A GBA member firm was hired to evaluate and design the repair of a sheet pile dock at a food processing plant. The owner was pleased with the design but did not have the capital to construct the full repairs and tasked the engineer with devising a temporary solution. 
In the early morning hours on the first day of mobilization for the project, the dock collapsed and the project immediately shifted from repair to replacement. Daily, it seemed, new problems or concerns arose, and the geotechnical engineer was on-site to make observations, answer questions, and present solutions. 
Through the extraordinary efforts of the contractor and trust from the owner, the project was completed before the plant’s operating season began and the geotechnical engineer was made to look like a hero.