Overview

Robert Teng joined the RGI team as a summer intern in July of 2020. During his internship, Robert took on a twenty-five-lot residential project from start to finish. He quickly learned the importance of communication, scheduling and performing geotechnical inspections on a daily basis. The conclusion of his internship led to a full-time position in late September of 2020. Robert currently works for the geotechnical department as a Senior Staff Engineer.

Robert has worked on over 100+ jobsites since the end of his internship. He has traveled as far as Grandview, Washington for inspections and has worked on as many as eight jobs in a day. For consecutive weeks, he has taken over some of RGI’s largest land developments in Port Orchard and Lipoma. These jobs entail working with as many as 10 crews at a time, running back and forth between unpaved roads and answering serval phone calls a day. He’s helped train four new hires take on their own jobsites, conduct laboratory tests and perform the various geotechnical inspections RGI offers. The people, field work and diverse range of tasks are what Robert enjoys most in his position.

Out in the field, Robert performs a handful of inspections, the most common from day to day are density testing, subgrade approvals, construction monitoring, asphalt testing, and CESCLs. Additional tasks he’s been assigned include performing infiltration tests on pervious asphalt, observing augur H-piles or soldier pile installation, and observing the testing of tiebacks. Every job visit listed above requires a daily field report which gets transcribed from his field notebook and sent out to the clients.

In the office, Robert has been able to write geotechnical engineering reports (GERs) for the principal engineers. Drafting these reports has given Robert experience in navigating through GIS software. Research provided through these software systems help the principals understand soil history in an area and confirm if samples taken from the explorations remains consistent. Working with the different county GIS software’s, Robert is also able to identify any geologic hazards. For hazard prone areas he is able to analyze the severity and perform risk analyses for the site. A few hazards he has had the opportunity to execute are landslide risk assessments and liquefaction analysis. This fall, Robert will be moving into wall design programs, additional GER training, drafting and invoicing.

For RGI’s geotechnical department, Robert also performs laboratory work. Samples are collected on site or sent through mail to the RGI lab for analysis and testing. He has conducted sieve, moisture, modified proctor, Atterburg limit, and hydrometer tests. The results from these tests have helped him, and other RGI members make better informed decisions and recommendations for many of RGI's various projects.

Education

Other Qualifications

- Engineer in Training (EIT)

- Nuclear Gauge Safety Training Class (APNGA)

- Certified Erosion & Sediment Control Lead (EC0-3)

- CPR/AED/First Aid Training

- OSHA 40 Hour HAZWOPER