As companies move to automate most processes, exporters need to make sure that adequate recordkeeping is factored in. Gone are the days when you could keep hard copies of all your export records in filing cabinets in your office. These days you may be required by your company to reduce or eliminate the amount of paper you keep. So how do you go about essentially re-creating paper files in the digital world? How can you use automated compliance...

Whew, what a year (or 3 years) it has been with the sweeping changes implemented in Export Control Reform (ECR) as well as highly publicized shifts in US export controls on Iran, Cuba, and Russia/Crimea/Ukraine. And just as we start to get a handle on the historically significant recent changes, now the new US President promises bold changes in virtually every area of US Government policy. Join John Black as he brings his perspective as a 32 y...

The USACE has been conducting economic risk analyses for evaluating benefit cost ratios for levee projects since the 1960s. With a new focus on life safety, these same analytical techniques are now being used to evaluate priorities for infrastructure investments and required design reliability to achieve various goals, including National Economic Development and life safety risk reduction. This webinar will look at how the USACE is integratin...

Earthquakes represent a hazard to dams in many parts of the United States and therefore are of interest to design engineers and dam safety officials. Evaluation of the seismic stability of these dams to future anticipated earthquakes require an understanding of seismic hazards, site exploration methods, soil behavior under seismic loading, and seismic stability analysis techniques. This webinar will cover the fundamentals of these topics to p...

This webinar is designed to provide dam and levee owners, and their specialist consultants, an introduction to a comprehensive program to assess and reduce public safety risk around dams, levees and powerhouses. In 2011 the Canadian Dam Association, an association similar in nature to the ASDSO, published “Guidelines for Public Safety Around Dams”. Dam owners across Canada are embracing these Guidelines and are assessing and reduc...

Some amount of seepage passes through and under all embankment dams. The collection, monitoring, and analysis of seepage is crucial in the successful execution of any dam safety program and is helpful in deciding if it is expected ambient seepage or indicative of a more serious condition. Seepage collection methods typically include toe drains, blanket drains, and relief wells. Monitoring schemes can be grouped into several categories includi...

Failure mode evaluation or what now is more commonly referred to as potential failure mode analysis (PFMA) for dam safety has become routine practice for many in the profession. The process became more formally organized by the US Bureau of Reclamation in the early to mid 1990’s and gained wider industry exposure in the early 2000’s through the publication of FERC’s Engineering Guidelines, Chapter 14 – Dam Safety Perfo...

Tolerable risk guidelines are used to guide the process of evaluating whether or not dam safety risks are low enough. They provide a means of relating dam safety risks to other risks to which people are exposed as a result of technological hazards. While these guidelines should not be used as the only basis for dam safety decisions, they can play a useful role in making the case for a decision. This webinar will provide both examples of pract...

Although major dams are not designed or intended to fail, the unexpected occurs with tragic consequences. In the unlikely event of such a tragedy, the legal system provides remedies to compensate the victims and their families for their losses. While each state is a separate jurisdiction free to adopt its own legal rules, regulations and theories of relief, they will generally utilize the common-law theories of negligence and strict liability...

Evaluation of potential seepage failure modes in embankment dams and in particular around outlet works penetrations is a very important aspect of dam safety evaluations. Assessing potential seepage failure modes typically requires designing and evaluating investigation and instrumentation programs, and a variety of engineering analyses. Experience has shown that adverse seepage and piping conditions can develop and remain difficult to detect u...