The 2009 ISM Workshop was conducted aboard the 1918 British Mine Sweeper the HMS President, which has been converted into a conference facility and moored on the Thames River on the Victoria Embankment in London. The local conference chairman was Mark Hinton, Branlow Limited, Basingstroke, Hampshire, U.K. He was assisted by Mike Turner, Applied Geotechnical Engineering, Buckingham, U.K., Clif Kettle, Bachy Soletanche, York, U.K., and Stuart Bradshaw, Terrain Geotechnical Consultants, Yorkshire, U.K.
Fifteen countries were represented at the conference, which attracted international experts in the design and construction of micropiles. Technical sessions focused on new developments in design, construction methods, materials, testing, the challenges of constructing and/or reconstructing in urban environments.
Dr. Donald Bruce (Geosystems) presented the 5th Lizzi Lecture titled, “Micropiles in Middle Age: Triumphs, Failures and Challenges.” The talk provided an historical overview of the advent of micropiles with an emphasis on U.S. experiences, including the challenges facing the micropile industry as they relate to marketing the “product,” needed research, education and training, improving the “quality” of the product, addressing a range of project delivery systems (contracting relationships), and the associated role of ISM.
The 4th Lizzi Scholarship was presented to James Amos of Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering, U.K. His presentation was titled, “Micropiles-The Green Choice.” The talk focused on calculating a project’s carbon footprint taking into consideration basic materials, equipment used, manufacture of that equipment, transit to and from the project site and installation methods employed.
