About

Company Founding

Diaz•Yourman & Associates (DYA) was founded by Jerry Diaz, PE, GE, and Allen Yourman, PE, GE, in 1992.  At that time, Jerry already had over 30 years of geotechnical engineering experience including 29 years at a leading national geotechnical firm, where he had been Chief Engineer and Principal.  He established the Southern California office for that firm in 1978, bringing a strong background in port and harbor engineering. Allen, then a new graduate, was hired, and he and Jerry began a professional relationship that continues through today, more than 35 years later.

Throughout their careers, both Jerry and Allen developed a strong appreciation for the importance of understanding the client’s needs and integrating geotechnical engineering with other project disciplines, including planning, sustainability, and construction to achieve their client’s goals.  This bedrock, embedded in a framework of competence, integrity, professionalism, financial soundness, and geotechnical focus, was the cornerstone for founding DYA. 

About DYA

Diaz•Yourman & Associates (DYA) is a privately held geotechnical consulting services corporation, founded in December 1992 on the strong basis of 30 years prior geotechnical engineering experience. Since then, DYA has grown in size, capacity, and breadth of services to become one of the leading geotechnical firms in California. DYA has built its reputation by responsively serving our clients' needs and adding value to their projects with integrity and competence.  Our technical hallmarks are applying the latest technologies, innovation, and construction knowledge to develop practical solutions for successful projects.

DYA is certified as a small, disadvantaged and minority-owned business enterprise (SBE, DBE, and/or MBE) through several applicable agencies, including the California Unified Certification Program (CUCP), State of California (DGS), California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Metro, County of Los Angeles, City of Los Angeles, City of Long Beach, Port of Long Beach, Port of Los Angeles, and Metropolitan Water District. (Current certifications are listed here.)

Focus

Geotechnical engineering and the other issues related to geology, soils, and groundwater is our only business. We’ve made a point of fostering a working environment dedicated to technical excellence in order to better serve our clients.  A significant part of our budget is dedicated to our staff’s continuing education and professional development.

QA/QC

DYA has established and adheres to an aggressive quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) program designed to ensure that DYA consistently maintains our reputation for high-quality work. This QA/QC program is designed to reduce the possibility of changes, errors, and omissions, which in turn results in fewer project conflicts and a high-quality work product delivered in a timely, cost-effective, professional manner.

The QA/QC program has two major components: quality assurance, which addresses the objectives, standards, organization, policies, and procedures by which DYA conducts work, generates data, and produces deliverables of known high quality; and quality control, which is the routine application of procedures for obtaining the prescribed standards of performance and includes the process of checking, reviewing, and documenting that the work in process is consistently being executed in a way that ensures a high-quality product completed within the guidelines of the QA/QC program and any and all contractual obligations.

Innovation

Applied innovation to achieve improved performance and value for our clients has been a DYA hallmark.  It has been recognized by our peers in that we have received nine (9) Outstanding Project Awards from California Consulting Geotechnical Engineers (CalGeo) for technical excellence and innovative solutions.

Team Spirit

As a geotechnical consulting firm, DYA is usually a subconsultant and part of a project team.  We frequently supplement our capabilities with specialty consultants and service providers in fields related to the earth sciences such as geology, geophysics, environmental and laboratory testing.  Thus, working collaboratively with other professional service providers and clients is our standard method of operation.  Our collaboration and responsiveness are as vital to our team proposal efforts as they are to the team’s project delivery.

Sustainability

Our record of sustainable project solutions goes back to our earliest projects.  We are leaders in recommending environmentally sensitive construction techniques, such as ground improvement to reduce grading and foundation requirements while improving static and seismic performance; auger-cast drilled displacement piles that increase capacity, reduce waste, reduce noise and vibration, and bring no spoils to the surface that require disposal; permeable pavements to reduce runoff; recycling pavement and base to reduce waste and the need for new materials; maximizing the use of local materials with minimum processing; confining and encapsulating contaminated soils in place; and incorporating inert waste materials within fills or base to reduce or eliminate excavation and disposal.

One of our engineers holds a Professional Credential in EnvisionTM Sustainability from the Institute of Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI). DYA is a charter Member of ISI. 

For us, sustainability is not a buzz word, but a way of life.  DYA demonstrates our strong commitment to minimizing impacts on the environment through our own practices.  Our firm policies include: paper reduction through electronic documents and files, reuse of paper by having one printer loaded with used sheets with blank backs, mandated use of recycled paper, not printing e-mails, and an in-house recycling program; telecommuting and flex time to avoid peak commute traffic and to accommodate train schedules for employees with long commutes; and maximizing the use of electronic conferencing to reduce meeting travel.  Our fleet and principals’ cars include two hybrids and two high-efficiency diesels.

To improve energy efficiency in our 10,000-square-foot office building, we changed all of the lighting fixtures to low-energy fluorescents and LEDs and replaced a single, inefficient HVAC system with nine high-efficiency units that are zone-controlled by programmable thermostats.  These have lowered our power consumption by over 40%.  We installed a new “cool roof” to lower our electric consumption even more.  In addition, we installed low-water-use fixtures as they have needed replacement and have converted our landscaping to low-water-use native plants.

DYA completed installation of a 200 panel PV system on our office building.  It is conservatively designed to provide nearly 90% of our electrical energy demand, and we expect that actual generation and further conservation will allow us to achieve near net-zero electric consumption.

Stability Now and In the Future

DYA is stable.  In these days of mergers, acquisitions, and failed businesses, DYA has effectively planned and implemented an in-house ownership transition so that the firm can continue.  We are structured so that key personnel can become owners, and ultimately principals.  V. R. (Nadesh) Nadeswaran and Christopher Diaz, who worked with Jerry and Allen at the pre-DYA firm, were the first and second engineers to join DYA shortly after our founding. As their key contribution to the firm grew, they were offered and acquired shares in the firm, beginning our ownership transition. By 2004, they had become the current controlling principals assuring the firm’s continuity.  The next generation of shareholder-leaders are now in transition.

Our Team 

 

Chris-2020

Chris Diaz

 

Cherie-2020

Cherie Eifler

 Clint-2020

Clint Isa 

 

 

 

 Niranjan-2020

S. Niranjanan

Our Services

Design

  • Site and route evaluations
  • Geologic hazards
  • Seismic design
  • Site characterization
  • Subsurface drainage
  • Grading
  • Ground improvement
  • Slope stability
  • Foundations
  • Dynamic analyses
  • Pavements
  • Instrumentation

Construction

  • Material sources
  • Construction observation and testing
  • Verification of anticipated conditions
  • Evaluation of changed conditions
  • Foundation installation
  • Instrumentation
  • Claims evaluation

Environmental

  • EIR/EIS
  • Site characterization
  • Remediation
  • Solid and liquid waste disposal
  • Landfill
  • Aerially Deposited Lead (ADL) Studies
  • Phase I Initial Site Assessments (ISA)
  • Phase II Hazardous Waste Studies
  • Sustainability

Legal

  • Forensic investigation
  • Litigation support
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