January 2015, Vol. 70, No. 1
Features
TTC, BAMI-I Continue To Have International Impact
In November 2014, Dr. Tom Iseley, founder of Buried Asset Management Institute- International (BAMI-I) and Director of Trenchless Technology Center, Louisiana Tech University, traveled to the Far East and Southeast Asia to conduct a 12-day program to promote the importance of innovation, validation and education to meet the expanding global challenges of the world’s rapidly deteriorating underground infrastructure.
Iseley, who frequently represents the trenchless market on an international bases, brought along a team of industry professionals in his trip to South East Asia including Dr. Dan Koo, assistant professor at Indiana University Purdue University, Wing Chan (PASCO), Sriram Ganesan (Perma-Liner), David Groth (Perma-Liner) and Stuart Rome (Cues).
Iseley’s first stop was Hong Kong as an invited speaker at the 25th anniversary of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region Drainage Services Department (DSD). This celebration included the 2014 DSD International Wastewater and Storm Water Conference. Iseley presented on Utilizing Asset Management to develop a sustainable storm water program at the successful DSD conference.
Iseley’s second stop was in China. He served as an invited speaker for the 2014 International Conference on Pipelines and Trenchless Technology in Xiamen, a major coastal South East City of China. The China University of Geosciences, ASCE and the University of Texas at Arlington jointly sponsor this conference. Iseley presented a case study paper on “Large Diameter Pipe Rehab with the Structural CCCP Technique,” highlighting the introduction and application of centrifugally cast concrete pipe (CCCP) to save a collapsing corrugated storm pipe for the Clayton County Water Authority in Georgia.
The next phase of the trip was devoted to Southeast Asia. Countries visited include Singapore, Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) and Indonesia (Jakarta) where three workshops on buried asset management and trenchless technology were presented.
It became clear that there is a growing awareness of the importance to buried asset management worldwide and the need is also prominent in booming Southeast Asian developing countries. Economic expansions in many key Southeast Asian cities have led to significant demand for water, sewer, power, gas and communications infrastructure construction plus a focus on inspection, maintenance and rehabilitation. This awareness is now driving the demand for training that will assist with developing proactive programs to effectively manage existing and new underground buried infrastructure. As a result of this demand, Iseley was invited to present on the BAMI-I Certification of Training in Asset Management (CTAM) courses. For the Southeast Asia workshops, Iseley was accompanied by Dr. Dan Koo. For this trip, Koo was to highlight available and proven trenchless technologies with specific attention to sewer and water rehabilitation.
BAMI-I created the CTAM program to increase awareness and train utility personnel on the best practices to implement and use asset management to extend the life and efficiency of their water underground infrastructure systems. As such, the purpose of the event was to introduce BAMI-I and to foster creative interaction between key participants of Southeast Asia’s underground infrastructure industry: utility owners, contractors, engineers, vendors and educators.
In Singapore, the Nanyang Center for Underground Space (NCUS) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) organized the BAMI-I Southeast Asia Introduction workshop with noted support from local organization such as the Public Utility Board (PUB), Defense Science Technology Agency (DSTA) Sembcorp Industries, Perma-Liner Singapore, PASCO and (others). The successful workshop was well attended with over 60 participants from academia, consulting engineers, contractors, government agencies and other interested parties.
Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia, was next on the itinerary and another successful introduction presentation was conducted with special recognition to the event organizer, the Association of Consulting Engineers Malaysia (ACEM). Again, the session was well-attended and ended with a dinner hosted by ACEM.
Jakarta, Indonesia, was the last leg of Iseley’s journey and the meeting there with representatives of the engineering community again affirmed the interest in developing a sustainable underground infrastructure that has the means to ensure its operational efficiency.
Due to the tremendous support and appreciation in Southeast Asia, a follow-up CTAM workshop is planned for April which will focus on providing certification in buried asset management. This future trip will possibly include Mumbai, India, as the municipalities there also recognize importance to conduct a BAMI-I workshop so as to facilitate and enhance their ongoing buried asset management training and education.
The BAMI-I and Trenchless Technology Center would like to thank Wing Chan and Sriram Ganesan, Southeast Asia program organizers for inviting Iseley and Koo to participate in this opportunity for bringing CTAM program to that part of the world and continue the learning process for buried asset management. This appreciation is also extended to the Nanyang Technological University, Association of Consulting Engineers Malaysia and other industry supporters such as Perma-Liner LLC (David Groth) and Cues Inc. (Stuart Rome) for their tremendous support and participation in the event.
BAMI-I looks forward to continuing its mission of creative collaboration and support of the underground infrastructure industry in Southeast Asia and other parts of Asia by developing future workshops and programs in the years to come. More collaboration with local universities and support of industry partners will result in, the innovation, validation and education required to meet the needs for water underground infrastructure in Asia.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
BAMI-I, (404) 386-5667, http://www.bami-i.com/
Worldwide Influence Of MLK
The DSD conference in Hong Kong coincided with Occupy Central (also referred to as Umbrella Revolution) campaign, which has been covered by the news media. The site for this occupied campaign was about two blocks from the conference venue. When Dr. Tom Iseley visited this site, he was pleased to the quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (see photo). This served as a vivid reminder that King’s life and vision continue to have international influence.
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