Underground Construction - September 2021 - 24

Trenchless Technology Center Report
that focuses on pre-competitive research,
while also engaging directly with industry
to ensure that research will have practical
impacts down the road.
Th e newly formed center is known
as CISIA (Th e Center for Innovations in
Structural Integrity Assurance) and focuses
on a variety of structural integrity-related issues,
including sensing, inspection, testing,
analysis and prediction, which are strengths
of both center sites for various industries.
For more information about CISIA or any
TTC research, please contact TTC Director
Dr. John Matthews at matthews@latech.
edu or TTC Associate Director of Research,
Dr. Shaurav Alam at shaurav@latech.edu.
Industry advisory board
One of the biggest strengths of TTC
remains its very active Industry Advisory
Board (IAB), which has been in place since
the center's inception more than 31 years
ago. Th e IAB is a unique feature for a
university research center that both helps
to keep staff focused on industry issues,
while also providing workforce opportunities
for many of the undergraduate and
graduate students associated with the
center. TTC relies on the IAB for guidance
on its activities and for fi nancial support of
the center and its research, which are key
to the successful operation of its mission.
Th is year, TTC maintained its overall
IAB membership at 56 members, matching
last years' record-setting number of
members. Th e board is bolstered by more
than 20 municipal/utility members that
support TTC in multiple ways, including
providing data for research and sites
for fi eld work when needed. Member
organizations are listed below by category.
For more information on each IAB member
organization and representative, please
visit www.ttc.latech.edu.
* Manufacturers & Contractors (8):
Aegion, AOC Aliancys, BRH-Garver,
Geotree, Interplastic, IPEX,
24 SEPTEMBER 2021 | UCONonline.com
Reline America and Sanexen.
* Municipal & Utility (22): Albany (NY),
Aurora (CO), Bloomington (MN), Boston
(MA), Caddo Levee (LA), Carencro (LA),
Citizens Energy (IN), Columbus (OH),
Denver (CO), Houston (TX), Hull (MA),
Long Beach (CA), Los Angeles (CA),
Metro Wastewater Reclamation (CO),
Monroe (LA), New York City (NY),
Portland (OR), Ruston (LA), San Antonio
(TX), Shreveport (LA), Upper Trinity
Regional Water (TX), & Vancouver (WA).
* Consultants (7): Carollo, Garver,
GeoEngineers, Jacobs, Kleinfelder,
Stantec and Subtegic.
* Media (3): Underground Construction/
UCT, Benjamin Media and Westrade.
* Associations (3): LA CETF, NASSCO
and NUCA.
* Honorary (8): Bob Aff holder, Joe
Barsoom, Mike Garver, Dr. Les Guice,
Dr. Tom Iseley, Lynn Osborn,
Kaleel Rahaim and Dr. Ray Sterling.
* TTC Sponsors (5): InnerCure,
Olson Construction Law, Raven,
Th ompson Pipe Group and & Trinity.
Tom Wynne with the New York City
DDC, continues to serve as the IAB
chairman and Ali Mustapha, P.E., executive
director for the Caddo Level District in
Shreveport, La., continues to serve as vicechair.
If you are interested in learning more
about the IAB or joining the board, please
contact TTC Director, Dr. John Matthews
at matthews@latech.edu.
Educational initiatives:
Municipal Forums
TTC's Municipal Forum program
consisted of all virtual forums this past
year due to the pandemic and the modifi ed
program was very successful.
Th e three 2020 Virtual Municipal Forums
conducted in September and October
covered broad topic areas including: Pressure
Pipe Rehabilitation, Large-Diameter Sewer
Repair and Trenchless Technology Project
Management. Sponsors and speakers
for the Virtual Municipal Forums were
from the following organizations: Aegion,
ClockSpring-NRI/GeoTree, HammerHead
Trenchless, Jacobs, Kleinfelder, Olson
Construction Law, Primus Line, QuakeWrap,
Reline America, Subtegic Group and the
Trenchless Technology Center (TTC).
For the fi rst time, we were also able
to record the forums for future viewing.
If you would like to gain access to any of
the recorded forums to earn Continuing
Education units (CEUs), please visit the
TTC website or contact Dr. Matthews
for more information.
A total of fi ve virtual forums were held in
the Spring of 2021. Currently, four forms
are already scheduled for Fall 2021: Sept. 16
(Machine Learning for Asset Management),
Sept. 22 (Pressure Pipe Cleaning, Evaluation
and Lining), and Nov. 11 (Pipe Tunneling).
We are also planning an in-person forum in
Vancouver, Wash., for Nov. 4.
Sponsors and speakers for these
upcoming forums will include the following
organizations: AECOM, Aegion, Aging
Water Infrastructure, BRH Garver, city of
Portland, city of Vancouver, Evanco, Hazen
& Sawyer, Jacobs, SewerAI, Th ompson
Pipe, Underground Construction magazine
and the Trenchless Technology Center
(TTC). Others are expected to join as well.
TTC plans to explore new locations and
online delivery during the pandemic, so
if you are interested in hosting a forum,
having specifi c topics included in program,
or would like to present at any of the
forums, please contact Dr. John Matthews
at matthews@latech.edu.
TTC conducts Utility
Investigation School
Th e importance of accurately locating and
depicting existing underground utilities
becomes more obvious each day to ensure
successful construction projects. It has been
reported that at least 70 percent of projects
experience delays and budget overruns due
to utility confl icts. Th e CGA DIRT reported
in 2015 that there were 340,000 utility
strikes and in 2017 this number grew to almost
380,000. Th e industry is experiencing
too much property damage and loss of lives.
TTC has responded to this crisis by
http://www.ttc.latech.edu http://www.UCONonline.com
Underground Construction - September 2021

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