Leading Australian engineering consultancy pitt&sherry says moving to OpenGround revolutionised its project work and how it communicates with clients.
In 2023, after 60 years as one of Australia’s leading engineering and environmental consultancies, pitt&sherry made the move to Seequent’s OpenGround platform to manage its subsurface geotechnical data more efficiently.
There have been many benefits for the company and its clients, including earlier insights on which faster decisions can be made. But, as always with the adoption of new technology, there were challenges to deal with and learn from.
‘We now have a centralised database of our investigations that gives us early insights into ground conditions for new projects. That helps our clients to make their decisions sooner.’ – Andrew Tyson, pitt&sherry Principal Engineering Geologist
Sven Rand, pitt&sherry’s Capability Leader Geotechnical Engineering and Geology, and Principal Geoscientist, says ‘well-organised spatial data is music to my ears’.
‘We’ve now got a single source of the truth in a single managed repository.’
That single repository is a strong enabler for multidisciplinary collaboration across different engineering and planning teams.
‘Our strategic vision is to employ technology and insights into data to empower our teams and help support better decision-making and add sustainable value for our clients.
‘Why did we adopt it? How would we implement it? What were the value and outcomes we and our clients have derived as a result of it? I’m excited to take you behind the scenes of the OpenGround journey, which is a key contributor to our strategic vision,’ Rand says.
Why switch to OpenGround?
‘Before we got OpenGround, we were using a custom-built digital logging tool that I designed and implemented,’ Principal Engineering Geologist Andrew Tyson says.
‘The reason I had to do that is, because at the time, there were no commercially available tools that could do the job that we wanted.’
The data collected was fragmented, in many file types and folders, with no central oversight. OpenGround gave access to a cloud-based, spatially searchable platform, Tyson says.
‘That’s really helped us to bring everything all together. It’s also meant that our team has been able to focus more on the engineering and the geology and not just the admin. It means that with fewer manual transfer points, we’ve got improved data integrity and reduced chance of data loss.
‘Most importantly, we now have a centralised database of our investigations, and that gives us early insights into ground conditions for new projects, and that helps our clients to make their decisions sooner.’
Up-and-running quickly and smoothly
The rollout of OpenGround was smooth, thanks to the training and support from Seequent, Associate Geotechnical Engineer Michael Cardell says.
‘OpenGround offered a ready-to-use base data model which was based on an AGS-AU data format, which is aligned with our vision to support standardised and transparent data sharing in geotech. The data model allowed us to rapidly configure the system. Since then, I’ve developed templates for everything from piling inspections to slow-risk assessments.
‘My next focus is on unlocking more value through automation, using the OpenGround cloud API. That’s looking at things like automating borehole log generation, data query, and combining it with the Excel extension tool.’
Minutes rather than days or weeks’
The potential of OpenGround quickly became clear, according to Associate Engineer Geologist Francesca Gorrini.
The team was able to push updates to the cloud from the field, allowing them to continuously improve the OpenGround collector profile during the investigation itself.
‘The availability of useful data within minutes rather than days or weeks has been of significant value to our designers and clients.’
OpenGround was invaluable during complex investigations on major Tasmanian port facilities, she says.
‘The wharf project presented significant challenges, as we were required to drill boreholes offshore and nearshore through uncontrolled fill, marine sediments, and faulted rock.
‘Having real-time access to my logs in the field saved time and double handling. I could deliver my logs to the client daily, which allowed them to adjust the scope of investigations in real time in response to our building understanding of the ground conditions.’
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Faster, more dynamic modelling
Associate Geotechnical Engineer Ehsan Zeinali also worked closely with OpenGround on the geotechnical design for the Midway Point Causeway project of major arterial roads into Hobart.
‘We started building a consolidated geotechnical database, combining new and historic investigation data in a single OpenGround project, and we then used Leapfrog to generate three geological models seamlessly importing factual data directly from OpenGround.
‘This connectivity is one of the best features of OpenGround. It made the process more dynamic and, as the new data came in, through the collector, we updated the model in real time. That meant faster insights and better visualisation and more responsive design adjustments.
‘I believe this visualisation and quick data turnaround times helped bring the client along on the journey with us in the project.
Rand says the visualisation component’s ability to communicate to a client very simple pictures of what’s going on is valuable.
‘Thank you Seequent and their amazing organisation for the support, courage, and the curiosity to fuel their get-in-and-have-a-go culture, so we’re really able to implement digital innovation and data-driven solutions for our clients.’