Like many people, Tom and Barry Humphries would often turn to one of their more experienced counterparts for advice when they were getting started in the deep foundations industry. Unlike most, though, the two brothers never had to look far to find someone who could provide the answers they sought.
Their dad, Jim, spent nearly 40 years working in the piling industry before starting his own consulting company, JIHU Consulting Inc., in 2016. He was only too happy to share his experiences with his sons whenever they asked.
“Having that kind of resource available to you was pretty amazing,” said older son Tom, who is now senior vice-president, Eastern Canada with Soletanche Bachy Canada, the same company his dad currently does consulting work for. “When you look at his role now with Soletanche Bachy Canada (SB), he’s a consultant for us because of his wealth of experience that we still rely on to this day.”
“It was good to have him there, especially when we were getting started,” added Barry, who works for Keller Canada. “You could ask him any question you wanted, and you would get the correct answer, and then you could relay that to the guys in the field. It really helped in that, slowly but surely, you started understanding this stuff a lot better.”
The brothers like to joke that they weren’t drawn into the industry because of their dad’s example so much as they were “pushed.” The family patriarch helped get them their first jobs in the field shortly after they graduated from high school and stood by them as they worked their way up the ranks. While his experience was a valuable asset, it also brought heightened expectations. “I found early on, being the boss’s kid, you had to be the hardest worker out there,” Tom said. “You were always under scrutiny from the older superintendents and had to prove yourself. That was fine because both Barry and I think we did quite well.”
“Being the boss’s kid, you’d feel that [expectation] on your shoulders a little bit more than everybody else,” added Barry.
Jim started his piling career in 1978 when Canada Caisson hired him as a project manager for the Greater Edmonton Area in Alberta. In 1988, he moved into the role of general manager when he joined North American Caisson and transitioned to executive vice-president after the company was acquired by Keller Canada in 2013. He remained in that role for the next three years until he started his own consulting company. He says getting involved in the piling industry was something of a no-brainer for him.
“I just really liked the guys [in the industry], and I liked the challenge of trying to figure out how to put a foundation into whatever is under your feet,” Jim said.
In his current role with SB, Jim advises senior management on everything from estimate reviews to safety audits. Tom, who started in the industry in 1997, is based in Hamilton, Ont., where he’s responsible for the overall performance of the company’s eastern operations. Barry is a heavy equipment operator for Keller Canada in Alberta and, because of his 17 years of field experience, is often called upon to help train the next generation of operators.
“What I’ve seen in the last 10 years – I didn’t even know existed back when I started. In another 10 or 20 years, who knows what we’re going to be doing, but I know it’ll be cool.”
Barry Humphries
With more than 80 years of combined experience, father and sons have witnessed numerous changes in the piling industry. Jim says the most significant change he’s seen has been the evolution in the equipment needed to perform the job.
“Back in the day, the equipment was all mechanically driven, so operators were shifting gears, working the clutches and brakes – exhausting work. Now you’re running the rigs totally different. The majority of it is hydraulic and hydrostatic drive, which is a huge improvement,” he said.
Tom says that such a technological leap was needed to keep up with the increasing demands being placed on everyone involved in the deep foundation industry. “We’re into areas now where … you can no longer spread the cities out. You’ve got to build more storeys above ground, which means foundations going deeper [into the ground], and we’re using different technologies to deal with the client’s challenges that we are seeing,” he said.
Barry, too, marvels… at the pace of evolution in the equipment the industry requires to perform those increasingly complex tasks. “Just seeing how this equipment has evolved in only the 17 years that I’ve been here is amazing. I can’t even imagine in the next 17 years what these machines will look like and how they’ll be able to help us out with what we do here,” he said.
As much as the industry has changed over the years, some aspects of it haven’t. While technology and training methods have dramatically improved, Jim says there is no substitute for the knowledge gained from hands-on field experience. “It’s a challenge to understand that what one geotech engineer might call clay with the occasional cobble turns out to be clay till loaded with boulders in actuality,” Jim said. “You have to learn all the various soil conditions in the regions that you work, and you only get that through experience. You have to talk to your superintendents and your operators and rely on their experience.”
All three of the Humphries agree that one of the biggest challenges facing the piling industry is attracting more people to maintain the current trajectory of growth. Tom believes that to do that, the industry has to do a better job of promoting itself as a legitimate option for young people just starting to think about future careers.
“I think there needs to be more focus on letting kids know that there are opportunities out there, that they don’t necessarily have to go to university. There are some really good trade schools out there,” he said.
Barry preaches patience to anyone considering a career in piling or just entering the field. “It’s a little different now than when I entered. Everybody wants to move up really fast nowadays. But it’s just not the way to do it. You’ve got to put the time in,” he said. “It’s tough, but it’s really rewarding once you sit back and think about what you do and how you help cities grow. It’s a cool thing to do, and it’s been worth it for me personally.”
As for the future of the industry, the Humphries all say it looks bright and expect changes to continue to occur at a rapid pace. Jim says there has been myriad changes in the types specialized foundations being used, including grouting and soil improvements. He expects that trend to continue into the foreseeable future, which means people like consulting engineers who support the industry need to understand the new technologies that are coming.
Tom says that specifications for most projects are becoming more stringent, leading owners to rely more heavily on foundation consultants for guidance. He thinks that greater collaboration and education will be required between owners, contractors and engineers.
Barry is excited about what the industry’s technological evolution means for him and others who work in the field. “I’m pretty excited about … the different machines that we’re [going to] have, the different technologies, the different style of piles. What I’ve seen in the last 10 years – I didn’t even know existed back when I started. In another 10 or 20 years, who knows what we’re going to be doing, but I know it’ll be cool. Hopefully, we keep educating and people keep finding this interesting, and we can keep on moving up and up,” he said.