Decoding the Eurocodes

Past, present, and future of Eurocode 7

Today, I will be delivering the 3rd ISSMGE webinar entitled 'Eurocode 7 - past, present, and future'. The webinar commences at 3pm GMT and already has around 140 delegates booked to attend.

Notes of the webinar are now available to download from here.

Information about the book 'Decoding Eurocode 7' by Bond and Harris (2008), which provides a lot more detail about the 'present' of Eurocode 7, can be obtained from the book's dedicated website.

The Thomas Telford 'Designers' Guide to Eurocode 7' by Frank et al. (2002) can be purchased from Amazon.

And if you are looking for training courses on the subject - now available for online or classroom delivery - please visit the training pages on the Geocentrix website (the next online 'Decoding Eurocode 7' course starts 26th January - here is a link to the booking form).

If you attended the webinar and would like to comment on it, please click the 'Comments' link below and tell me what you think. Feedback will be gratefully received!

ISSMGE webinar: Eurocode 7 – past, present, and future

On Monday 19^th December 2011, I will be giving an online lecture entitled "Eurocode 7 – past, present, and future" on behalf of the International Society of Soil Mechancis and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE). The lecture will be delivered twice on the same day, at 9 am and 4 pm GMT,  so that as many people can attend throughout the world.

The lecture will provide a brief review of the development of Eurocode 7 and – in particular – the way it fits in with the development of other European standards for structural design, ground investigation and testing, and execution of geotechnical works. Some of the more important technical questions relating to the implementation of Eurocode 7 into design practice will be discussed and suggestions made for their possible resolution. Finally, the work that is currently underway to evolve the next generation of Eurocodes will be described.

I will post a link to the seminar's webpage when ISSMGE has set one up.

'Design of foundations' now online

Geocentrix is combining two of its Decoding Eurocode 7 training courses into one - online - course.

'Design of shallow foundations' and 'Design of deep foundations' will be delivered over a 4 week period, from Monday 26 September to Wednesday 19th October 2011 using the 'GoToTraining' platform. This follows the successful conversion of Geocentrix's other Decoding Eurocode 7 courses on 'Basis of geotechnical design' and 'Ground investigation and testing' earlier this year.

Full details of dates and costs are available from Geocentrix's website.

Catching up...

It has been a while since I blogged about the Eurocodes, but that is not to say that things have gone quiet. Here is a quick summary of activity over the past few weeks or so:

• The BGA Symposium on 'Eurocode 7 - Today and Tomorrow' was held in Cambridge on 23rd March and was a great success. Over 135 delegates attended, more than expected, and discussion was both lively and informative. Proceedings of the Symposium have been posted on the Symposium webpage and an article has appeared in the May 2011 issue of Ground Engineering entitled 'Eurocode Decoded'
• The 26th meeting of TC250/SC7 (the Eurocode 7 committee) was also held in Cambridge, on 24th-25th March. The key outcome from this meeting was the establishment of various 'Evolution Groups' charged with preparing the way for the next edition of Eurocode 7, which possibly could be due in 2017
• I delivered a one-day training course on behalf of IStructE, northern Irelend, on 29th March in Belfast. The course was well attended, but it is clear that many structural engineers are blissfully unaware of the changes that Eurocode 7 has brought to foundation design
• A meeting of BSI committee B/526 was held in Chiswick on 8th April, at which discussion focussed on updating the UK National Annex to Eurocode 7 and future development of BS5930
• Interest in the Eurocodes has arisen from China, where BSI is bidding to provide consulting and training across the full range of standards (loads, concrete, steel, geotechnics, and seismic). More information will follow as this develops
• A 2-day JRC/SPRA Workshop is being planned for October with lectures on basis of design/materials/durability; conceptual design; structural analysis; limit state design; detailing of reinforcement and members; and foundation design. More information will follow as I get it
• The second online training course in the Decoding Eurocode 7 series, 'Ground investigation and testing' starts next week. Details are available from the Geocentrix website

One-week to go to start of online training

The first lecture in Geocentrix's inaugral online Decoding Eurocode 7 training course starts next Tuesday, 22nd February, at 4pm.

The course, entitled 'Basis of geotechnical design', includes five lectures over three weeks and follows on from Geocentrix's successful free webinars on 'Standards for geotechnical design'.

Over half of the available places on the online course are already booked. Anyone else interested in attending - either for the whol course or just for individual lectures - should visit the Geocentrix website.

70 attend webinars on 'Standards for geotechnical design’

Over the past two days, I have been giving Geocentrix's first webinars on 'Standards for geotechnical design' - four separate events, involving 70 attendees.

I have to say it was exhausting - there is something very challenging about speaking to an audience over the Internet. It is difficult to get feedback during the talk: delegates are more reluctant to ask questions than they are in a face-to-face setting. Nevertheless, it enabled a lot of people (I suspect there were several in the background, meaning we had more than 70 watching/listening) to avoid the inevitable travelling and accommodation costs involved in attending a public meeting.

One delegate even listened to the webinar on his (hand-free) phone, while driving home from site in his car! The wonders of technology.

Geocentrix is following up the success of these webinars with a full online training course on 'Basis of geotechnical design'. Click here for further details.

Further webinars scheduled

All three of Geocentrix's free webinars on 'Decoding Eurocode 7 - standards for geotechncial design' are now fully booked, and a fourth has been scheduled. See the Geocentrix website for further details.

Free one hour webinar on Eurocode 7

Geocentrix is  offering a free one hour pilot webinar on Eurocode 7 on Thursday 3^rd February at 4 pm.

The webinar will cover ‘Standards for geotechnical design’. Places are limited and those  interested need to register to secure a place.

Depending upon the success of this pilot further paid webinars will be offered to make up a full ‘Decoding Eurocode 7: Basis of  Geotechnical Design’ course. See here for details. Details of pricing and dates of this course will be made available during the webinar.

To register a place please e-mail training@geocentrix.co.uk quoting ‘Free Webinar’ to receive instructions for logging on.