Blog & Recent Projects

COLUMBIA Technologies and DR1 Group partner to provide UAV services

Posted by John Sohl on Feb 25, 2023 9:05:07 PM

More Services - More Value Added for Our Customers.

COLUMBIA Technologies is pleased to announce a new partnership with GRUPO DR-1 to provide Unmanned Aerial (Drone) Survey capabilities in Latin America and Africa.  

The DR1 GROUP (DR1) is a leading Brazilian drone (UAV) solutions provider with a well-established reputation for safety, quality, efficiency, and innovation. DR1 uses advanced drone and sensor technology, operational excellence, and well-defined safety protocols to deliver high-quality services and products to its clients. Together we innovate to provide high-value information assets that help site managers reduce the risk, uncertainty, and costs of contaminated site cleanup and remediation.

COLUMBIA Technologies is committed to a safe, efficient, and environmentally sustainable work environment, leveraging emerging technologies and innovation to improve efficiency, enhance safety and capture high-quality data. Our collaboration with Grupo DR1 embraces this commitment, leveraging drones to reduce potential safety hazards and improve efficiency and sustainability while delivering higher quality, integrated data to our clients. DR1 is one of only a few companies globally certified as an External Inspection Specialist with drones by the ABS Classifier. In addition, it is the only company in Latin America approved by SHELL to inspect offshore infrastructure.

With national and international clients from the Oil & Gas, Energy, and Mining sectors, Grupo DR1 has extensive experience that encompasses high-resolution photogrammetric surveys, visual and thermographic inspections of natural resources and infrastructure, confined space inspections, and offshore oil spill monitoring.

For more information,  Click Here.

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Tags: Brazil, UAV

Quality = Smart People + Training

Posted by John Sohl on Aug 30, 2021 11:15:00 AM

What an exciting two weeks!  

Our OPS team just wrapped up our version of "Boot Camp" with three new team members.   I had the pleasure of observing three really sharp individuals with diverse backgrounds in geology, chemistry, and biology as they participated in two weeks of intense classroom and practical training.  Upon successful completion of their training, they will be ready for the busy end-of-year schedule.

Admiral Hyman Rickover, the father of the nuclear navy, and a distant mentor is credited with saying "you can't supervise a lack of knowledge."  This guiding principle has been one of the foundations of the COLUMBIA team since its inception.  Building on this principle our boot camp emphasizes the principles of operation for all our direct sensing instruments,  proper use of standard operating procedures, maintenance, troubleshooting, and accurate field data recording.  

The team now adds OSHA health and safety and Red Cross first aid certifications.   Then they head to field operations under the watchful eye of our senior geochemist where they each will complete a series of practical factors for each step of site assessment on a variety of sites.  The final step in their qualification is a written exam covering a wide range of topics encountered during their training.  Upon successful completion of the program, we will be proud to welcome them as fellow employee-owners of COLUMBIA Technologies.

If you are fortunate to have these wonderful folks on your site in the near future please wish them well and provide your own piece of training for them.  They are the key to providing the data you can trust!

John

 CALL +1-888-344-2704 or
email: info@columbiatechnologies.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/columbia-technologies

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Tags: COLUMBIA Technologies, News, SmartData Solutions®, Brazil, Africa

Thoughts for Recent Graduates

Posted by John Sohl on Jun 10, 2020 6:01:24 PM

It was my honor and pleasure to participate this morning in the third Kickstarter Program hosted by Clemson University.   Here are my thoughts for the recent graduates and others participating in today's virtual event.

First, Congratulations!  You have demonstrated tremendous drive and persistence to succeed that will carry you far…. whatever your area of expertise or industry.

You enter the industry and the workforce in unprecedented times and will need the drive and persistence that brought you to this point.  You are hopefully facing many options and perhaps wondering how to navigate the decisions in front of you.

My advice to you is to FIRST take an inventory of who you are, who you want to work with, and what kind of company or opportunity is the right match for your passion and ideals. Consider these before focusing on your specific technical skills and don’t compromise.

You asked for some golden nuggets so here are my thoughts to consider in your new endeavors:

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Tags: COLUMBIA Technologies, News, SmartData Solutions®, Brazil, Africa

World Environment Day 05 June 2019

Posted by John Sohl on Jun 5, 2019 7:29:43 AM

Today is World Environment Day which was first held in 1974.  Since then, 143 countries hae taken part in recognizing World Environment Day.  The day focuses on environmental concerns ranging from pollution to global warming and sustainable food production to protection of wildlife.

The team at COLUMBIA Technologies along with our global partners  firmly believe a more sustainable planet requires global collaboration.  We are dedicated to providing our clients smarter, scientific-based, sustainable solutions when it comes to contaminated land.  It's our goal to be constantly changing the course of remediation to reduce the cost & liability of contaminated land for a better tomorrow.

COLUMBIA Technologies LLC (USA)

COLUMBIA Technologies do Brasil Ltda (Brazil)

COLUMBIA Technologies AFRICA (Pty) Ltd 

Learn More

  

 CALL +1-888-344-2704 

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Tags: COLUMBIA Technologies, High Resolution Site Characterization (HRSC), News, SmartData Solutions®, Brazil, Africa

Verifying LNAPL Plume Stability

Posted by John Sohl on May 1, 2019 10:57:45 AM

Spring is here!  In addition to springtime blooms and new wildlife it's also conference season.  It's always a pleasure to hear industry leaders advancing our our level of understanding of the complex biosphere tainted with man-made contamination.  This past month I had the pleasure of attending the Fifth International Symposium on Bioremediation and Sustainable Environmental Technologies close to home in Baltimore 2019.  Dr. John Cherry's presentation on what we know compared to what don't know through ignorance was a real eye-opener!  The symposium was also highlighted with an awesome panel speaking on Contaminant Geology.

Last week I had the opportunity to speak at the Alabama Conference on USTs on the lessons learned through high-resolution investigations, and in particular the value of high-resolution soil sampling to isolate the residual LNAPL mass on our more complex and difficult sites.  Several others emphasized the importance of improved characterization before implementation of expensive and most likely financially unsustainable remediation systems. 

ITRC guidance document LNAPL-3: LNAPL Site Management: LCSM Evolution, Decision Process, and Remedial Technologies refers to several lines of evidence to verify LNAPL plume stability.   Accurately mapping the residual LNAPL and verifying stability are the first steps in building an effective LNAPL conceptual site model.  We were assured by ADEM staff that they hear this message and are supportive of better characterization focused on identifying any residual LNAPL and verifying the LNAPL body is stable. 

At COLUMBIA, our team takes pride in providing industry leading data reports to conduct a remedial optimization study to characterize the problem and identify cost saving alternatives through:

  • High-Resolution LNAPL Assessment
  • Low-Level Diffuse GW Plume Mapping
  • Direct Sensing (MIP, MiHpt, LIF, OIP)
  • Data Management and Visualization
  • Real Time Data & Results on any device

Try our Interactive Project Pricing Calculator!

We'll roll up our sleeves and work alongside you better understand those persistent and complex LNAPL sites.

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Tags: COLUMBIA Technologies, High Resolution Site Characterization (HRSC), News, SmartData Solutions®, Brazil, ITRC, UST, UST Cleanup Funds, Africa, NTC2018

COLUMBIA Technologies Completes 20 Years of Service!

Posted by John Sohl on Feb 4, 2019 12:30:00 PM

Celebrating 20 Years of High-Resolution Site Characterization Services

COLUMBIA Technologies is excited to announce that we just passed our 20 year milestone in providing quality high-resolution site characterization services around the globe.

Working with our partners in Brazil and Africa we have delivered over 2000 individual site characterization projects, providing real data, in real time, reliably  to our consulting firm clients.

THANK YOU  to our clients, partners, and the many COLUMBIA Technologies team members who made achieving this milestone possible.  We look forward to 2019 and beyond to offer a growing range of services to our global customers.

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Tags: COLUMBIA Technologies, High Resolution Site Characterization (HRSC), News, SmartData Solutions®, Brazil, Africa

CIMAS 2017

Posted by admin on Oct 28, 2017 8:00:00 AM

COLUMBIA Technologies do Brasil, Ltda. Continues to Build Relationships in Latin America at the V International Congress on Subsurface Environment (CIMAS 2017) 

SÃO PAULO, BRASIL – October 30, 2017 – COLUMBIA Technologies do Brasil, Ltda,  a leading environmental assessment and analysis firm in Brasil will be in attendance at the V Congresso Internacional de Meio Ambiente Subterrâneo in São Paulo, Brasil.  COLUMBIA Technologies do Brasil provides high-resolution site characterization assessments to aid property owners in reducing the risk, uncertainty and cost of contaminated land investigation and remediation. COLUMBIA will attend with their joint venture partner, Aragon Perfurações e Sondagens, a services firm offering the largest array of advanced environmental drilling equipment in Brasil.

Meet John at CIMAS 2017

COLUMBIA’s CEO, John Sohl, and the Aragon staff will be available to answer questions regarding advanced site characterization technologies and strategies, the latest rock coring direct push equipment, and SmartData Solutions®

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Tags: High Resolution Site Characterization (HRSC), News, Brazil

For COLUMBIA Technologies, Success in the Global Market is about Commitment and Execution

Posted by admin on Jul 24, 2012 10:43:13 PM

Article originally featured on Tradeology, the official blog of ITA (International Trade Administration)

Doug Barry is a Senior International Trade Specialist in the Trade Information CenterU.S. Commercial Service within the International Trade Administration. 

 
John Sohl, owner of Columbia Technologies, conducting training for partners in Mexico

John H. Sohl III is founder of Columbia Technologies, a Maryland company that maps underground pollution from large manufacturing facilities, oil terminals, pipelines and military bases. The company is a client of the Baltimore Export Assistance Center.

Barry:  How do you map underground pollution?

Sohl:  Mapping involves deployment of sensor technologies that track leakage and migration of pollutants.  Following analysis by our technicians, customers can make decisions on risk assessment, disposition of the property and proper cleanup actions.

Sohl:  I started the company about 15 years ago after doing similar work in the U.S. Navy.  I was always intrigued with the application of sensors and three-dimensional mapping of components, and that’s the approach we brought to the industry.  The world really is getting flat and many of our clients are global industries that have footprints both in the U.S. and North America as well as the globe.  So once we’ve established a good working relationship and reputation with those firms, they sought to bring us into other parts of the globe.

Barry:  So your initial market entry strategy was to piggyback on clients here in the U.S. and ride them into new markets.

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Tags: High Resolution Site Characterization (HRSC), John Sohl, News, Brazil, Mexico