Category: News

Cincinnati, Ohio, like much of its brethren across the United States is in the midst of trying to remedy decades of sanitary sewer and combined sewer overflows and maintain its aging underground sewer infrastructure, much of which was built in the late 1800s or early 1900s.
At the helm making sure the system is operating in top form and working through the federally mandated consent decree is the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati (MSDGC). The publically operated wastewater utility serves 43 of 49 political subdivisions in Hamilton County, as well as parts of Butler, Clermont and Warren counties. The more than 290-sq-mile service area has approximately 3,000 miles of sanitary and combined sewers, serving approximately 230,000 residential and commercial ratepayers.
“I can’t speak to the clean water side of things, but the sewer system, like most systems around the country, is in need of a significant influx of resources to bring it up to an ideal condition,” says Michael Stevens, P.E., Wastewater Collection. “Many sewers are showing their age and will need rehabbed, repaired or replaced in a relatively short time frame. There are combined sewers around the County that lack adequate capacity during storms to prevent sewer back up into buildings or overflow into streams.”
A common refrain among utility owners across the country is that funding to fix these infrastructure issues is not there.
To help prioritize where the greatest needs lie, MSDGC has aggressively pursued a robust risk-based asset management strategy that combines its GIS, computerized maintenance management system, risk and condition assessment data, to predict what work needs to be done and where.
“While this strategy is in its relative infancy and has not yet been adopted at all levels, I’m confident that it is a leap in the right direction and will guide our limited resources to where they’re needed most,” Stevens says.

The Multi-Phase Plan

Also guiding the way is the consent decree that MSDGC has worked on with the U.S. EPA and the state since 1997. Despite this late 1990s start date, MSDGC realized long before that, that components in its system were reaching the end of its useful life. According to the district’s Project Groundwork website, since the mid-1990s, more than 40 overflow points in the system were eliminated. Project Groundwork is the name given to the projects mandated by the consent decree, and like many consent decree projects across the country, the work is ripe for trenchless applications.
Project Groundwork, is referred to as the largest public works project in Hamilton County’s 200-plus year history, and focuses on:
• Reducing or eliminating sewage overflows into local rivers and streams and sewage backups into basements.
• Benefiting Hamilton County communities through environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable solutions to these current problems; and
• Revitalizing the economy through creation of jobs and growth opportunities for local businesses.
Project Groundwork is broken into two phases. Phase 1, from 2009 to 2018, is estimated to cost $1.145 billion (in 2006 dollars) and includes construction of 115 projects and design of 62 additional projects by Dec. 30, 2018. Phase 2, after 2018, is estimated to cost $2.1 billion (in 2006 dollars) and is slated to include approximately 256 projects across the county.
The MSDGC’s proposed capital improvement budget for 2016 notes that 82, of 109, consent decree Phase 1 milestones have been reached. The $331 million proposed budget for 2016 includes 90 capital improvement projects. Sixty-two percent of those funds are for Wet Weather Improvement Program projects that were listed in the final consent decree. According to the budget documents, the Phase 1 Wet Weather Program is on schedule and on budget in accordance with the final consent decree.
In 2016, the district is planning to replace approximately 5,200 ft of aging/deteriorated sanitary sewers, 5,000 ft of aging/deteriorated combined sewers and lining approximately 1,100 ft of aging/deteriorated sewers. It also calls for the construction of 35,600 ft of new sanitary sewers, 8,100 ft of new combined sewers and 30,100 ft of new storm sewers.
Overseeing the construction work at the district are two divisions, Wastewater Collection, which handles the district’s relining work, and Wastewater Engineering, which handles the larger capital improvement and replacement projects. A separate department within the City, Greater Cincinnati Water Works, handles the clean water system.
Though both MSDGC divisions perform cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) projects, the amount of CIPP work the engineering side performs is limited. The Wastewater Collection Division, under an annual funding allowance, performs most of the CIPP and lateral work.

Wastewater Collections

Like many sewer districts across the country, CIPP is not new to Cincinnati. According to Stevens’ research, the earliest lining project took place in June 1983. Though he does not have details on that project, the same sewer was CCTV’d in 2002 and no defects were reported. Since 1983, MSDGC has lined more than 1 million ft of sewer, spending an average of $6 million a year on CIPP work.
“The annual trenchless allowance allows for CIPP lining of 10 to 12 miles of sewer per year ranging in diameter from 8 to 54 in.,” says Stevens. “Over 54 in., we start looking at alternate forms of rehab such as spray-applied cementitious coatings.”
Using a variety of condition assessment methods, the district developed a comprehensive risk model for all 98,000 gravity sewers in the service area. The risk level takes into consideration the likelihood and consequence of the failure both from a structural and maintenance perspective.
As the district completes condition assessment inspections on each of its gravity sewers, the structural likelihood of failure is updated. The frequency of maintenance work performed on an asset is the primary driver in determining the maintenance risk. At this point, nearly half of the MSDGC’s gravity sewer system has been inspected and coded per the NASSCO PACP standards.
“The fact that an asset is high risk does not necessitate any specific work to be performed on said asset. For this reason, we use Innovyze’s GIS-based Infomaster software to develop recommended rehab methods for each of our segments,” says Randy Schneider, P.E., Wastewater Collection. “These recommended methods include actions anywhere from monitor — for future maintenance — to repair/replacement and full lining.”
Schneider continues, “Based on the aforementioned risk of the assets, we set a date that the recommended action is to take place. We use this information for budget forecasting in each of our funding categories, both capital and operations and maintenance. The intent is to ensure we have adequate funding to perform just-in-time renewal and maintenance on each of our assets.”
The district has developed a risk model for its 74 miles of pressurized mains, as well, and it is in the process of developing best maintenance practices based on this risk model.
“CIPP lining has proven itself to be a cost-effective alternative to traditional excavation repairs and as pricing continues to drop, newer technologies such as UV-cured glass reinforced plastic CIPP will be adopted by more municipalities,” Stevens’ says. “MSDGC is proposing to use all UV-cured GRP CIPP on our next annual contract for 2016. While standard felt/resin CIPP has been a tremendous success for us here, we have struggled with styrene odor migration during installation, resulting in some serious situations over the past five years. UV-cured CIPP includes an inner and outer layer that is impervious to airborne styrene. In addition, the light-curing process does not introduce the primary mechanism of pressurized steam by which styrene odors migrate through the pipe and building connections.”
Gaining more traction in the relining side of the trenchless industry is lateral work. Many industry insiders see this as one of the emerging segments and Cincinnati is no different. Like other utility owners, the sticky wicket is the private property issue of laterals – or as listed in the district’s rules and regulations as “building sewers.”
Until 2010, the district had no way of creating a maintenance or condition assessment schedule set for building sewers because they are private assets resulting in most of the repair work being done on a reactive (more costly) basis. Through a partnership with Duke Energy, MSDGC began televising all sewer related assets in areas where new gas lines are installed.
“The partnership jumpstarted the district’s efforts to perform condition assessment and obtain GIS level location information on building sewers,” Schneider says. “Using this location and condition information, MSDGC is able to identify building sewers to be ‘renewed’ via trenchless technologies.”
Since the start of its lateral renewal program in 2012, the district has installed more than 1,500 lateral liners. The district uses LMK Technologies VAC-A-TEE system to install cleanouts and then install a lateral liner, using LMK products. Schneider says MSDGC can install the VAC-A-TEE and lateral liner for about one-tenth of the cost of reactively repairing a building sewer via trench excavation.

Wastewater Engineering

Of course, not everything can be installed using a “totally” trenchless method and handling those projects is Wastewater Engineering.
Traditional cut-and-cover is the default solution for many projects, but MSDGC Wastewater Engineering keeps an open mind to trenchless methods for more difficult projects, says Mark Chapman, P.E., Wastewater Engineering.
Looking at the data, Chapman estimates that the district has used modern trenchless methods — most commonly jack-and-bore — for at least 35 years, but he noted that many of the large-diameter sewers were installed using hand tunnelling, like the Auxiliary Mill Creek Interceptor that was installed in the 1960s.

According to Chapman, the district has five active trenchless projects. For 2016, the district is still finalizing the design on several projects, and currently looking at five to 10 projects using trenchless, as well. Most of its projects have a combination of both open-cut and trenchless and sometimes that trenchless is as little as 50 to 100 ft.
One recent Project Groundwork-related project, the Oakley Separation Sewer Project, incorporated trenchless and also marked the district’s first use of the design-build contracting method. The project, estimated at $12.2 million, included a half-mile of 60- and 72-in. trenchless storm and near-surface sewer pipes, to separate the storm and sanitary systems for approximately 100 acres of urban property that the City was revitalizing for a theater, retail shopping and an open-style market. Using the design-build method, the project wrapped up 15 months after the notice to proceed and the district saved more than $3.3 million.
The project was named a Trenchless Technology magazine 2014 Project of the Year Honorable Mention for New Installation and recently received the 2015 National Award of Merit for Water/Wastewater from the Design-Build Institute of America. The Oakley project design team relied on expertise from MSDGC, Brown and Caldwell, Ulliman Schutte Construction LLC, IBI Group and Midwest Mole.
“The project was revolutionary for MSDGC, because it proved the proper application of collaborative delivery systems can yield tremendous benefits. The integration between MSDGC and Ulliman Schutte proved to provide the ideal project environment,” says Ali Bahar, principle engineer, Wastewater Engineering. “Collaborative delivery allowed for a fair allocation of project risks and provided the team flexibility to optimize solutions for the differing site conditions encountered. This prestigious award serves as national recognition of the project team’s outstanding collaboration, dedication and professionalism. It serves as proof that the collaborative project delivery model can be successfully utilized on trenchless projects to surpass the expectations of a traditional project delivery model on certain projects.”

In the Toolbox

Both Chapman and Schneider acknowledge the place that trenchless technology holds in a utility owner’s toolbox, especially in light of the deteriorating infrastructure, in heavily conjected and growing urban areas, across the nation.
“Utilities that used to be above ground on poles are in many places now going subterranean. Given this reality, excavation repairs necessarily have a higher risk than in the past. Higher risk equals higher cost,” Stevens says. “Any municipality or contractor that has ever hit a fiber optic cable can tell you that digging can have significant negative consequences. Here at MSDGC, we have lined sewers that would otherwise have been excavated simply because the underground utility density was just too high to dig or because the site-specific conditions prevented equipment access. Employing trenchless technologies meant having a quality, cost-effective alternative process to renew these pipes.”
Though many municipalities and utility owners are aware of the benefits of trenchless, some may shy away from employing them in favor of tried-and-true open-cut.
“Trenchless is certainly an option that every community and its engineers should keep in their toolbox,” Chapman says. “Once you have a handle on the different trenchless methods and weigh the risks/benefits against open-cut construction, it typically becomes obvious which method is best suited for a specific project.”
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The Brown and Caldwell design-build team has helped the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati (MSDGC) earn its first award from the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA).
The district’s Oakley Separation Sewer Project is being recognized in the Water/Wastewater category for exemplary collaboration and integration in the design-build project delivery method. It’s also a nominee for DBIA’s National Award of Excellence.
The Oakley project design team relied on expertise from MSDGC, Brown and Caldwell, Ulliman Schutte Construction LLC, IBI Group, and Midwest Mole.
“To win a National Design-Build Project/Team Award, projects must not only achieve budget and schedule goals, but also demonstrate advanced and innovative application of design-build best practices,” said Lisa Washington, CAE, executive director and CEO of DBIA. “Your winning project showcased how the project team went above and beyond achieving cost, schedule and quality goals, demonstrating unique applications of design-build best practices to raise the industry’s bar even higher.”
The $12.2 million project, which included a half-mile of 60- and 72-in. storm and near-surface sewer pipes, not only came in ahead of schedule and under budget, but well ahead of the district’s consent decree compliance deadline. Construction wrapped up just 15 months after the notice to proceed; the district saved more than $3.3 million, or about 25 percent.
Opening the door to a design-build approach expedited the Oakley project’s completion, eliminated two CSO’s quickly and reduced the cost of the district’s capital projects.
“This prestigious award is high praise for the excellent collaboration of the project team,” said Stephen Gates, Brown and Caldwell project director. “The district is being recognized for its leadership in completing the first infrastructure project in the state using design-build contracting under Ohio Construction Reform — significantly reducing project costs and helping to expedite completion of a critical economic development project.”
Ulliman Schutte Construction President Matthew Ulliman agreed. “The collaboration, dedication and professionalism among the project team’s participants make us extremely proud of this national award and what it represents for MSDGC,” he said.
Weekly meetings, close coordination and flexibility allowed the design team to wrap up the project without affecting the city’s critical economic development. This project’s success surpassed all expectations in terms of solution optimization, collaboration, flexibility, risk allocation/sharing, quality, delivery time, cost savings, impact to stakeholders, partnering and teamwork.
“Community relations remained very strong throughout the project, resulting in extraordinarily positive feedback,” said Ali Bahar, principal engineer with MSDGC. “The project was revolutionary for us, because it proved that the proper application of collaborative delivery systems can yield tremendous benefits. This project’s success has proven the benefits of a design-build approach.”
The Oakley station is being viewed as a prototype, where lessons learned will help to guide future projects.
The Brown and Caldwell team provided services that included procurement assistance through development of the design-build RFQ and RFP; technical assistance during contractor selection and negotiation; design oversight and contractor oversight during construction. Before the project, Brown and Caldwell also provided a series of training sessions to district staff aimed at providing insight and examples of various types of integrated delivery approaches.
The National Award of Excellence winners will be named at an awards ceremony Nov. 3 during the Design Build Conference and Expo in Denver. In addition, four National Awards of Excellence will be handed out for Design (one for architecture and one for engineering), Process and Teaming. One project will be honored as Project of the Year.
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Denver proved to be the perfect host city for NASTT’s 2015 No-Dig Show, attracting a record-setting number of attendees and exhibitors to the Mile High City, March 15-19. The trenchless community was treated to unseasonably warm weather outside and a great atmosphere inside at the Denver Convention Center, blending business, education and networking during the course of the conference.

This marks the first time NASTT has brought its annual trenchless conference and exhibition to Colorado, an integral hub for the engineering community and home to a lot of trenchless technology work. Attendance topped more than 2,300 attendees and the exhibit hall was sold out prior to the event, holding 173 trenchless companies.

The No-Dig Show brings together the industry’s past, present and future, honoring the indelible work that trenchless professionals have created. The 2015 Trenchless Technology Person of the Year was formally presented to Midwest Mole CEO Dan Liotti and all of the winners of the 2014 Trenchless Technology Projects of the Year were recognized. NASTT inducted its fourth Hall of Fame Class: the late David Magill Jr., Avanti International; Ron Halderman, Mears Group; and Kaleel Rahaim, Interplastics Corp. Stantec Consulting’s Dave Krywiak was the received the NASTT Chairman’s Award for Outstanding Lifetime Service; and Alison St. Clair, of Gibson Thomas Engineering, and Dr. Aliraza Bayat, director of the Consortium for Engineered Trenchless Technologies at the University of Alberta, received the Trent Ralston Award for Young Trenchless Achievement. Source One Environmental and TT Technologies were awarded the Joseph L. Abbott Innovative Product Awards.

The No-Dig Show has two main attractions that are huge draws. One is its highly-acclaimed Technical Program, with more than 160 peer-reviewed papers through six tracks presented in 2015. The papers represented a broad range of industry topics, covering the gamut of trenchless methods and issues. The sessions also included a Pipe Bursting Forum, as well as a dedicated Gas Industry Track. The other is the exhibit hall, in which attendees can see first-hand the latest products that are keeping the trenchless industry moving forward in its quest to address the utility construction and repair industry.

In 2016, the 25th annual No-Dig Show — its silver anniversary — will be held in Dallas, March 20-24 at the Gaylord Texan. Deadline to submit an abstract for the technical program is June 30, 2015.
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There are approximately 173 exhibitors on hand in Denver for NASTT’s 2015 No-Dig Show and the second full day of technical sessions are under way.
We know there are some of our readers who could not make the event, taking place now through March 19, so we compiled a social media synopsis of the first couple of days. (Found at the bottom of this post.) For a complete schedule of events, visit nodigshow.com.
Monday’s No-Dig Show kick-off breakfast served as jumping off point for the event and also gives the Trenchless Technology team the opportunity to formally present our Person of the Year, Project of the Year New Installation and Project of the Year Rehabilitation awards.
The 2015 Trenchless Technology Person of the Year recipient is Midwest Mole CEO Dan Liotti. Follow this link to read the full story about Dan.
(Editor’s Note: That’s Dan Liotti and his wife Laura in the photo at the top of this page. They are flanked by Tom Iseley, P.E. Director of of the Trenchless Technology Center and chairman of the Trenchless Technology Editorial Advisory Board and Trenchless Technology publisher Bernie Krzys.)

Our 2014 Project of the Year New Installation winner was Michels Corp. for its work on the Spectra Energy’s New Jersey-New York Expansion Project. For more on that story, follow this link.
And rounding out our awards, with Project of the Year Rehabilitation was Murphy Pipeline Contractors for its work on the  Calder Road project for Gulf Coast Water Authority (GCWA) and the City of League City, Texas. For more information on this winner, follow this link.
Stay abreast of NASTT’s 2015 No-Dig Show by following @TrenchlessTech, @UIM_Journal and @NoDigShow on Twitter. And if you are sharing your 2015 No-Dig Show experiences in the social media world be sure to use the #NoDigDenver2015 hashtag.
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The successful trenchless career of Midwest Mole CEO Dan Liotti is really a story between Dan and Len Liotti — Dan’s father, teacher, mentor and his greatest influence. He listened and learned and got his hands dirty in the field, taking in all his father’s lessons of hard work, commitment and preparedness.
At 52, Dan Liotti already has nearly 30 years of experience in the world of trenchless construction and has spent the better part of his entire life around the trenchless industry.
“I really grew up in the business through my father. My father started in the trenchless business in the 1960s with Armco Steel. He took off his shirt and tie as a sales engineer and signed up with Armco’s Underground Division,” Dan says. “He learned from the ground up by working in the field. This is how I learned and it has allowed me to succeed in this business.”
Dan still marvels that he has built strong professional relationships today with the veritable list of trenchless icons such as Tom Iseley, Maynard Akkerman, Bob Affholder and others, who he looked up to as he learned the trenchless business. Once thought of as mentors, he is now good friends with many of them. Once the person who asked the questions, he is now the mentor for those who seek snippets of his trenchless knowledge.
Growing up, Dan knew he wanted to work with his father. The Indiana native literally grew up in the trenchless construction industry, fascinated with every crevice of it. He got his first taste of the construction industry at an early age, eagerly tagging along with his father to jobsites and maintenance shops. He has photos of himself climbing up on equipment when he was 10 years old and holds memories of handing tools to mechanics.
Becoming a part of the trenchless fabric was in his blood, as he says: “It’s really the only thing I knew.” Dan has given back to the industry by actively participating in industry-related associations such as the North American Society for Trenchless Technology (NASTT) and the National Utility Contractors Association (NUCA), serving on the board of directors for the former and assisting in the development of trenchless manuals with the latter.
Midwest Mole projects have been recognized for excellence by numerous associations. In 2007, a project at the Indianapolis Airport was awarded the Trenchless Technology Project of the Year for New Installation and other projects have also received Honorable Mention awards, most recently in 2014.
CEO of the company since 2012, Dan has tirelessly worked to maintain the level of respect and professionalism that his father — who passed away in 2010 at age 76 — carved out in the trenchless industry. His passion for the industry and his excitement whenever a cutterhead is exiting a bore hole or a machine is coming into an entry pit hasn’t lessened one bit.
“It’s amazing and gives you goose bumps,” Dan says. “That excitement of seeing all that work and effort and technology coming to fruition on each project…That still excites me.”
For all of his accomplishments and contributions to the trenchless industry, Dan Liotti is the 2015 Trenchless Technology Person of the Year. His selection caught him off-guard and virtually speechless. “It’s an incredible honor to receive this award,” Dan says. “There are so many incredible people in our industry and so deserving.”

Early On

Len Liotti started out in construction in the 1960s as a sales engineer with Armco Steel, which at the time was the largest specialized boring, jacking and tunneling contractor in the United States. Armco built its own boring equipment back then, hydraulically powered machines that could install gravity sewer casings under a highway, hitting its target on line and grade. Watching the bores being constructed, Liotti was amazed at the work and realized the incredible future he was witnessing. He later joined tunneling contractor Affholder Boring and Tunneling Inc. (owned by trenchless pioneer Bob Affholder).
By 1982, Liotti was ready to strike out on his own and he founded Midwest Mole, becoming a small auger boring operation based in Indianapolis. The company started out auger boring, pipe jacking and grouting; however, it later added more trenchless disciplines such as microtunneling, pipe ramming, hand mining, guided boring and horizontal directional drilling. The diversity allowed the contracting company to attract customers and rapidly grow into one of the leading Midwest trenchless contractors.
All the while, Dan was at his father’s side, watching and learning. He has vivid recollections of joining his father on Saturday mornings at jobsites when he was about 10, climbing up onto equipment. He also would “assist” the mechanics in the Affholder shop by handing them tools as they worked on equipment, helping Dan become an equipment junkie at a young age. As he became older, he started to work on jobsites as a laborer.
“This is where I really had a chance to learn about equipment,” Dan says of that time. “I’ve always enjoyed equipment and it was cool to be out on these jobsites when I was a kid, being with the crews.”
He studied civil engineering at the University of Purdue, with an eye toward joining his father’s Midwest Mole company after graduation. Dan was a sophomore in college when Len Liotti started Midwest Mole. He worked for his father during his summer breaks between 1981-1984, mainly on auger boring crews — an education in of itself.
“Only one summer break in my life did I not work for my father [in some capacity],” Dan says. “The summer between my junior and senior year at Purdue, I interned at IBM in Raleigh, N.C., in its construction liaison division.”
It was your basic desk job. The opportunity proved to be interesting for Dan, allowing him to use his computer technology skills. “I remember learning how to use the Lotus 1-2-3 Excel spreadsheet,” he says, laughing about the then “cool” technology of the 1980s.
Even before he finished his degree at Purdue, Dan knew where he wanted his career to take him. When he did obligatory interviews with companies, he says he felt bad for just going through the motions. “I felt like I was wasting their time. I always knew I was going to join my Dad,” he says simply.
Midwest Mole was in its infancy when Dan came aboard full time. The company was then led by Len Liotti and his wife, Jane. Sadly, Jane Liotti passed away in 1987, after a courageous battle with breast cancer. Dan began his career learning the business from the ground up, doing a little bit of everything. He worked in the accounting department early on and then moved to the shop, becoming shop manager, a position that allowed him to spend hours working on equipment. He later did project estimations and was in charge of field operations.
He purchased the company from his father in 2002, becoming its president. A lot has changed since the early years in terms of the scope of work Midwest Mole performed to the number of employees and pieces of equipment — everything got bigger.  In 2012 Dan promoted long time employee Jason Miller to president and Dan took on the position of CEO to allow him to back away a bit from the day to day operations.  Dan contributes Midwest Mole’s growth to the dedication and hard work of its employee’s.  Dan is a true believer in one his father’s quotes: “You are only as successful as the people underneath you.”
“When I started in the office in 1985, we had three or four crews. Today, we have 15,” Dan says. “My father cut his teeth on auger boring but we’ve done anything and everything associated with new installation.”
Dan has worked with the leading manufacturers of the trenchless methods the company employs, such as Vermeer, Akkerman, The Robbins Co., American Augers, Barbco and Michael Byrne, as well as Digital Control, Baroid and CETCO. “We have 30 years of equipment we’ve purchased over the years on 13 acres [of Midwest Mole property],” he says.
He has also actively worked with a few of the leading trenchless and utility construction associations, offering his time and expertise to further the work of trenchless technology. He was involved with NUCA early on, and assisted in the development of its trenchless construction and soil compatibility manual. He is a past board member of NASTT and remains a member of its Midwest Chapter.
“I was approached about 10 years ago that there was an opportunity to become a [NASTT] board member and was told it will be one of the greatest things you will be able to look back on in our industry,” Dan says. “And he was right.”
Working with the various associations and manufacturers allows Dan the chance to continue networking with industry, as well as partnering on incredible projects. He has also formed lasting friendships, such as with long-time good friend Maynard Akkerman, president and CEO of equipment manufacturer Akkerman Inc., Brownsdale, Minn.
“My company has had the privilege of working with Midwest Mole over the course of three generations. First Len Liotti worked my father, Don Akkerman, followed by our partnerships and now our businesses are embarking on their generation of family ownership.”
Over the years, Maynard and his wife, Robin, formed a long-standing friendship with Dan and his wife, Laura, and the four have traveled extensively around the globe and have shared many milestones in their lives and families. One of the many qualities he admires in Dan is his “strong Christian faith and moral integrity.”

Trenchless Success

Hard to believe — even to himself — but Dan is approaching his 30th year in the trenchless industry (in May) and he notes how incredible the evolution of the industry has been. From the speed of projects to the technology used, the industry’s trajectory has exploded upward. Over the years, Dan has worked with many who are considered trenchless innovators and experts, including Dr. Tom Iseley, who recently returned as executive director of the Trenchless Technology Center (TTC). Iseley first introduced Dan to the HDD method.
“Years ago, [Iseley] took me to Chicago to visit a company that was one of the first ones doing HDD there,” he reflects. “It’s mind-boggling how HDD is done today, with the self-loading rigs, locators and the overall speed of the jobs.”
“Today, the trenchless industry is a massive industry,” he says. “It’s come from the days when Armco pioneered the industry and the words ‘trenchless technology’ didn’t exist to today, where we have tens of thousands of people in the industry, great associations like NASTT and conventions such as the No-Dig Show and others, engineering firms that concentrate on trenchless design, academia that teaches our industry along with the great publications such as Trenchless Technology.”

Circle of Life

Married for 27 years, Dan and Laura have two sons, one of whom is in the Midwest Mole fold. Their eldest son Brian, 25, has worked at Midwest Mole for the last two-plus years as a project engineer after earning his degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Purdue. Their youngest son Mike is still in school (also at the University of Purdue), studying industrial management.
“You have to have a good support system to be successful,” Dan says. “Laura has just been an incredible support to me. Construction is a tough road, with early hours and travel and you add in trying to raise a family. She has been a blessing. As they say: Behind every good man is a better wife.”
Trenchless technology has been very good to Dan and his family, personally and professionally — and he wouldn’t have it any other way, looking forward to what the future brings. “It is an absolutely amazing industry. Some of my best friends are people who I have met through my business,” he says. “The future is limitless. There is going to be a huge increase in the investment of our infrastructure and our industry is going to take a larger and larger piece of this work. With the increased focus at some of our colleges on trenchless design and construction, these young engineers are going to design more work to build and also continue to invent new ways to perform work.”
Even though he’s no longer the “young kid” in the industry, Dan still has that young kid reaction to deciphering and solving a challenging problem. “Every job is different. It’s exciting to try to figure out the best technology to use to complete a project and then see it working in the field just the way you envisioned it,” he says. “While it can be very stressful when a job is not going well, it can be exciting to take your past knowledge and work with your team to try to find a solution that you are not 100 percent sure if it’s going to work and see the project come to completion.”
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Nearly a year and 5,200 ft farther above sea level, the North American Society for Trenchless Technology (NASTT) is ready to bring the 2015 NASTT No-Dig Show to the Mile High City.
From March 15-19, the City will be abuzz with activity as trenchless professionals from around the world converge for the largest conference and tradeshow in North America dedicated solely to the promotion of trenchless technology.
The 2015 event marks the first time NASTT’s No-Dig Show has visited the Centennial State — a surprise given the City’s spot as a hub for the engineering industry.
Show activities, from gala dinners and technical sessions to short courses and chapter meetings take place at the Colorado Convention Center, which is located within walking distance of 300 restaurants, the nine theaters that make up the Denver Performing Arts Complex and a bevy of shopping opportunities.
Approximately 173 exhibitors will fill the exhibit hall displaying the latest in trenchless equipment and technology and to answer attendees’ question.
The No-Dig technical paper program brings approximately 160 peer-reviewed technical papers to be presented, focusing on a diverse range of trenchless topics, including horizontal directional drilling (HDD), cured-in-place pipe (CIPP), microtunneling, inspection, case histories, asset management, pipe jacking and ramming, water and sewer rehabilitation, project planning, inspection and trenchless research.
The No-Dig papers are presented in a six-track schedule and are grouped mostly by subject matter so attendees can choose to attend five paper presentations at any given time.
As the show nears, here are few items to mark on your calendars.
Pre- and post-conference seminars are available to attendees at an additional cost.

• Sunday, March 15, NASTT’s Trenchless Technology Short Course-New Construction and Rehabilitation will be held.
• Slated for March 18-19, are several informative courses presented by NASTT.
  The conference gets under way with its annual kick-off  breakfast from 7:30 to 9:15 a.m. Monday, March 16.
• During this event, the formal presentation of the 2015 Trenchless Technology Person of the Year will be made. This year’s recipient is Midwest Mole CEO Dan Liotti.
• Following that presentation, the winners, runners up and honorable mentions for the 2014 Trenchless Technology Projects of the Year for Rehabilitation and New Installation will be formally recognized.
• Rounding out the breakfast awards are NASTT’s 2014 Outstanding Papers in Rehabilitation and New Installation Awards.
• We said the NASTT No-Dig Show was about fun and networking, well how is this for you – breakfast closes with a performance by award-winning entertainer and speaker Craig Karges. Kargas bills himself as an “extraordinist” and his shows blend magic with the science of psychology and the power of intuition.

Let your brain and body unwind at the most anticipated networking event of the conference, NASTT’s 14th annual Educational Fund Auction & Reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.  Colorado is one of the nation’s top ski destinations; hence the “Totally Rad Slopes” 1980s ski theme. So be sure to deck yourself out in your best day-glow neon, leg warmers and puffy jackets for an event that’s sure to be a totally awesome time — all for a great cause.
Tuesday, March 17, NASTT will host its annual gala awards dinner. NASTT will present several awards and will induct its fourth NASTT Hall of Fame Class: David Magill Jr. — who passed away in January 2014, Ron Halderman and Kaleel Rahaim.
The 2015 No-Dig event closes with a luncheon and keynote address on Wednesday, March 18. This also serves as a look ahead to Dallas in 2016, which will serve as the silver anniversary for the NASTT No-Dig Show.
For more information about the 2015 No-Dig Show, visit nodigshow.com or contact Benjamin Media, which handles the show’s management, at (330) 467-7588.
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Midwest Mole, Inc. was honored by the Metro Indianapolis Coalition for Construction Safety (MICCS) with the Zero Injury Award for having no recordable injuries in 2012. This is the first time Midwest Mole received the MICCS Zero Injury Award.
This recognition is given to companies whose employees have not suffered a work-related incident resulting in loss of consciousness, restriction of work or motion, transfer to another job or requiring medical treatment other than first aid for the past calendar year. Out of 278 member companies, only 18 were recognized for zero injuries.
“At Midwest Mole, safety is at the center of the company’s culture. The phrase “Safety first, quality second and production third” is more than a slogan. It is how Midwest Mole conducts its business,” said Midwest Mole corporate safety director Brent Grandidier. “A lot of work goes into achieving these awards of distinction. All of our policies, procedures and efforts contribute toward an end result of zero injuries. But our main attribute in achieving zero injuries is our hard working employees, who always put safety first.”
Grandidier accepted the award on May 2 at the 20th annual MICCS Awards Banquet, May 2 at the Indiana Convention Center.
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