When Life Depends on Safety
JRW Foundation Systems, Inc. provides solutions that run deep
Whether a retail giant, a mountainside home or a historic building, when access seems impossible for other subcontractors, JRW Foundation Systems, Inc. finds a way to save structures and their occupants.
Fresh out of the University of California, Irvine (UCI), President and CEO John R. Whittam was fascinated by the engineering component of foundation underpinning. In that business, it’s not easy to underpin a two-story home and lift it over 14 inches. It’s not easy to underpin a home already skidding off a mountainside. It’s not easy to retrofit a Nordstrom store with seismic upgrades even greater than required standards.
John’s dedication and love for engineering and its challenges drove him through the education, creativity and passion needed to complete undoable jobs. As the liaison between geotechnical and structural engineering teams, he has a no-compromise attitude for quality that is based on providing practical, achievable and duplicatable solutions.
Though John approaches every job knowing he has the latest technology, when he can provide an even higher level of safety, he designs new technological solutions.
Creative Deep Foundation Applications for Unique Projects
In providing creative solutions on projects his competitors won’t even attempt to tackle, John is committed to the standards embodied by UCI’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE). CEE provides guidelines and education for building in California’s diverse geological and climate environment, with its complex issues of earthquakes, drought, flooding and landslides. Still, John goes one step further.
For one job, John designed helical displacement cutters for specific soil conditions, then tested them for compression and tension to provide a practical solution for a seismic upgrade—John likes challenges while minimizing the risk for his clients.
Whether it’s design-build shoring systems, limited access caissons, duplexing micropiles in high water tables, foundation underpinning with grouted helical piles where diesel fumes are prohibitive, or temporary and permanent tiebacks for slope stabilization...John can design adaptations to equipment then fabricate everything he needs for limited- and difficult-access locations. He started his own fabricating division to ensure top-notch quality.
Mountainside Support
When a mountainside home in Lake Arrowhead had already suffered settlement and lateral movement, John brought in his MAIT BABY DRILL to squeeze in between the edge of a cliff and the back of the house for soldier piles/caissons to save the property.
Regarding the installation of high-capacity helical piles in the middle of an existing structure, John knows that “every pile in a project is tested during installation. One of the beauties of helical piles is that they’re based on torque so each pile’s capacity can be measured. Foundations must be exacting.”
Foundations that Save Lives
After the 6.7-magnitude Northridge earthquake in 1994, John knew he had to do something different, something special. The quake had killed 67 and cost $20 billion in damages, and John wanted to be part of the solution. JRW became certified to install the A.B. Chance Helical Pier Foundation System and became the leader in the helical pier industry throughout California, specializing in the high-capacity Helical Pulldown Micropiles (HPM) for many high-profile residential and commercial structures.
Even when investigating the bones of a 100-year-old museum structure, John is fascinated. “Period craftmanship is amazing, to see how creative the craftsmen were long before the invention of the technology we rely upon today. We learn a lot about quality through simple observation.” To learn even more, John brings in great resources from multigenerational drilling families. “They do an exceptional job in recommending solutions and advanced technology.”
Behind the Scenes
John and his team love to figure out how to overcome challenges and fit together all the puzzle pieces, but there’s more to JRW Foundation Systems than just know-how and technology.
Because JRW insists upon utilizing the most technologically advanced equipment, you’ll likely find previously used equipment in the hands of the many organizations that rely on people like John for donations.
John’s wife, Dawn, and his children are extremely supportive and help John stay focused on what’s important. He says, “Family has always lifted me up, beginning when I was a child. My 92-year-old mother is still my champion. Her positive outlook on life is what’s responsible for me being able to make a positive difference both at home and in the world as a whole. I’m doing my best to pass along that attitude to my three children, and I hope it follows through to my grandchildren.”
When asked about the prestige of working on high-profile jobs and clients such as Nordstrom, the Arrowhead Lake Association, Paul Williams’ “Lake House” in Hamiltair Estates, LAX Theme Building, Santa Barbara Museum of Art and an extensive foundation replacement project for the late Charles J. Pankow Jr., John can only respond with his insistence in always providing the ultimate in quality and safety. “We treat every client as though we’ll want them as a reference.”
John’s work takes him from the San Francisco Bay Area to San Diego, and east through Nevada and Arizona but, for him and his family, the guiding force behind his success has always been to provide an uplifting environment for family and employees, never forgetting to be the best at home and on the job.