Five Deadly Myths of Managing Geotechnical Risks

February 16, 2022

Five Deadly Myths of Managing Geotechnical Risks

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Presented by: Douglas D. Gransberg

Abstract: This webinar will discuss the results of NCHRP Report 884: Guidelines for Managing Geotechnical Risk in Design-Build Projects in the context of contractual approaches to shed subsurface risk in all types of project delivery. The NCHRP project conducted a review of case law on differing site conditions claims and concluded that it is extremely difficult in both traditional low bid and design-build lump sum contracts for the owner to successfully transfer subsurface risk. It will cover the five most common contractual “remedies” and provide recommendations for more effective approaches that recognize that the courts rarely recognize the validity of qualifying and exculpatory contract verbiage, if the realized geotechnical risk reaches litigation. The overall discussion is framed from the engineer’s perspective.

Bio: Dr. Douglas D. Gransberg is the President of Gransberg & Associates, Inc. of Norman, OK and an emeritus professor of construction engineering at the University of Oklahoma. He retired at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army Corps of Engineers. He earned a Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder and BSCE and MSCE degrees from Oregon State University. He was elected to the National Academy of Construction in 2019. He is also a licensed Professional Engineer in Oklahoma, Texas, and Oregon, a Certified Cost Professional, a Designated Design-Build Professional, and a Fellow of both the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in the United Kingdom.