FROM THE GROUND
DOWN
ENGINEERING PRECISION
When your project demands rock-solid earth retention, deep excavations, or complex shoring you need more than just drawings. You need confidence.
For NEARLY FIVE decades, PB&A, Inc. has been the go-to structural engineering firm for contractors, owners, architects, and fellow engineers who refuse to compromise on safety, innovation, or schedule.
PB&A Founder Pirooz Barar
PB&A, Inc. specializes in providing design services for large scale, complex excavation support projects. We have substantial experience working together with the contractor, the owner and multiple layers of approval agencies to insure project coordination, on time delivery and an expeditious permit approval.
Having provided the design for over 5 million sq. ft. for the support of excavation (SOE), retaining walls, slope stability, underpinning and construction engineering, PB&A is a recognized leader in the area of earth support systems.
Over the past 40 years we have combined industry-leading technical experience with state-of-the art computer-aided design to develop the most advanced solutions for the most complex engineering challenges.
We have made it a part of the PB&A culture to provide continuing education for our team so that we remain the most efficient design team in the industry.
We are a small, independent firm that has evolved over the course of our history to who we are today: one that takes on the largest, most complex earth retention projects, providing our clients with creative, cost-efficient solutions to their construction needs, with on-time delivery of the work product.
The fact that we are a small specialty boutique firm enables us to be responsive to each client’s needs in a way that larger firms cannot. Each of our clients has access both to the firm’s Principal, Pirooz Barar, and to the project engineer(s) working on their project. This personal aspect of our relationship with our clients creates a collaborative working environment that benefits the overall design development of every project.
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REAL-WORLD ENGINEERING
Designs that construction teams can actually build. safely, economically, and efficiently.
HAVE A SERIOUS CHALLENGE?
WE HAVE SERIOUS SKILLS.
ADVANCED
ANALYSIS
Finite Element Analysis (FEA) + custom in-house tools TURN highly complex geotechnical problems INTO SOLUTIONS.
Specialized Expertise
We focus on one discipline — geo-structure engineering — and bring decades of proven experience.
"PB&A has worked collaboratively and diligently with BBII over the past two and half years, serving as the Shoring Engineer of Record for the Internal Bracing SOE, 3 temporary bridges, and Construction Trestle at the Transbay Transit Center Project in San Francisco.
Throughout the Bidding, Design, and Construction phases of the project, Pirooz Barar and his staff have been diligent, professional and responsive to the demanding needs of this very complex and challenging project located in the highlycongested SOMA district of San Francisco. We are pleased with their work product and would recommend their services to anyone with similar needs."
Virgil W. Curtis
Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Inc.
"I am writing this letter to highly recommend PB&A, for the design of temporary support of excavation and permanent Earth Retention Systems. I have personal knowledge of PB&A’s capabilities, having worked with Mr. Barar himself and his competent staff over a period of six years during the construction of the 405 Widening Project in Los Angeles, California.
PB&A, Inc. began working as a consultant to Kiewit on the 405/Sepulveda Project in 2009 with the design of the temporary shoring necessary to widen bridges that crossed the 405; Bridge 16 (Sunset Blvd Overcrossing), Bridge 15 (Sepulveda Blvd. Undercrossing) and Bridge 21 (Skirball Center Drive Overcrossing). The Bridge shoring fell under the jurisdiction of the LABOE and Caltrans.
PB&A then continued with the temporary shoring design for the Utilities, beginning in 2011 with the 36” Trunk Line, the 24” SoCal gas Line and the LADWP Duct Bank. Their work continued through 2014 and included design of numerous supports of excavations for relocation of major utilities in and around 405 Hwy and Sepulveda Blvd.
During the six years that PB&A worked on the project both Pirooz Barar, and their Managing Project Engineer, Sandy Soe, developed an excellent working relationship with LABOE personnel that facilitated and expedited plan review, approval process and obtaining permits which was invaluable to keeping the construction schedule moving. It is my opinion that PB&A’s experience with the Sepulveda/405 project would enhance their ability to be a valuable asset to any project for which you are considering them."
Andrew Litchfield, P.E.
Kiewit Infrastructure West Co.
"I am writing this letter to recommend PB&A for the design of temporary support of excavation using CDSM cutoff walls. I have personal knowledge of PB&A's capabilities having worked with Mr. Barar himself and his competent staff over more than 18 years on a myriad of different projects, and specifically with the use of CDSM/Cutoff Walls on two of Condon-Johnson's large internally braced shoring projects
in downtown San Francisco; Gap World Headquarters in 1998 and 301 Mission Street in 2005.
During the time that PB&A worked on these projects Pirooz Barar and the PB&A Staff developed an excellent working relationship with the reviewing agencies, facilitated an expedited plan review, approval
process, and obtaining permits.
It is my opinion that PB&A's experience with these projects and the use of CDSM/Cutoff walls would enhance their ability to be a valuable asset to any project with similar requirements."
Keith Bizzack
Condon Johnson and Associates, Inc.
While I have no measured data associated with the performance of the permanent soil-nailed walls at the USC University Hospital project (formerly called the Richard K. Eamer Medical Center), the project
has been in-place and functioning well for over 20 years at this point. I have never had any complaints orcomments about the performance of the permanent soil nailed walls, and I most certainly would have as
we have been working continuously on that campus since the original construction was completed. All looks great there, and all of the structures on that campus have worked very well. Note also that the project site saw substantial strong ground motion as a result of the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, and
there were no observed problems with the soil nailed walls after that event.
Jefferson W. Asher, SE | Principal/Chairman
KPFF Consulting Engineers
Based on my work with Mr. Barar, he has provided designs for soil nail walls that meet or exceed the design criteria, and has also been successful at creatively implementing new technologies for earth retention structures. It has been a pleasure working with Mr. Barar on all ofthe occasions I had an opportunity; he has always been responsive and professional in his implementation of creative and economical earth retention structure technologies.
Martin B. Hudson, Ph.D.
Principal Engineer, amec
WHAT OUR CUSTOMERS SAY
