Consultancy-Led Ground Investigation Contracting on Large - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Consultancy-Led Ground Investigation Contracting on Large Infrastructure Projects Russel ell l Jordan RPS

Who Are RPS? RPS is an international consultancy providing advice upon: The planning, development and management of the built and natural environment, its infrastructure and the earth’s natural resources

RPS AGS Data Usage 2000-2013 (using HoleBASE 3.1) Exploratory Hole Logging ▪ Environmental Data Collation ▪ AGS Data Provision (Selected Clients) ▪ 2013 Onwards (using HoleBASE SI) Environmental Data Screening ▪ Gas & Groundwater Data Capture ▪ Geological Cross Sections ▪ Geotechnical Data Management ▪ AGS Validation & Checking ▪ AGS Data Provision – All Clients ▪

RPS & Large Infrastructure Projects M8 / M73 / M74 DBFO M4 Corridor around Newport High Speed Two (HS2)

M8/M73/M74 DBFO Complex Geotechnics ▪ Structural Foundations ▪ New and existing watercourse crossings ▪ Dense historic mining features ▪ Award winning BIM implementation ▪

M4 Corridor around Newport RPS is the env nviron onment mental l lead for a j joint nt vent ve nture scheme e focused sed on a n new 2 ew 23km km section ion of three-lane ne moto torway y includ udin ing: g: Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) ▪ 27 Potential Sites of Land Contamination ▪ Historic and Active Landfill Sites ▪ Docklands ▪ Gwent Levels (Marshlands) ▪ Designated Flood Zones ▪ River Crossings ▪ 4 Major Historical Ground Investigations ▪ along the Proposed Route in 1997, 2000, 2007, 2015

M4 Ground Investigations (RPS) 2015/16 100 Boreholes ▪ 42 Trial Pits ▪ 22 CPT’s and 25 Pressuremeter Tests ▪ ~45,000 Environmental Test Results ▪ ~900 Geotechnical Tests ▪ Ongoing monthly surface water monitoring ▪ 2017 GI (High gh Risk k Areas) as) Area Adjacent to ‘PCB’ Cell ▪ Steelworks Slag Lagoons ▪ 2018 (subject to to scheme me go go-ahe ahead) d) 95 Boreholes ▪ 23 Trial Pits ▪ 12 CPT’s ▪ Additional works as required ▪

HS2 Ground Investigation Overall, HS2 has been the largest Ground d Inve nvesti tigati gation ever ver undertak aken in the UK - £81 million Split into ~53 GI sites ▪ Lot 1 Contractors (>£500k each) ▪ Seven Lot 2 Contractors (<£500k ▪ each) First large scale Public Sector Project where AGS S 4.0.3 has been the stipulated data standard.

HS2 Ground Investigation – RPS RPS was appointed in 2015 as one of seven companies on the Lot 2 framework ( WP’s under £500k). We have been the most succes cessful sful of the L Lot 2 cont co ntra ractor tors, winning 13 of the 53 Work Packages bid worth ~£4 million lion In 2016/17 we concurrently ran three separate site operations involving 15-20 personnel on each site plus a permanent office based team of operational and data support

HS2 Project in Numbers 45 45 CPTS 4.3km km drilled 164 164 trial pits 19 19 highway cores 487 exploratory locations 920m of downhole geophysics 4,975 Geotechnical Tests 2,436 person days of Professional Attendance on site (with a strong commitment to Health & Safety) 3,051 person days of GI sub-contractors and support services on site

Framework Data Management Plan Ensure e this is read ad and under ersto tood od by by all staff f wo workin king on the projec ect

Data Flow Diagram GI Specialists Drilling Contractor ▪ Site Engineers & Photographs ▪ CPT Plots ▪ Drillers Logs ▪ Technicians Gas & Groundwater ▪ GPR/Utility ▪ Installation Records ▪ Handwritten Field Logs Monitoring ▪ Downhole Geophysics ▪ In Situ Testing ▪ ▪ Engineer Daily Records ▪ Topographic data Radiological ▪ Discontinuity Logs Lead Logger (CGeol) Site Support Staff Holebase ▪ Technical Review of ▪ Data input to HoleBASE (AGS) Data Entry data Site Manager ▪ Coordination of data entry ▪ Preliminary Data QC Laboratories Data Manager ▪ Schedules received ▪ Management of AGS Data AGS Output Project Manager ▪ Results from Site and Laboratories Client Liaison RPS ▪ Data Checking & Validation ▪ Technical review of final ▪ Transfer of Electronic Lab Client data outputs Schedules in AGS Subcontractor AGS Data AGS Digital File Documentation Review/Feedback Client Project Team Client Data Management

So, What Was Different? Requirement to provide AGS data during fieldwork, as ▪ opposed to just with the draft and factual reports Site engineers having to capture and record more data ▪ than they had previously Dedicating more resource to data input and validation ▪ than ever before Ensuring subcontractors (e.g. drillers) capture all of the ▪ data required Some laboratories receiving AGS4 schedules and ▪ providing data in AGS4 format for the first time Ensuring consistency of data records and presentation in ▪ different geographical regions and with a different team of engineers (with different client PM’s ) Several phases of client review and QA ▪

RPS Data Management How we we effectiv ivel ely y deliv iver ered ed the data: Providing detailed HoleBASE training to all project and site staff ▪ with an overview of how and why this related to the delivery of AGS4 data for the project Configure data input profiles to include all required fields and ▪ provide direct access to HoleBASE SI from site via laptop PC’s Resourcing 6 personnel to data management and validation ▪ Weekly review of data to ensure no data is ‘lost on site’ ▪ Working with laboratories and subcontractors to deliver AGS4 ▪ data to the clients’ requirements Spread the testing across multiple laboratories to quality assure ▪ the data and reduce delivery times (don’t overload one lab) Working with Keynetix to resolve software/AGS issues with ▪ HoleBASE SI and create additional automated data validation checks Use Location Groups within HoleBASE SI to manage ▪ AGS provision Using HoleBASE SI for photo management and output ▪

Digital Scheduling Excellent for data management and tracking test results ▪ Geotechnical test names differed between client and labs making ▪ the process of tracking testing difficult – no industry-standard list of definitions Schedules interpreted differently by the client and labs (e.g. ▪ Atterberg 1 and 4 point and shear strength with residual – 1 or 2 tests?) Difficult to split and track schedules across multiple labs (no AGS ▪ field for ‘lab’ until results reported) Restricted tests and replacement testing can create onerous data ▪ management – do you reissue the schedule or not? Scheduling of samples on separate schedules – not advisable ▪ Physical sample labels and AGS data not aligning ▪ Environmental lab testing ERES_CODE and ERES_NAME not ▪ aligning with AGS4 picklists Reporting of TIC’s in environmental results – LIMS needs to ▪ match AGS4 field deliverables (probability and retention time) ‘MC’ unit type (replacing with ‘U’ before import) ▪ Case-sensitive reporting of some units causes errors (e.g. ▪ degC/DegC and pH units/pH Units)

Lessons Learnt Personal preference of multiple engineers (both RPS and client) ▪ overcomplicating and elongating the review process of logs Reporting of poorly recovered materials – is it CLAY or MUDSTONE ▪ and can you apply a weathering grade? Labs not reporting data using AGS4 picklists and failing to include their ▪ name and certification in the data and reporting AGS and PDF to different DP accuracy (AGS data should match PDF report) Delay in data delivery and AGS issues being resolved when labs have ▪ subcontracted testing (why isn’t AGS data being provided as standard?) Some specialist labs unable to provide AGS data (entered manually by ▪ RPS) Fracture spacing MAX and AVG need a text value in certain ▪ circumstances Allowing for correction values in water depth readings (mbTOC or ▪ mbGL?) Client review process for AGS has developed over time and continually ▪ generated new comments that need to be resolved Some sites had no (or very poor) internet connectivity ▪

AGS File Creation Process Not a one-click process. 1. Export AGS4 file from HoleBASE SI (untick custom tables) 2. Import file into Microsoft Excel using KeyAGS4 3. Export file to AGS4 using KeyAGS4 (removes entirely blank fields) 4. Remove DICT table and DICT-related ABBR entries 5. Modify TRAN_STAT to match client list (cannot change in HoleBASE) 6. Check file using gINT AGS checker (as used by the client) 7. Remove all unused UNIT and TYPE fields listed by the checker 8. Fix occasional random errors generated during the Excel to AGS file creation 9. Generate a TXT file to demonstrate the file is error-free