The Geotechnical Investigation for a construction project is an important part of the design process. The purpose of the investigation is to gather information about the subsurface conditions at the project site. This information is used to assess the risks associated with the proposed construction project. The investigation includes a variety of activities, such as drilling, soil sampling, and laboratory testing.
During geotechnical investigations, crews may spend days onsite conducting tests and inspections. By understanding the detailed geology and soils at the site, engineers can determine the best course of action for stabilizing the site. By grounding their findings in data, they can make informed decisions about the type and amount of construction necessary.
The main issue with this process is the amount of time it takes from the gathering of the data to its analysis and interpretation. Foremen would manually log all data gathered during the investigation. This could be the depths of the soil drilled or the test results. Only at the end of the investigation would the data be sent back to the engineering office for further analysis. Or daily trips would be made to send whatever data was collected to the laboratory.
So, I was tasked with optimizing this process. I did not have the expertise to automatically log the data but I managed to make changes to the transfer of data and simplify the logging. I developed an Excel application using VBA for the foremen to log their data.