Technical Program

Keynote Speaker I

Dr. John B. Mander

Professor, Zachry Department of Civil Engineering,
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, US

Christchurch born and educated at both the Christchurch Technical Institute (now Ara Institute) and the University of Canterbury, Professor John Mander is the Inaugural Zachry Professor of Design and Construction Integration at Texas A&M University, where he teaches and conducts research mostly in the analysis, design and construction of highway and railway bridge structures. Early in his career he worked at the New Zealand Railways in various capacities. In 1988 he took up his first full time academic position at the University at Buffalo, New York. Prior to his present position, he held the position of Chair of Structural Engineering at the University of Canterbury from 2000-2007.

Title:

A Probabilistic Decision Theory for Preventative Maintenance of Steel Bridge Structures

09:35 - 10:05, Tuesday, December 1, 2020

Keynote Speaker II

Dr. Bryan Pidwerbesky

Technical Director – Pavements & Materials
Fulton Hogan Ltd, Christchurch, New Zealand

Dr. Bryan Pidwerbesky is Fulton Hogan’s Technical Director – Pavements & Materials Engineering. He has spent more than 35 years in road engineering, in both applied research and engineering practice. After completing his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Civil Engineering in Canada, Bryan moved to Christchurch in 1986 as a Lecturer in pavement engineering at the University of Canterbury. There he completed his PhD in Civil Engineering on the fundamental behaviour of flexible pavements under various loading conditions. In 1998, Bryan became Chief Executive of the NZ Bitumen and Pavements Contractors Association, based in Wellington. Since 2000 Bryan has held a number of senior positions at Fulton Hogan (including executive GM - Technical), managing and leading Fulton Hogan’s in-house engineering experts, leading technical developments in pavement and surfacing design, and managing the company’s research and development programme.

Title:

Sustainable Pavements & Multi-Criteria Analysis

10:10 - 10:40, Tuesday, December 1, 2020

Dispute Resolution Workshop

09:00 - 12:00, Wednesday, December 2, 2020

(15-minute break at half-time)

Zoom URL: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3365082496?pwd=MWh4WjhPbFZoS2RTdElQMWVOcUVSQT09

PMI: 336-508-2496, Password: 395011

Recommended and endorsed by the Journal of Legal Affairs and Dispute Resolution in Engineering and Construction

Risk of Delay in Construction Projects

Time overruns in construction projects affect their success rates, and, more importantly, have financial implications for all parties involved. For this reason, none of the involved parties in a project wish to take responsibility for the delays caused, and hence disputes are created that require further expenses and financial losses in order to be resolved.

In this workshop there will be a presentation of research results as to the main causes of delay, the leading methods for delay analysis, and the use of ADR methods for the resolution of disputes in construction projects.

The training workshop will be two-way interactive, and will consist of presentations as well as examinations of real cases. The participants will have the opportunity to discuss their own experiences and share problems met and solutions adopted.

Instructor: Dr. Yiannis Vacanas

Dr. Yiannis Vacanas is a Civil engineer and Arbitrator with more than 17 years of experience in the construction industry, with experience in delay and disruption analysis, claim preparation, contract procurement, construction project management, dispute resolution, and structural design. Being involved in public and private construction projects as a consultant, client representative and contractor, he has a thorough understanding of the complex issues that can emerge in a construction project.

Dr. Vacanas, holds a BEng in Civil Engineering (UCL, 1st class), an MSc in Construction Law and Arbitration (King’s College, London) and a PhD in Construction Project Management (Cyprus University of Technology). His research and professional interests are related to delay and disruption, delay avoidance and construction claims and dispute resolution. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member of the Society of Construction Law, with appointments as an arbitrator and expert witness in construction disputes.

Registration price: US$99

To register: https://isec-society.org/store/ASEA-SEC-5-registration

All participants will be awarded a certificate of completion of three Professional Development Hours (PDH).

Seismic Engineering Workshop

09:00 - 12:00, Wednesday, December 2, 2020

(15-minute break at half-time)

Zoom URL: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3666822714?pwd=UE9wZ1QvcG1FcEsvOEQ3ay9LViswUT09

PMI: 366-682-2714, Password: 142731

Design of Seismic Strengthening Schemes for Existing Masonry Buildings: A Consulting Engineer’s Approach

Part 1: Earthquake observations and methodology
The findings from the Canterbury earthquakes will be discussed, to emphasise damage modes to buildings that repeat themselves, plus report observations that are specific to various building components. Different analysis approaches will be discussed, with key points to note on load path continuity and stiffness compatibility of existing and possible strengthening systems.

Part 2: Material properties
The properties of the bricks, mortar and timber of unreinforced masonry buildings can be highly variable. For projects with a limited budget it may be necessary to establish suitable design values based upon brief site inspections. Details will be presented on a range of available techniques, with attention given to the properties of bricks and mortar.

Part 3: Seismic assessment of existing buildings
The in-plane loaded walls provide vertical bracing to the masonry buildings, which will be assessed considering the wall geometry and presence of openings. Timber diaphragms exhibit a surprisingly complex behaviour. Typically used deep girder analogy to determine the capacity of timber diaphragms will be presented. Assessment of the out-of-plane strength of masonry walls will be presented with focus on the current guidelines used in New Zealand. Additionally, a simplified procedure used to assess demands on masonry parapets will be presented.

Part 4: Strengthening systems for walls and timber diaphragms
This part would cover half of the session and attendees would be introduced to different strengthening systems, including traditional steel framing as well as relatively new systems such as post-tensioning and fibre reinforced polymers. Design procedures for these various techniques will be presented. Additionally, different options to strengthen timber diaphragms and all to diaphragm connections along with underpinning principles to design these systems will be presented.

Instructor: Dr. Najif Ismail

Dr. Najif Ismail is a Chartered Professional Engineer and is currently the director of Seismic Solutions Limited, a New Zealand based consulting engineering practice. He specialises in seismic assessment and strengthening of earthquake prone buildings and aspects of damage avoidance design. He has been involved in several seismic assessment and strengthening projects in and beyond New Zealand during his structural engineering career spanning over 15 years. He is a trusted public sector partner and works closely with city councils as a peer reviewer and as an advisor on aspects relating to seismic resilience of building infrastructure.

Dr. Ismail finished his doctoral studies at the University of Auckland in 2012, having previously completed a Masters and a Bachelors with honours in Civil Engineering. He has served on the masonry subcommittee of ASCE 41-31 and Engineering New Zealand façade safety group. He contributed to the report submitted to the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Canterbury earthquakes. He has developed a track record of successfully completing research projects and have authored more than 62 peer-reviewed manuscripts and a book to date in structural earthquake domain.

He was the recipient of the 2020 EQC/NZSEE Ivan Skinner Award, the 2016 UAE-MoID Award for Innovation and Sustainability, the 2013 Otago Polytechnic Staff Award for Excellence, and the 2008 TMS Outstanding PhD Thesis Award.

Registration price: US$99

To register: https://isec-society.org/store/ASEA-SEC-5-registration

All participants will be awarded a certificate of completion of three Professional Development Hours (PDH).