25th Edition | 3rd Quarter 2021 |
|
Pushing Forward and Looking Ahead
As we continue to endure the hardships surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, GEL Solutions has been blessed to have remained fully operational throughout these taxing and uncertain times. Over the past few months we have been invigorated to see businesses re-energize and projects come back to life. Our SUE, Survey and Geophysical Services crews have all had a very busy summer with no signs of slowing down as we head the into fall season. Health and safety continues to be of utmost importance and as health concerns persist, we will continue to follow the guidelines of our health officials.
As we move through the ongoing challenges, we keep focus on the opportunities and rewards that lie ahead. With promising industry developments emerging, including significant federal investments on the table for infrastructure, we anticipate a bright future with heavy demands for our services in the years to come. As the inevitable waves of production begin to roll, GEL Solutions will be on the forefront and prepared to support our clients' critical needs.
We look forward to serving you and we wish you all the best as we wrap up summer 2021!
|
|
J. Derek Bradner P.E., PLS
Director
|
|
It was nice seeing you at SASHTO 2021! |
|
We had a wonderful time at SASHTO 2021 held in Orlando July 31st - August 3rd! Derek Bradner P.E., PLS, Scott Smith and Parks Icenhour, P.E., PLS attended the 80th anniversary event and enjoyed seeing what is in store for the transportation industry in the southeast. It has been a long time since we've been able to attend a large industry event which made this year's trip extra special. We look forward to seeing you at SASHTO 2022!
|
|
Joshua Johnson | SUE Technician
Raleigh, North Carolina
Emily Moren | Geophysics Technician
Raleigh, North Carolina
We are also proud to welcome back
David Bass | Survey Technician
Raleigh, North Carolina
|
|
Your next opportunity is waiting for you! |
|
We are always looking for highly motivated, energetic professionals who share our culture, core values and goals. If you fit that description and would like to be part of a well-respected firm, enhance your skill set, and work with some of the most knowledgeable professionals in our industry, we invite you to apply. |
|
Visit our careers page for a list of regularly updated postings.
|
|
GEL Solutions will be attending, presenting, or exhibiting at the following events:
|
|
Virginia Association of Surveyors
September 14-18 | Williamsburg, VA
Attending
|
|
AIPG Georgia
October 5-6 | Kennesaw, Georgia
Exhibiting
|
|
October 20-21 | Raleigh, North Carolina
Exhibiting
|
|
October 20-22 | Clemson, South Carolina
Exhibiting
|
|
November 16 | Athens, Georgia
Exhibiting
|
|
We hope to see you there and we'd love to talk with you! |
|
Our recognized employees from 2nd quarter, 2021: |
|
April 2021
Nick Rebman | Geophysics Specialist
Raleigh, North Carolina
Nick earned his degree in Geophysics from Texas A&M in 2016 and joined GEL Solutions’ Marietta office shortly thereafter. He learned the ropes pretty quickly and when the need for a lead geophysicist in the Raleigh office arised, Nick took on the responsibility and moved to North Carolina in early 2020. In addition to his efforts on the geophysics side, Nick is our lead expert for CCTV surveys which keeps him very busy. Nick is famous for his positive attitude and willingness to go above and beyond to meet clients’ needs and expectations. Car rides with Nick are never boring. A colleague explains, “You often arrive with new knowledge and feeling like you have solved most of the world’s problems.” We appreciate Nick for his hard work, adaptability and the high level of service he provides on every project!
|
|
May 2021
Mindy Tyler | Project Coordinator
Charleston, South Carolina
Mindy originally began her GEL career working as a report specialist with the laboratory from 2010-2012. After a short period away, she returned to GEL in 2013 to join the accounting group where she served for over four years. In April of 2018, she began her current role with GEL Solutions. Her responsibilities involve invoicing, teaming with accounting on AR, WIP review and management, Deltek/CRM support, project setup and range of other tasks where she lends her technical and problem solving skills. Mindy has a knack for implementing new processes to streamline workflow. One of her most notable accomplishments has been the efficient process she developed for updating bi-weekly progress reports for our NCDOT clients. Additionally, her experience working with multiple GEL companies over the years and her relationship with accounting has made her a valuable asset.
|
|
June 2021
Lynn Godwin | Property Survey Manager
Raleigh, North Carolina
Lynn came on board in January 2014 after a 30 year career with NCDOT where he served as an Engineer in the Division 6 Location and Surveys Unit. Lynn brings a wealth of in-depth knowledge and experience on NCDOT projects along with a unique perspective on their needs and expectations. At GEL Solutions, Lynn is responsible for managing and performing all NCDOT Property Survey Division (PSD) surveys. To date, he has completed roughly 900 PSDs with GEL and over 10,000 in his career. 2021 is on track to be a big year for PSDs and Lynn has kept his foot on the gas to meet the demand. In fact, he won GEL Solutions’ Workhorse Award for having worked the most billable hours in the months of April, May and June! Lynn has been an incredible asset to GEL and we are blessed to have him on our team!
|
|
A New Standard on the Horizon |
|
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Standard 38-02 has long been the primary standard of subsurface utility engineering (SUE). Published in 2002 and titled Standard Guideline for the Collection and Depiction of Existing Utility Data, it was intentionally very basic to allow best practices to emerge and new technologies to be incorporated into the SUE process. Unfortunately, its basic nature resulted in loose interpretations and minimal efforts that clearly were not intended. This necessitated significant changes to the ASCE 38 standard that, after many years of development, are finally coming to fruition in 2021. The upcoming changes will clarify the original intent of the standard and will also incorporate the last 20 years of technological innovations and lessons learned in the industry.
This revised standard is also both a prescriptive and a performance standard. It is prescriptive in that it specifies the minimum actions that must be undertaken to achieve (or attempt to achieve) a particular quality level. As a performance standard it describes the professional judgment that needs to be exercised to determine the appropriate timing, sequencing, location, and scope of a utility investigation to achieve the goal of reducing utility issues during project delivery.
Different from the previous standard, the new version will include specific performance goals, interpretive commentary, new and revised definitions, new survey accuracies for Quality Levels C, B, and A, and inclusion of aerial utilities in deliverables. It will also address utility vaults (depiction and dimensions), advances in geophysical methods, electronic depths, 3D models, and utility reporting).
The draft standard is now with the publications department of ASCE and is being prepared for a 45-day public comment period. After addressing any public comments, ASCE will prepare the final version of the standard in accordance with the Library of Congress guidelines. The update will then be published as ASCE 38-21 with a new title, Standard Guideline for Investigating and Documenting Existing Utilities.
GEL Solutions continues to stay on the forefront of the SUE industry and looks forward to continuing to provide our clients with SUE services in accordance with the latest standards and guidance.
|
|
Visit our website for more details about our SUE services.
|
|
Safety Comes First for GEO Crew |
|
Considering the diverse environments and hazards encountered while performing the geophysical field work they specialize in, Jorgen Bergstrom, P.Gp., Nick Rebman and Eric Armstrong are committed to taking all of the necessary steps to ensure their safety in every situation. We would like to recognize them for their efforts on a recent project involving the inspection of a dam wall structure that required fall protection training. Facing a tight deadline, they successfully coordinated the training and executed the job with no safety incidents. We applaud our GEO crew for their continued adherence to safety! |
|
A Cycle of Geological Activity Discovered
Occurring every 27.5 Million years
|
|
Many experts have believed through the years that geological events occur at random. But a recent study published in the journal Geoscience Frontiers provides evidence revealing a common cycle, challenging their initial theories.
Here is an excerpt from an article published by SciTechDaily quoting Professor Michael Rampino, a geologist in the Department of Biology at New York University:
"Over the past five decades, researchers have proposed cycles of major geological events — including volcanic activity and mass extinctions on land and sea — ranging from roughly 26 to 36 million years. But early work on these correlations in the geological record was hampered by limitations in the age-dating of geologic events, which prevented scientists from conducting quantitative investigations.
However, there have been significant improvements in radio-isotopic dating techniques and changes in the geologic timescale, leading to new data on the timing of past events. Using the latest age-dating data available, Rampino and his colleagues compiled updated records of major geological events over the last 260 million years and conducted new analyses."
Read more details about these findings in the referenced article here.
|
|
In North Carolina, any engineering and surveying services are performed by GEL Engineering of NC, Inc. from the Greensboro and Raleigh locations. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
