.E.,
D.WRE, M.ASCE
Kenneth A. Rainwater, Ph.D., P.E.,
BCEE, D.WRE, CFM, M.ASCE
Region 7
: Aaron M. Frits, P.E., M.S.,
M.ASCE
Loras A. Klostermann, P.E., M.ASCE
Region 8
: Douglas D. Knapp, P.E.,
M.ASCE
Michael J. Wilhelm, P.E., M.ASCE
Help students with a voluntary
contribution
ASCE/G-I Members. When renew-
ing your 2013 membership, please
consider including a voluntary
contribution which goes directly into
a restricted fund for G-I 2013 student
activities.
Last year’s contributions helped to
partially fund MSE Wall team travel to
2012 Geo-Congress, Geo-Prediction
and Poster Competitions; grants to
Graduate Student Organizations
(GSOs); travel grants, and more.
Send your success stories for the
2013 ASCE report card
While the 2009 Report Card for
America’s Infrastructure showed that
there is much work to be done to
raise the grades, we know there are
Bank and its affiliates were original ad-
dressees thereof; provided, however,
that U. S. Bank and its affiliates shall be
deemed not to be subject to or bound by
any of the obligations of any original
addressee or owner of the Property in
any agreement related to the Report....”
In essence, this wording would require
environmental professionals to commit
risk management suicide. It gives the
Bank all the benefits of being able to
rely on the report (plus a potential es-
cape from the constraints of the eco-
nomic loss doctrine) with absolutely
none of the liabilities or responsibilities
that comprised the business context
through which the report was devel-
oped. In a best-practices scenario – the
type of scenario to which, I presume,
the Bank subscribes – the client selects
a particularly qualified consultant, dis-
cusses its needs with the consultant, and
then works with the consultant to mutu-
ally establish a scope of service for the
engagement. The consultant and client
then discuss the consideration the con-
sultant needs to fulfill the scope of ser-
vice and manage the risk associated
with potentially lifelong responsibility
for the deliverable. Such consideration
includes the fee and certain risk man-
agement provisions of the contract,
such as limitation of liability.
By requiring a consultant to prepare
and sign its form letter, the Bank is stat-
ing, in essence, “We want to be able to
rely on the report indefinitely (and even
if we do not issue the financing, by the
way) without having o accept any of
your contractual safeguards, without
having to compensate you for any of
your customary, anticipated risks, and
without having to compensate you for
your new, significantly expanded risks,
especially the new risk that arises be-
cause you designed your service for
some other party, and with no knowl-
edg of the Bank’s needs and prefer-
ences, and no knowledge of the service
scope the Bank believes is best-suited to
address those needs and preferences.”
To a very re l extent, Mr. Grundhofer,
this is like requiring a physician to be li-
able for you health after y u decide to
follow the course of treatment the phy-
si ia prescribed for your friend whose
illness (in your opinion) was kind of
like your own.
Geotechnical News, September 2005
19
do not print key lines
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pick up from page 25, June 2005
position on baseline
8811 Colesville Road/
Suite G106
Silver Spring, MD 20910
301.565.2733
info@asfe.org
www.a fe.org
Firms join ASFE to learn
how to optimize the
qua ity of their professional
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To deliver on time and
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Learn more about us and
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Or call us at 301/565-2733.
Look for this logo on
your consultant’s letterhead.
It really means something.
ASFE is an association of
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These include geoprofes-
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