Click here to read a Harvad Gazette article about the presentation.

Click here to listen to an audio recording of the lecture. The audio recording is also available (free) for download on iTunes U via Harvard University at http://itunes.apple.com/itunes-u/peabody-museum-lectures/id465084893#

Ben Turner, President of P&J, presenting a lecture on urban disaster clean-up as part of a series at Harvard's Peabody Museum - Photo Courtesy of Jon Chase/Harvard Staff Photographer

This lecture explores how cities have managed urban waste streams following man-made and natural disasters over the past two decades. Mr. Turner and Mr. McMullen have a unique perspective; they’ve been hired to manage the resulting debris at several major disaster sites in the US over the past 25 years. They will discuss the evolution and challenges of urban disaster debris management in the United States. (Click here for additional details.)

The event is Thursday, April 19, 2012 at 6:00 pm at the Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford St., Cambridge.

Dudley Orr, VP; Randy Jordan, Executive VP & COO, and Edd Satterfield, Asst. VP

About the I 40 Slope Stabilization and Rock Slide Removal project:

This project involved tackling 75,000 cubic yards of rock and debris that slid onto I-40 at the North Carolina-Tennessee mountain border. Remediation crews were tasked with stabilizing the massive, and dangerous, 900 foot high slope. This challenge was captured in two separate contracts, both of which went to Phillips & Jordan. The first 45-days consisted of round-the-clock work to remove the loose mass of boulders, trees and soil that had slipped from the mountainside. It was performed under an emergency purchase order agreement.

Meanwhile the NCDOT, knowing time was critical, placed a 60-day intermediate completion time in the contract to stabilize the remaining slope. Liquidated damages were set at an astounding $20,000 per day. Phillips & Jordan chose Janod, Inc., a highly experienced Canadian slope stabilization contractor, to lead the slope remediation efforts. As it turned out, even Janod with its 40 years of such work, had never attempted the task required for this project.

The team had planned to drill and install tensioned bars to hold the slope together. But, they ended up having to use Janod’s proprietary rock drill to bore as much as one hundred feet deep-while maintaining a consistent four-inch diameter to accommodate the specified anchors and bolts. Never before had the team drilled such large diameter holes to that depth.

The nature of the slope stabilization meant that all workers, plus machinery, had to climb the mountainside just to reach the working area. In some cases, this was 900 vertical feet above I-40. A heavy-lift helicopter ferried supplies, rock bolts and incidentals up the mountain. This helicopter eventually logged over 120 hours of usage on the project. Its use allowed rock bolt bars to be installed, on average, every 5 minutes.

Workers faced extreme mountaintop conditions. The governor had declared a state of emergency in western North Carolina 10 days before work began. Sub-freezing temperatures, snow, ice and wind were daily personal and safety challenges. In fact, a second smaller rock slide occurred during the project as well. Early on, it became apparent that neither the rock strength test results nor actual geological conditions provided or anticipated at bid time were representative of the true site conditions. In reality, rock at the site was much weaker than anticipated. As a result, scarifying the surface so that the bearing plate could successfully sit on competent rock became a huge struggle. Crews literally dug by hand at some stages to reach that competent rock.

Clearly, safety was top priority throughout. Every action contemplated had to be considered in light of its potential for new falling debris, attachment point failure,
struck-by hazards, and even another catastrophic slope failure.

In just 66 contract days, the Phillips & Jordan team succeeded in stabilizing the slope so this vital transportation route could be re-opened. Not only had this closure cut off the main commercial and public connection between North Carolina and Tennessee, it had also essentially cut off the community of Mount Sterling. For these citizens, the only other road access was a narrow gravel forest service road that made a 30-minute run to Waynesville take up to 3 hours. Phillips & Jordan opened a special twice-daily travel lane for a short list of Mount Sterling residents to pass through the jobsite. This special measure was just one example of 18 supplemental agreements signed during the life of the project.

Knoxville News Sentinel – Sunday, September 11, 2011

Click here to view the article on the knoxnews.com website.

By Jacqueline Baylon, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, September 11, 2011

Click here to view the article on the St. Petersburg Times website.

DLI Rugged Tablets Deployed To Tornado-Ravaged South

September 9, 2011

DLI 8400 Rugged Tablets and STORM ADMS provide mobile computing solution for post-disaster debris removal.

LaPorte, IN – DLI, a leading manufacturer of rugged tablets and in-vehicle computers, and Phillips & Jordan Inc, a nationwide contractor specializing in emergency response and recovery services announced the recent deployment of DLI 8400 Rugged Tablets to aid natural disaster recovery efforts in both Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Joplin, Missouri. The DLI rugged tablets served as the mobile computing platform for Transport Tracking’s STORM Automated Debris Management System, which was deployed by Phillips & Jordan during clean-up efforts following the recent outbreak of deadly tornados.

In business since 1952, Phillips & Jordan is a nationwide general and specialty contractor with a focus on emergency response and disaster management, among its many other core competencies. Named “Civil Works Contractor of the Year” by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for their response following the September 11 World Trade Center tragedy, Phillips & Jordan is recognized as an innovator for their use of mobile technologies within their industry. The company’s use of the STORM (Strategic Tracking of Recovery Material) Automated Debris Management System from Transport Tracking recently received certification by the USACE and is being utilized in the massive recovery and debris removal efforts currently underway in Tuscaloosa, AL and Joplin, Mo.

The STORM ADMS system provides emergency response agencies and debris management contractors with an integrated suite of applications designed to improve driver, load, and dump site tracking. Design to meet the Army Corps of Engineers requirement for an Automated Debris Management System, STORM provides a ticketless debris tracking system that works at the dispatch site, point of debris loading, interim and final dump locations.

Click here to continue reading the entire article on the Field Technologies Online website.

Ben Turner, President of P&J, being interviewed by Bay News 9 reporter Josh Gauntt for an upcoming story on 9/11

Ben Turner, President of P&J, was interviewed today by Bay News 9 for an upcoming story marking the 10th anniversary of 9/11.  Mr. Turner was the Project Executive for P&J’s taskings by the Corps of Engineers following the World Trade Center attack. This included management of the Forensic Recovery Operation at the Fresh Kills (Station Island) Landfill. P&J was honored with numerous awards for our efforts on the project, including being named Contractor of the Year by the Corps of Engineers.

Click here to learn more about the World Trade Center Forensic Recovery Operation.

Click here to view the USACE press release.