Category
- Concrete Industry News
The theme of this year鈥檚 was , and monitoring. Held in Vancouver, the roster of guest speakers was impressive and kept to industry鈥檚 current focus: finding ways to extend the life of aging , , roads, , and .
Peter Emmons, from Structural Group Inc., lead an engaging presentation on the keys to success for . A main point was the reduction of shrinkage in being crucial to the structural integrity of the final product. Several examples illustrated inadequate repairs and the root causes of each.Adding another layer of knowledge to repair techniques was an overview of the new infrastructure management program in B.C. presented by Thomas Abbuhl, director of . Oliver Gepraegs of Levelton Consultants Ltd. instructed us on bridge deck condition survey techniques and how the degradation of can be diagnosed and remedied.
Finally, the day ended with two interesting case studies. Jacques Marchand from the Engineering Department at the University of Laval and Dr. Denis Mitchell from McGill University鈥檚 Engineering Department reviewed the forensic analysis of the in Montreal.
These case studies contrasted sharply with the engineering, design and monitoring associated with the construction that Ross Gilmour, former Director of Design and Engineering for the project, outlined to the group. Ross鈥檚 presentation kept the crowd in their seats until the very end of that sunny Friday afternoon. It was interesting to get an insider鈥檚 tour of the Confederation Bridge design as well as the details of the maintenance and monitoring post construction.
Of course, a seminar would not be complete without the humor and professional banter that Dr. Mindess from the University of British Columbia embedded in his discussion notes during his presentation on employing ductile concrete in repair.
Attendance for this year鈥檚 seminar exceeded expectations with more than 75 industry leaders attending the one-day seminar. The presenters and topics were of very high calibre and the feedback from the floor was extremely positive.