Chairman's Statement

New AGS Chairman - Jonathan R A Gammon, Divisional Director, Jacobs
Chairman's report to the 2007 AGM

Thank you very much for granting me the honour of being your Chairman for the next two years. 

On behalf of all members of AGS , my first task as new Chairman is to thank Jim Cook, of Buro Happold, for his chairmanship of AGS over the past two years. Jim has been a very able, enthusiastic and hard-working Chairman. He has committed considerable time and effort to this position. Jim’s style is informal and seemingly “hands-off”, but nevertheless he has been the guiding influence in the way AGS has developed over the past two years. Jim has been keen to establish a means by which AGS can monitor its performance. He has developed strong relations with overseas organisations, which are vital in today’s global market-place. He has also continued to represent AGS on the Committee of the British Geotechnical Association ( BGA ). Thank you, Jim. 

The future for AGS is both very exciting and challenging. Jim Cook has given me valuable coaching before passing on the Chairman’s baton and I am going to have to run hard to keep the momentum going.

In my own career, spanning more than thirty years, I am fortunate to have worked in different sectors in the geotechnical and geo-environmental community, to have worked for small and large companies, and to have worked in countries around the World.

In the late 1990s, I took part in establishing an Association of Geotechnical and Geo-environmental Specialists in Hong Kong [ AGS (HK)]. Introducing a trade association to the diverse and vibrant community in Hong Kong was a tremendous experience. As was necessary at that time and place, we need to keep asking ourselves how AGS is going to differentiate itself from other organisations. How do we maintain the interest of, and value to, our Membership? Why should consultants, contractors, suppliers, lawyers, insurers, academics, and others in our community – including client organisations - want to join AGS , and remain members of AGS ? I will be endeavouring to increase the membership of AGS and to attract members to represent fully our diverse community. 

As a member of the original gathering at Imperial College in 1988, which led to the formation of AGS , I particularly look forward to events in 2008 to celebrate the Association’s 20th Anniversary. Having survived (almost) twenty years, including the cycles in the global economy along the way, AGS can consider itself to be a robust organisation. 

AGS is closely involved in the revision and up-dating of the key set of documents relating to site investigation in the UK . Related to those documents, Steve Everton, a colleague of mine at Jacobs, co-authored a Technical Note which appeared in the December 2004 issue of “Ground Engineering” entitled “Study of the benefits of ICE Site Investigation Steering Group documents: 10 years on.” In the Note there is a table listing ten areas of concern and identifying which of those concerns are main concerns for organisations as diverse as clients, consultants, specialist contractors, and site investigation contractors. The facts that the main concerns differed from organisation to organisation, but that collectively all the concerns were main concerns, supports the existence of AGS to provide a focal point for those concerns and a means of addressing them. 

The concerns of 1988 and of 2004 remain the concerns of today. The fundamental importance of desk studies and of the overall process of site investigation is key to much of what AGS continues to do. The Geo-Wheel, with which you will become increasingly familiar during my Chairmanship, is an attempt to clarify key areas of activity during the “life” of a project and to illustrate the interaction between these activities.

As a community, our current major concerns and challenges include recruitment and staff resources. This is an international challenge and we need to work with organisations in countries as diverse as China , the United States of America , and Australia and New Zealand , to address this. I look forward to building on the relationships already established, which include ASFE in the USA , for example. In April this year I will be in Sydney representing AGS at a meeting of the Australian Geomechanics Society and towards the end of May I will take advantage of being in Hong Kong to enjoy a reunion with AGS (HK).

Remaining in the international arena, the raising of global warming in the public and commercial consciousness requires AGS to consider how this might impact on our activities and how we should respond to the related concerns.

Returning “home”, AGS needs to be fully briefed on proposals for a scheme of Geotechnical Registration in the UK and to examine this in the context of the existing schemes that confer the EurIng and EurGeol Registrations, which are valid throughout Europe . Establishing and reinforcing links for AGS within the UK and across Europe will also be an objective for me, to balance our interests further away.

At present the geotechnical and geo-environmental community is well-represented at a senior level in a wide range of key professional organisations. Keith Gabriel, a past-Chairman of AGS , is Chairman of the Ground Forum, which informs the Construction Industry Council. Quentin Leiper is the current President of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE). Derek Butcher and Mike Summersgill are Regional Chairman and South-Eastern Chairman, respectively, for ICE’s activities in the South-East of England . All deserve our congratulations for the positions they have achieved. You will know others in similar roles. Please let me know who they are, using the Contact Details for AGS provided on our web-site (www.ags.org.uk), so that we can continue to develop our network of those representing our community and encourage them, if not already members, to join AGS .

Last, but by no means least, I look forward to continuing and building on our existing relationship with the UK’s Federation of Piling Specialists (FPS), from whom we gratefully receive support to our own endeavours.

I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge, with gratitude, the excellent work undertaken by the AGS Secretariat, led by Dianne Jennings , and to say that I look forward to the support of Dianne and her Team during my term of office.

Jonathan R A Gammon

Chairman, AGS