Geo Risk Management Results for a Public Client
Organization
Martin VAN STAVERENa, Paul LITJENSb and Jan Jaap HEEREMAb aVSRM, Breda, The Netherlands
bRijkswaterstaat, Ministry of Infrastructure & Environment, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Abstract. Rijkswaterstaat is the executive agency of the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, responsible for development and maintenance of the Dutch main road network, main waterway network and main water systems. Managing and realizing these networks, not only within time, budget, safety margins and quality standards, but also with a minimum of public inconvenience during construction, are key success factors. In this respect subsoil conditions imply great risks and therefore are of major importance. For these reasons Rijkswaterstaat initiated the Dutch Geo-Impuls program for reducing geotechnical failure. This joint industry programme aims to strengthen the geotechnical community by substantially reducing geotechnical failures in all types of construction projects. It started in 2009 and was completed in 2015. All of the more than 40 Geo-Impuls participants embraced Geotechnical Risk Management (GeoRM) as the preferred geotechnical working method. Parallel to, and in close cooperation with, the evolvements within the Geo-Impuls program, Rijkswaterstaat developed its own processes and practices, keeping Geotechnical Risk Management (GeoRM) and its associated GeoPrinciples in mind. Our paper for the ISGSR2013 addressed the implementation of GeoRM working methods in the organization. This paper aims to provide an overview of the unique set of GeoRM tooling that has been developed within RWS. These tools include an organization specific GeoRM guideline, which entirely fits the existing project management approach, the so-called Geo Project Sieve for quickly assessing and addressing the geotechnical risk profile of a new infrastructure projects. And furthermore an approach for risk-driven quality assurance and control after contract award, during design as well as construction of infrastructure projects. In addition to the descriptions of these tools, this paper gives specific attention to the results and benefits of the application of tool-supported GeoRM in a number of projects of RWS. It also addresses several activities that were carried out to implement GeoRM within the internal organisation. The results contribute for example to better cooperation between contract partners, in-time assessment and control of geotechnical risks, and therefore improved control of costs, time, and quality of services and civil works. Keywords. Geotechnical risk, geotechnical risk management, Geo-Impuls
1. Introduction
Rijkswaterstaat is the executive agency of the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, responsible for development and maintenance of the Dutch main road network, main waterway network and main water systems. Managing, realizing, and maintaining these networks, not only within time, budget, safety margins and quality standards, but also with a minimum of public inconvenience during construction, are key success factors. In this respect subsoil conditions imply great risks and therefore are of major importance.
For these reasons Rijkswaterstaat initiated the Dutch Geo-Impuls program for reducing geotechnical failure. This joint industry program aims to strengthen the geotechnical community by substantially reducing geotechnical failures in all types of
construction projects. It started in 2009 and was completed in 2015. All of the more than 40 Geo-Impuls participants embraced Geotechnical Risk Management (GeoRM) as the preferred geotechnical working method (Van Staveren et al., 2013a).
GeoRM is defined here as explicitly communicating about and continuously dealing with geotechnical risk in a structured manner (Van Staveren, 2013). Explicitly means completely describing all of the aspects of geotechnical risks and underlying uncertainties. Communicating means that geotechnical risks are discussed with and reported to the persons and parties involved, in order to share different perceptions of the causes, probabilities, and effects of risks. Dealing indicates that risk management is not only about reducing or eliminating risk. Also, opportunities may emerge from uncertainty.
© 2015 The authors and IOS Press. This article is published online with Open Access by IOS Press and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License. doi:10.3233/978-1-61499-580-7-752
Basically, it is about making choices regarding the best way to handle a geotechnical uncertainty in view of the project objective. This can also mean simply accepting a risk. Continuously means that risk management steps are cyclic and therefore repeated after a predefined time. This is necessary because of the inherently dynamic character of risks. Due to the fact that circumstances and perceptions change, risks will also change over time as well. Finally, structured indicates the importance of using of a defined process of discrete steps.
Risk management steps are generally agreed upon in the literature, but sometimes they are referred to by slightly different names. These steps align with the ISO/IEC 31000 (2009) guideline on risk management and with widely used project risk management processes, such as RISMAN in the Netherlands (Van Well-Stam et al., 2004). For geotechnical risk management, exactly the same steps are useful. Therefore, geotechnical risk management can simply be considered as an in-depth version of project risk management.
The six geotechnical risk management steps are (1) getting information and setting objectives, (2) identifying geotechnical risks, (3) classifying geotechnical risks, (4) remediating geotechnical risks, (5) evaluating the effectiveness of the remediating measures, and (6) reporting and transferring the resulting geotechnical risk register to the next project phase.
This paper provides an overview of the unique set of GeoRM tooling that has been developed within Rijkswaterstaat (RWS). The purpose of this tooling is to support the routine application of geotechnical risk management (GeoRM) in the reconnaissance, preparation and realization phases of construction projects. After this introduction, this paper starts with describing three tools. The first tool is an organization specific GeoRM guideline, which entirely fits the existing project management approach. The second tool is the so-called Geo Project Sieve for quickly assessing and addressing the geotechnical risk profile of a new infrastructure projects. And furthermore, the third tool is an approach for risk-driven quality assurance and control after contract
award, during design as well as construction of infrastructure projects. Next, this paper gives specific attention to the results and benefits of the application of tool-supported GeoRM in a number of projects of RWS. It also addresses several activities that were carried out to implement GeoRM within the internal organization.
The results of the GeoRM application contribute for example to better cooperation between contract partners, in-time assessment and control of geotechnical risks, and therefore to improved control of costs, time, and quality of services and civil works. The paper finalizes with conclusions.
2. GeoRM tooling
2.1. Organization specific GeoRM guideline All projects of Rijkswaterstaat are managed using a model of Integral Project Management (IPM). Within each project a management team consists of 5 specific (IPM) members i.e. a project manager, a contract manager, a technical manager, a manager project control and a communications-/area manager.
For the implementation of GeoRM within working procedures of Rijkswaterstaat, geotechnical experts within the organization ‘translated’ GeoRM and its according GeoPrinciples in a specific GeoRM guideline for RWS-projects. The Guideline describes which activities a specific IPM-members should initiate to gain control over project specific geotechnical risks. The Guideline mainly targets on activities of Technical Managers and Contract Managers.
For Technical managers the guideline provides GeoRM tools that contribute to design as well as construction activities. Besides that, GeoRM-tools are suggested that help to estimate project costs and planning. Contract Managers are provided with GeoRM tools that help to create a project specific geotechnical contract statements.
Finally the Guideline also is written to assist geotechnical experts within Rijkswaterstaat to create a project specific set of GeoRM-tools.
2.2. Geo Project Sieve
Since 2013 Rijkswaterstaat adopted GeoRM as a standard working procedure for all its projects. The Geo Project Sieve was developed to distinguish between groups of projects. The primary targets group for using the Sieve are (non-geotechnical) principals of construction projects. These are the project developers within Rijkswaterstaat. By using only four basic and simple project criteria, projects can quickly be classified based on local subsoil conditions.
For projects with a ‘normal geotechnical risk profile’ only limited assistance of a geotechnical expert within Rijkswaterstaat is needed. For these projects, the GeoRM-guideline will provide sufficient guidance to help project teams to engage external geotechnical expertise for executing specific GeoRM-activities. However for the remaining projects with a ‘high geotechnical risk profile’ specific assistance of a geotechnical expert within the organization is needed to create a project specific set of GeoRM-tools. Geotechnical experts within Rijkswaterstaat will actively take control over the geotechnical risk management within these projects.
Figure 1 shows criteria that are used within the Geo Project Sieve. By scoring a project along these criteria four preliminary scores can be added up to one total risk score showing whether or not the assistance of a specific geotechnical experts from within Rijkswaterstaat is needed.
Figure 1. Geo Project Sieve – Criteria & Scores Part of the scores can be determined using charts as shown in figure 2 and 3. Figure 2 shows the chart for projects involving construction ABOVE or WITH subsoil. Main risk within these type of projects involve settlements and stability. Examples are the construction of embankments for infrastructure
and dikes. Figure 2 is based on a general settlement analysis of the Netherlands (Deltares et al. 2014). The areas indicated are identified as areas with a potential high geotechnical risk profile for projects involving construction ABOVE or WITH subsoil.
The chart for projects involving construction IN subsoil is presented in figure 3. This type of projects involve merely construction of tunnels and building pits. Due to typical Dutch soil conditions, the most relevant geotechnical risks are leakage of (ground)water and the encounter of obstacles. The chart is therefore based on a geological reproduction of the Netherlands, involving the depth of the phreatic level as well as the presences of specific geological formations (map source: Weerts et al., 2000).
Figure 2. Geo Project Sieve – ABOVE / WITH Subsoil
2.3. Risk-driven Geo-Quality Assurance & Control
Rijkswaterstaat has developed a specific way in which contracts are managed, once they have been signed. This is called System Controlled Contract Management (SCB). Based on identified project risks, Rijkswaterstaat uses SCB as a system to monitor from a distance that these risks are controlled by the contractor adequately. Therefore, SCB is a way of providing quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC). By taking into account the relevant geotechnical risks in this process, which may result for instance in additional costs, time overruns and reputation damage, these effects can be limited to an acceptable level, or even avoided.
Within SCB a mix of audits and reviews on different levels is used to check the performance of contractors. The mix of reviews is made in advance, first of all initiated by standard risk matrices and based on the risk profile of the project. As part of the implementation of GeoRM, a set of standard geotechnical issues has been identified and related to the standard risks that are used to initiate the SCB process.
Within SCB three levels of reviews are identified, i.e. a system review, a process review and a product review. The first two levels of reviews are executed by a so called ‘lead auditor’. To give as much freedom as possible and to minimize the intervention within the processes of the contractor the first two levels of reviews are mostly used in practice. A geotechnical expert is mostly not involved in these reviews.
Therefore, a set of specific geotechnical review questions is developed that can be used by lead auditors in executing a system or process review. The answers on these questions provide insight in the effectiveness of geotechnical risk management. Depending on the outcome of these reviews, a geotechnical expert can be called in to review results of actual geotechnical investigations, designs and working plans. These risk-driven geotechnical reviews are on the product level of SCB.
In the so-called Geo-SCB is presented how SCB can be executed by involving geotechnical risks. This guideline is therefore in particular useful for non-geotechnical auditors.
3. GeoRM results and benefits 3.1. Project A
Although The Netherlands is known for high groundwater and surface water levels, many canals in the eastern and southern part of the country lie well above groundwater. They are situated mostly in sandy and gravelly subsoil, making a watertight lining with clay, asphalt or concrete necessary. In the past few years and in the years to come these canals will be subject to renovation, diversion and upgrading to make transport with larger vessels possible. It is of great concern to protect the people’s houses, the environment (protected flora and fauna) against leakage from the canals, and to protect industrial activities that rely on the water in the canals, and of course to protect inland navigation from getting obstructed. Geohydrology and subsoil composition is of great importance. The major risks implied from the subsoil were managed in a risk-driven way, by using GeoRM, accompanied by risk-driven soil investigations in the early stages of the projects. In the tendering phase contractors were able to make a proper bid, because information about soil conditions and conductivity was known.
3.2. Project B
Upgrading the highway network, and realizing partially tunnelled trajectories, in the western part of The Netherlands can be very challenging. Soft soils, high groundwater levels, populous areas, and a highly congested road network, that will remain in use during the construction activities, may seem like squaring the circle. And as a result of numerous mutual interfaces, any delay of single projects will be unacceptable.
The different project management teams for these construction projects recognized a number of underground risks and recruited geotechnical engineers to help them enrol GeoRM. By translating the dominant role of the subsoil into geotechnical risks, with effects in terms of planning, budget, safety and quality the geotechnicians were able to communicate with technical managers and contract managers, who put them in appropriate positions in the organizations. By getting an early insight in the geotechnical and geohydrological risks, and collect sufficient subsoil information the risks could be managed by contract, for example by making them part of the dialog-phase or by making them part of the performance regime in DBFM contracts. In this way possible cost over-runs could be averted. Amongst others the risk of higher groundwater levels than expected in a tunnelling area and the occurrence of man-made construction waste and chemical waste material depots could be dealt with.
3.3. Project C
Together with waterboards, provinces, and municipalities, Rijkswaterstaat cooperates to protect the country against flooding. This is done in several water safety programs. Within the programs riverbeds are widened, and flood defences are reinforced. In some of the programs hundreds of kilometres of dikes, dunes, dams and other constructions will be reinforced to maintain their defending functions. Rijkswaterstaat mostly has a verifying role to check whether designs and principles are cost effective, robust and efficient. Geotechnics plays a key role in this: all dikes, dunes, dams and constructions are founded IN, or ABOVE, the subsoil and most of them are also constructed WITH subsoil material. GeoRM helps the geotechnical engineers to find the right balance between the mission statement on water safety on the one hand, and building sober, but effective solutions on the other hand in a certain time frame. Verification can be done much more effective by managing towards the management of risks and making the most of the opportunities. Expectations are that mainly
optimizing soil investigations with a risk-driven approach, can contribute greatly to effective expenditures.
4. GeoRM implementation activities 4.1. GeoRM implementation approach
The implementation of the GeoRM approach requires balancing the three implementation dimensions of (1) method with tooling, (2) organization and (3) people (van Staveren, 2013). In this paper GeoRM is the method, Rijkswaterstaat is the organization, and the geotechnical engineers within Rijkswaterstaat, together with the managers are the people involved in the implementation process. In Van Staveren et al. (2013b), the implementation of GeoRM within Rijkswaterstaat along these three dimensions have been presented in considerable detail. In 2014 a number of additional implementation activities have been started, which are briefly presented below.
4.2. GeoRM implementation by tooling Regarding the method with tooling dimension, recently developed tools that support the GeoRM application within Rijkswaterstaat are the Geo Project Sieve and the System Controlled Contract Management (SCB) for geotechnical risks. For the latter a specific Geo-SCB guideline has been developed, which can be used by geotechnical and non-geotechnical engineers and auditors. The Geo-SCB guideline is in fact a geotechnical version of the main SCB guideline, such as GeoRM is a geotechnical part of project risk management.
In addition, a geotechnical risk database is in development. This database is part of the project risk database and will include all foreseen generic geotechnical risks that may affect the objectives of Rijkswaterstaat projects. These risks are derived from experiences and existing database. When starting a project, the generic geotechnical risks can be made project-specific and additional project specific geotechnical risks can be added.
4.3. GeoRM in the organization
The application of GeoRM has become obliged for all Rijkswaterstaat projects. This means that the application of GeoRM in all project phases is formally embedded in the structure of project management. For further implementing GeoRM in the entire organization of Rijkswaterstaat it is important that especially non-geotechnical managers and engineers are becoming informed about the existence of GeoRM and its benefits. For this reason specific GeoRM presentations have been developed for the project management team members, such as the technical manager and contract manager. A similar presentation has been developed for non-geotechnical engineers. Within these presentations, the core aspects of GeoRM are explained and examples are given of the benefits of GeoRM application for project team members and non-geotechnical engineers. The presentations will be used for internal education purposes as well. 4.4. GeoRM implementation by people
Finally, people make or break the implementation of a new working approach such as project risk management and GeoRM. Therefore, on a regular basis, some six times a year, inter-vision sessions are organized for the geotechnical engineers within Rijkswaterstaat. They are in fact the pioneers who play a dominant role in the dissipation of the GeoRM working method within the organization. During these inter-vision sessions geotechnical topics and new developments are presented and discussed from a geotechnical risk management point of view. Also, the application of GeoRM in projects is presented. Geotechnical engineers can ask their peers how to deal with problems or questions that they encounter when applying something rather new such as GeoRM. The participants highly appreciate these meetings, which combine knowledge exchanges and competence development.
5. Conclusions
Based on recent experiences within projects the following conclusions can be stated:
• ‘Translating’ GeoRM and its according GeoPrinciples to a specific Guideline that fits within organizational working procedures, is effective to further reduce geotechnical risks within projects. It also helps to enhance attention form geotechnical risks on several levels within organisations, besides the level on which a geotechnical expert operates.
• The Geo Project Sieve is an effective instrument to quickly asses the geotechnical risk level of a specific project. Using the total score a first consideration can be given on the assessment of geotechnical expertise within the organization and its projects.
• Using GeoRM contributes to the reputation of Rijkswaterstaat as a professional client within the construction industry in the Netherlands.
In summary, the application of GeoRM within a public client organisation such as Rijkswaterstaat seems to contribute to achieving the organizational objectives. Benefits are for example to better cooperation between contract partners, in-time assessment and control of geotechnical risks, and therefore improved control of costs, time, and quality of services and civil works.
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