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Geotechnical News • June 2014
www.geotechnicalnews.com
GEOTECHNICAL INSTRUMENTATION NEWS
(itmsoil usa) presented a case history
regarding the corrections that need
to be applied to collected vibrating
wire strain gage data to account for
temperature impacts on readings.
These examples illustrate the clos-
ing gap between data collection and
interpretation. While the previous
discussions focused on data collected
from geotechnical instrumentation,
Jamey Rosen (Geosyntec Consultants)
provided information regarding the
“philosophy” of good data manage-
ment and showed how construction
performance “information” can be col-
lected and managed as “data.” Lessons
learned from this block of presenta-
tions were:
• We now have instruments and
capabilities to capture significant
amounts of data/information…so
owners and engineers now often
require that these be captured.
• If we collect the information, we
have to be prepared to review
and interpret the information in a
timely manner.
• There exist much more informa-
tion that should now be considered
geotechnical “data” and we need
to be prepared to capitalize on
the opportunities the capabilities
presented by timely and efficient
data capture.
Data management and
visualization
There was significant interest and
numerous examples were cited by
several of the presenters regarding the
advances and benefits regarding the
visualization of collected data. Semiha
Ergan (Carnegie Mellon University)
provided illustrative examples of how
the BIM software historically used by
the construction industry has evolved
and is now being used by designers
and architects to visualize a wide range
of data to allow modeling of building
life-cycle costs. Raphael Siebenmann
(Geosyntec Consultants) offered sev-
eral examples of how the use Cloud-
based data collection and geographic
information system (GIS) technology
have been used to capture information
and visually present geotechnical and
construction information to the user.
Scott Deaton (Dataforensics) high-
lighted many examples of the benefits
of data visualization and demonstrated
the benefits of developing and using
standardized data formats to truly
capture these benefits. The primary les-
sons from these discussions were:
• Data visualization is an emerging
area that provides immeasurable
benefits to all project stakeholders.
• Geotechnical professionals will
benefit from the collaboration of
colleagues in practice areas (e.g.,
computer science and informatics)
that are considered non-traditional
to the geotechnical engineer.
Looking to the future
The advocates of geotechnical data
management, and many of the read-
ers of Geotechnical Instrumentation
News, know all too well that advances
in technology have allowed geotechni-
cal engineers to do so much more with
geotechnical information that was sim-
ply not available 20 years ago. Many
of the participants noted that as tech-
nology has advanced the profession’s
ability to capture data, recent project
experience has shown that owners
are fast to require that more data be
collected. In some cases, the ability
to capture the information seems to
become the justification for collect-
ing the information. It is doubtful that
this trend will change in the foresee-
able future. Unfortunately, many
of the participants at the workshop
voiced opinions that the collection and
management of this information has
been a source of ongoing frustration
regarding the various procedures for
data management that are being used
across the industry. The discussion
at the workshop indicated that there
was little doubt regarding the benefits
of “standardized” data collection,
reporting, and management. However,
the participants acknowledged that
despite the mood of the workshop, the
vast majority of practicing engineers
involved in this field likely will not
voluntarily adopt the standardized data
concept because it will require them
to change their current practice and
processes. Therefore, there was a feel-
ing that “change” had to be driven by
the owner or by project specifications.
An action item from the workshop
was to continue the advances but also
to encourage the development and
implementation of standardized data
formats (e.g., AGS and DIGGS efforts)
by demonstrating the benefits of adop-
tion. So, the readers of Geotechnical
Instrumentation News should expect to
be hearing more about this important
workshop outcome in future issues.
I appreciate that this brief report on
the workshop is only an outline of
what took place. If readers would like
to have more information regarding
the workshop, they are encouraged to
contact me.
Robert Bachus
Geosyntec Consultants
1255 Roberts Blvd NW, Suite 200
Kennesaw, Georgia 30144
Tel: (678) 202-9556
E-mail: rbachus@geosyntec.com