Who we are

Foundation QA (FQA) is the consulting company of Dr. Julian Seidel. 

FQA provides expert foundation engineering services in Australia, the Pacific, SE Asia and around the globe. 

Julian has specialized in deep foundations for over 40 years, working on all sides of the industry - for contractors, owners, consultants and academia. 

See Julian's background in the career summary page and our areas of expertise in the keywords page, or visit Dr Seidel's LinkedIn page or Foundation QA’s LinkedIn page. 

 

Dr. Julian Seidel has 42 years professional experience as a geotechnical engineer specialising in deep foundations, with particular expertise in pile dynamics and rock socketed piles. Julian has been employed as a senior engineer with general and specialist geotechnical and foundation engineering consultants, a government road authority, a specialist deep foundation contractor, and at University as senior lecturer and researcher. 

His broad and extensive experience makes Dr. Seidel uniquely placed to advise on the planning, commissioning, design, installation and verification of structural foundations, with a focus on efficiency and constructability. He has developed a strong reputation in industry for providing practical and state-of-the-art expert advice on projects in Australia and throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

 

Qualifications

BE (Hon 1), 1979, Monash University, (Dux) PhD 1994, Monash University. “The analysis and design of pile shafts in weak rock”. Examiners Prof. Mark Randolph and Prof. Harry Poulos

Professional Associations

Professional Memberships & Affiliations :

Associate of the Department of Civil Engineering, Monash UniversityMember of the Institution of Engineers of Australia (MIEAust); Chartered Professional Engineer (CPENG)Member of the Australian Geomechanics Society; Member of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Foundation EngineeringMember of the American Society of Civil Engineers (MASCE);Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland, RPEQPast Member, International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) Technical Committee 18 – Deep FoundationsPast Member, Australian Standards, Piling Code Committee AS2159 – Piling (1995 and 2009)Past Technical Editor of the US Deep Foundations Institute publication, “Deep Foundations”

Professional and Educational Activities :

Reviewer for 

  • ASCE Journal of Geotech and Geoenvironmental Engineering

  • ASCE Journal of Structural Engineering

  • Canadian Geotechnical Journal

  • Geotechnical and Geological Engineering

  • Géotechnique

  • International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences

  • International Journal of Physical Modelling in Geotechnics

  • ASTM Geotechnical Testing Journal

  • Australian Geomechanics

  • Various National and International conferences

Speaker, Invited Speaker and Keynote Speaker at Conferences, Workshops and Learned Society lectures

Public, in-house and online training activities

Career Summary

FSG Foundations and Geotechnics , formerly Foundation Specialists Group 2010 to current – Chairman and Technical Director.  Overall responsibility for delivery of approximately 700 foundation engineering projects across Australia and South East Asia including conceptual design, detailed analytical and numerical solutions, constructability and driveability assessments, development, implementation and execution of testing programs, foundation sign-off.   Guidance of Research and development of innovative hardware and software solutions for piled foundations.  Development of company technical standards, methods and procedures.

Foundation QA, Melbourne, Australia 1999 to current  – Owner and consultant.  Responsibility for delivery of approximately 900 foundation engineering projects across Australia and overseas including conceptual design, detailed analytical and numerical solutions, constructability and driveability assessments, development, implementation and execution of testing programs, foundation sign-off.   Research and development of innovative hardware and software solutions for piled foundations.  Development of company technical standards, methods and procedures.  Expert for legal disputes and insurance claims.  Expert foundation advice on large infrastructure projects.  Claims assistance.

Monash University, Melbourne, Australia 1991 to 2000 – PhD student, Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Research Director.  Research into the analysis and design of pile shafts in weak rock.  Research supervision of 4 PhD students and 2 Research Masters students in various aspects of drilled shaft and pile dynamics. Lecturing in Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering at Levels 2, 3 and 4 of the undergraduate program.

Wagstaff Piling, Brisbane, Australia 1986 to 1990 - Technical Manager and Pile Testing Manager, responsible for design-and-construct tenders, and for foundation testing.

VicRoads, Melbourne, Australia 1983 to 1986 – Geotechnical Engineer.  Site investigations and foundation design for bridge and freeway projects around Victoria.  Dynamic pile testing for bridge projects in Victoria and interstate.  1 year leave of absence, to work for Pile Dynamics Inc., on project work across North-Eastern USA

Golder Associates, Melbourne, Australia 1981 to 1982 – Geotechnical Engineer.  Geotechnical site investigations and reporting for domestic, industrial and commercial projects.  Environmental impact assessment for mining project, PNG.

Gutteridge Haskins Davey (now GHD), Melbourne, Australia 1979 to 1981 – Graduate Engineer.  Extensive involvement in structural, geotechnical engineering and hydrological studies for projects in Australia and South-east Asia, including design of major dam structures.
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