AUTOMATED DATA CAPTURE AND REAL-TIME ANALYSIS

The collection of geotechnical and environmental data in the form of soil boring logs has been traditionally conducted by hand written entry of field observations and data into hard-copy logbooks by geologists, resulting in inefficiency, inaccuracy and inconsistent presentation of data. To improve this process and reduce cost, a software application that incorporates standard operating procedures and ASTM standards used for borehole logging was developed to run on a Personal Digital Assistant or Tablet PC. The Automated Geotechnical Data Capture (AGDC) system was pilot tested on a remedial investigation (RI) site in June 2004.

The AGDC pilot test included the advancement of six cone penetrometer test pushes, logging of 24 soil borings, and construction of 8 monitoring wells. In addition to capturing lithology, field monitoring results and drilling information using the AGDC software, a laptop with borehole log plotting software and a printer were set up in the field to produce presentation quality borehole logs and geologic cross-sections for real-time analysis and evaluation. These capabilities shortened the time negotiating with regulatory partners on the placement and depth of groundwater monitoring wells, and well screens at the RI Site from one month to one week.

Analysis of the work process improvement initially predicted a time (cost) savings of 5 hours/boring. However, upon successful completion of the pilot test, additional savings became apparent because of real-time analysis in the field and reduction of schedule. Hence, the total timesaving calculated from the pilot-test was approximately 200 hours. This reduction in non-value added tasks, allows budgeted projects increased time for analysis and interpretation of the data and ultimately production of a higher quality product.