Who is Joe M. Turner, PE? I have not had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Turner, but have met guys who have. As of the copyright date in his book (2009), Joe had 26 years in the business: 10 years working for a contractor and another 16 years developing an engineering firm servicing contractors and equipment suppliers in shoring engineering. He’s a contractor’s engineer – the best kind.
What is this book’s mission/purpose? When you read the book, you get a feeling that Joe is talking to you – not writing at you or above you. The language is simple and direct. The goal of the book is to give the reader simple approaches to achieving OSHA compliance and protecting workers with confidence using engineering principles executed via simple math and logical assumptions. In the author’s words on page XV of the Preface the “material covered in this book could be considered competent person training topics for the professional.” The book seeks to provide a fundamental understanding of boring logs (Section 5.6), the transformation of that data into lateral and buoyant loading, and then how to resist those forces to protect human life.
This is just a design book, so it’s not for me. Not true. Yes, this has design information. Yes, this has design examples. Yes, this has math. But, it’s presented from just about ground zero starting with its admittance that you only need to know simple math to understand the concepts. Additionally, when it comes to engineering principles, Joe gently introduces engineering concepts like free body diagrams (Figure 2.6) and d which is the Greek letter called delta and stands for deflection (the capital letter version, D, is also used) (Chapter 2.2). Even the concepts of axial force, shear, bending, and bearing are suggested to be learned by bending a ruler or a pencil (Chapter 2.2).
I’ve been in this business for a long time, and I’ve met plenty of foremen, superintendents, and college graduates who want to learn the basics quickly and from a competent source. This book does that. This book teaches the building blocks – it teaches enough information for a foreman or superintendent to talk the talk in a room full of engineers, plus it allows a veteran engineer to immediately become conversational in shoring design.
Book structure and major sections. Not only does Joe cover your standard ditch shoring, but also covers those oddball contractor engineering needs (things that no one learned in school and that Owners’ engineers do not typically know, but sometimes require contractors to submit upon for approval prior to construction):
- Surcharge loads to underground pipes (Chapter 4.6.1)
- Wheel loads from construction equipment tires (Chapter 4.6.1)
- Suspension of utility pipes (Chapter 4.7)
- Open trench traffic bridges (i.e. road plates) (Chapter 4.8)
- Trench bridges for larger spans (Chapter 4.8.4)
This is just one set of special nuggets of this book – where else can you find this from a competent source?
One of the other aspects of this book I love is his breakdown on how to read a geotechnical report and a boring log – this is a must-know for constructors and estimators. Chapter 5 covers this in just 38 pages. Do you know what the three most important pieces of information are in a soils report? Here’s what Joe says in Chapter 5.6:
- Descriptive language in the soil layers
- The SPT (standard penetration test) performed in the field
- The unconfined compression tests from the laboratory
A large portion of the book discusses shoring based upon tabulated data. Tabulated data is when basic, and relatively common, field shoring scenarios are listed in a table along with the number and configuration of structural elements needed to resist said scenario. Tabulated data is available in this book for timber shoring, trench jacks, high-clearance shoring, waler rails, arch spreaders, and slide rails (Chapter 9).
Limitations or gaps. This is not a design manual providing code compliance. This is not a theoretical tool written by a PhD. This is not a tool for protecting property or for installing permanent structures. This is a tool which teaches contractors efficiency (cost and time) in shoring installation and removal, plus how to comply with OSHA. Joe states that the entire book is based upon the material contained in OSHA Subpart P, Excavations (see Appendix 1). He also includes his commentary on OSHA Subpart P, Appendix A Soil Classification (Appendix 2).
As contractors, our usual minimum qualification is to protect workers and do it for a short duration. This is not aligned with designers of permanent structures who worry only about the effects in the long run. This book shows how to accomplish this.
My story. At age 27 I went to the Pacific Northwest to work for a utility contractor. Each time we had a trench box come out to site, the corresponding tabulated data (a piece of paper that shows in what soil conditions and to what depth the box could be used safely) was handed to us by the driver. I kept seeing this guy’s name: Joe Turner, Joe Turner, Joe Turner. I was pleasantly surprised when I came upon his book, and have been referring to it often in the months since I found it. I’m hoping one day I’ll get to meet him.
Below is some tabulated data for your viewing pleasure, just in case you don’t know what this looks like in the shoring world.
Work safe!
