Course:EOSC311/2020/Geology: Key in Large Projects' Operations

Geology's Role in Large Scale Projects

Geology is defined as “a science that deals with the history of the earth and its life especially as recorded in rocks”. Over time, as geologists have become acquainted with different rock types, processes, and materials on earth, they have also discovered their specific features such as strength, hardness, slope stability, and physical and chemical properties. These features have become increasingly important as the surge of industrialization in the 1700s and 1800s resulted in many large scale projects that boosted the economy and triggered urbanization. Whether it is construction or mining, all large projects result in the altering of the earth. In order to prevent hazards, failures, and to ensure environmental safety, geological engineers surfaced. They use their geological knowledge to successfully complete large scale projects.

Behind the scenes of every building and mine, project managers alongside geological engineers worked side by side to run field studies, conduct geological testing, and analyze data in order to determine the feasibility of the project and to create a plan for a successful result.

As a senior student in operations and logistics, large scale operations play a large role in my studies. From analyzing data to creating optimization models, operations professionals aim to discover the most efficient and cost-effective way to successfully complete projects. In this project, I will explore the large role geology plays in operations and logistics by introducing the geological engineer profession and linking it to its role in project management. Some topics covered will be the importance of soil and rock composition, excavation, and field studies in construction, as well as the importance of data analytics and geology in operations and logistics.

Impact of Geology in Large Scale Projects

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Past Disasters

The largest role of geology in large scale projects is ensuring the prevention of hazards during and after construction. Geological engineers and geophysicists are required to determine the possible hazards that may occur based on geological conditions of the land through studies and the construction of adequate designs. If this is not performed, or is not performed efficiently, many disasters can occur. Take a look at the video below discussing some of the major construction failures.

Introducing Geological Engineers

According to the International Association of Engineering Geology, engineering geology is “the science devoted to the investigation, study and solution of the engineering and environmental problems that may arise as the result of the interaction between geology and the works and activities of man as well as to the prediction of and development of measures for prevention or remediation of geological hazard” (Anon 1993). According to the definition, geology plays a large part in construction and civil engineering. Knill (1975) mentioned the core role of engineering geologists is providing an interpretation of ground conditions for excavation and construction. They help with the planning, investigation, design, and construction and operation of engineering functions. All of these areas are key in operations and logistics, requiring geological engineers and project managers to work together to achieve successful projects.

Watch the video below to explore the role geological and mining engineers play in large scale projects:

Now let’s explore some of the specific responsibilities geological engineers hold:

Determining Nature, Form, and Cost of Projects

Geological engineers perform various field studies to determine how complex a project may be. Subsurface excavations are usually more extensive than those on the surface. Geological engineers begin by observing the aerial photographs and maps to get an impression of the geological conditions of the area, and then plan the appropriate investigations to help assess the feasibility of the location. With each subsequent investigation, the cost of the project becomes more clear as more complex geological conditions will require increased investment in labour, materials, and time.

One of the major parts of construction is excavation, which refers to the removal of materials at the surface for construction purposes. Before excavation, the site is investigated. The geological conditions present determine the method of excavation as well as the rate of progress. These conditions include the position of the water table in relation to the base level of excavation; drillability in rock masses based on hardness, abrasiveness, and grain size; and strength, density, and fracture pattern within the rock mass. This will be further discussed below, but as seen, geology largely determines not only cost, but the nature and form of projects as each geological condition will require engineers to take different approaches to project execution.

Site Investigation

Soil Samples from a Site Investigation

Geological engineers perform site investigation and land evaluation to determine the most appropriate use of land in terms of planning and development for large scale projects. Multiple geological factors play a part in this process, such as mineral resources and the impact mining will have on the land, hydrogeological conditions, soil resources, geological hazards, disposal or waste or ground conditions. Site investigations are especially important in urban areas where problems may arise at heavy industrial sites as the ground is contaminated or where there are abandoned mineral workings at shallow depth.

At these sites, geological engineers perform feasibility studies to determine if a project is feasible. If data is inadequate or inaccurate, this may lead to serious damage and failure of the engineering structure. Therefore, sufficient costs must be allocated to these studies.

A site investigation not only determines the feasibility of a project, but also predicts the ground conditions and difficulties that may arise during and after construction (for instance the existence of folds or faults in the ground). That is why the process involves sampling of all rock and soil types as they will be affected heavily during an engineering project. In addition, the process of core logging is involved which is the recording and measuring of a lot of information to determine lithology, mineralogy, structure and alteration zones, and potential geological history. This process is done through a small piece of cylindrical rock being drilled and removed from mineral deposits.

In times of project failure, geological engineers also get involved. They perform site investigations to help reveal the cause of failure, helping seek remedies and ways to avoid this in future projects. As seen in the hazard video above, studies were run after Cantilever Bridge collapsed which determined the extensive faults in structural design of the bridge.

A site investigation consists of a desk study, preliminary reconnaissance, and a site exploration with flexibility.

Desk study: initial assessment of ground conditions as well as the identification of potential geotechnical problems. This process includes looking at archival records in order to begin geological model and the process of construction.

Preliminary reconnaissance: a walk over the site, where the distribution of soil and rock types present is noted, as well as relief of the ground, surface drainage and associated features- as well as landslip areas, and evidence of underground workings. This should not only occur on the site, but around the surrounding areas as well. This assesses the suitability of the site for the proposed work.

Site exploration: its aim is to understand the nature of ground and surrounding conditions. This expands on and compiles the data collected from the previous two studies to create a report with the findings and conclusion which is to be used for design purposes and project plans.

Open Excavation

There are two types of excavations: at the surface or below the surface. Excavations at the surface are termed open excavations and are formed when constructing foundations, tunnels and underground chambers for diverse purposes. Subsurface excavations, the ones below the surface, are formed in times of tunnels and underground chambers.

In order to form a successful excavation, geological conditions must be ideal. This includes the stability of the opening and the stability of the surrounding/overlying ground. An important part of operations and logistics is completing a project in the most efficient and cost-effective manner. In terms of excavation, their subsurface formation is of hazardous nature. If this is not recognized and geological investigations are not conducted, there could be large financial consequences as excavation is already one of the most expensive forms of construction.

Factors Influencing Excavation

Ground Characteristics

As previously mentioned, ground characteristics hold high importance for construction. Rock masses are analyzed to determine their drillability and diggability.

Drillability is affected by the rocks' abrasiveness, discontinuities, hardness, and grain size. Stronger drilling equipment is required for harder rocks as they need to undergo higher pressures. Abrasiveness is defined as the rocks' capacity to wear away drill bits (large fragments may cause scratching). Usually, fine-grained and variably grained rocks are drilled more slowly than coarse-grained rocks. Finally, discontinuities can cause the drill to deviate from its required alignment.

As for diggability, it depends on the bulk density, natural water content, bulking factor, and the intact strength of the ground. It is a lot harder to drill boulders, gravels, and wet heavy clay than it is free and loose running rock masses like sand and small gravel.

Form of Slope Failure Due to Construction

Slope Stability

Construction of slopes is dependent on the strength of material that forms the slope or the foundation of an embankment. This is affected by groundwater conditions and the presence and properties of geological structures. Multiple types of slope failures can occur because of construction, such as failure due to imposed loading in times of weathering, or homogeneous material. As seen to the right, there are diverse types of failures that can occur, most due to increase in steepness, removal of support from the mass by excavation or erosion in the lower part of the slope, rises in pore water pressure in the ground, and the loss of material strength through weathering. To ensure failure does not occur, geological engineers perform a limit equilibrium analysis which evaluates the stress-strain relationship of the material. Different types of soil are able to sustain differing slopes. Cohesive soil, for example, is capable of standing at steep angles right after excavation, but can fail at a later time depending on undrained shear strength of the material. Partially saturated granular soils are able to stand at high angles or vertically for short periods of time determined by the rate of water removal from the mass, as well as density, permeability and water content of the soil.

Stereographic Projection

Excavation is quite an extensive topic as there are complex modifications to the geotechnical properties of the soil that happen because of the changes in groundwater and stress of the soil. Extensive analysis needs to be conducted, such as stereographic projection, helping assess the stability status of rock slopes (image on the left).

All this analysis helps determine the types of tools used for excavation. At times, the soil will need to be loosened before excavation. These decisions are dependent on very subtle differences in material properties, like on weathering profiles and fault zones where unaltered material that needs to be blasted lies next to weaker ground. If you look at the image below, you can see the seismic velocity needed to actually rip and penetrate the soil.

Seismic Velocities in Relation to Rippability

Project Types

The table below demonstrates the impact geology has on different project types:

Bridge	Dam	Construction and Mining
rock foundations must be free of shear zones, joints, and fissures abutment rocks and foundation must be strong enough to hold the load of bridge structure and the traffic above the erosive action of water should not be able to cause wear and tear of the structural piers or the foundation if across a natural depression, the sound rock can not be at a large depth below the floor of depress and the walls	physiography, geologic history, statigraphy, and structure of a river basin must be known to select sites foundations of the ground must be known to ensure they can sustain stress and strain of structures, hydrostatic pressure, and exposure to weathering and oxidation the geological site where the dam is built has to be impervious to water	site must be chosen based on aerial photographs and maps of geological area, as well as field and feasibility studies conducted excavation plays a large role slope stability must be determined alongside rock and soil properties adequate site investigation must be completed

The Cost Borne if Geological Standards Are Not Followed

Town of Logarone after the disaster

Now keeping in mind the processes geological engineers undergo in order to ensure safety and project success, let's look at what happens when these requirements are not implemented. The Landslide of the Vajont Dam in 1963 was perhaps one of the largest construction disasters in history. 260 million cubic meters of rock fell into the reservoir of Vajont Dam on the border between Veneto and Fruili Venezia Giulia. This produced a wave of 50 million cubic meters of water. At the time, the dam was one of the biggest in the world and this disaster destroyed whole villages and killed nearly 2,000 citizens.

Town of Longarone before the disaster

The dam was built without the consideration of geological reports which included possible tectonic problems and foundation instability. Moreover, builders did not follow soil conservation requirements and had filled the reservoir well with too much water- not following safety regulations. This disaster sparked huge controversy as conservative newspapers aimed to divert the blame from the workers, while opposition newspapers blamed it on human error.

There are many examples like this in history, highlighting the importance of geology in large scale projects.

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Summary

Geological engineers and geophysicists bear a large burden when it comes to large scale projects. One could argue that data collection has never mattered more. From conducting site investigations, to analyzing rock masses, geology is the core of project planning and execution. Now how does it fit in with operations and logistics?

Operations and Logistics

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Introduction

Operations and logistics, specifically logistics management, consists of creating a detailed process of planning and implementing a project. In business, it is the flow of work from the beginning of the project to the end. This flow of work integrates everything from transportation, materials handling, to production. In terms of large scale projects, the aim of logistics management to manage the project life cycle. The project life cycle has five stages:

1. Definition: goal of project is determined and roles are established.
2. Design: design is developed based on requirements established in phase one. This phase includes the use of flow charts, sketches, and site trees.
3. Development: everything needed for implementation is arranged. The project schedule is made including a specific timeline for each project stage.
4. Deployment: project is implemented, process is monitored. At the end of the stage, the results of the project are compared to the requirements determined at the beginning of the project.
5. Departure: workers are no longer needed, follow-up or exit interviews are conducted.

Construction and large scale projects in particular demand many materials and resources that must be delivered on-time, to the correct place on the site, and following the rules of site management. Therefore, logistics management is in charge of all supply and disposal shipments of material, personnel, and equipment to and from the site, as well as effective planning and control of all resources at the site.  

The picture on the right encompasses all the factors influenced by construction logistics:

Factors Influenced by Logistics in Construction

While regulating all those factors, there are several distinctive characteristics of construction work that heavily influence logistics and need to be considered:

1. Each site requires setup because it is a unique location and is temporary.
2. Sites are material intensive and materials need to be supplied on an irregular basis such as drilling equipment first and furniture last.
3. Activities are executed in sequence and if one is delayed, the rest will also be delayed causing the incurring of large costs. This means construction materials need to arrive at the site in the right quantities and at the right time.
4. Construction and large-scale projects are in a fragmented industry, meaning that there are many logistics services and construction companies, leading to different ways of project execution and managing data.

Because of the complexity of large projects, there have to be structured and coordinated construction logistics models. Therefore, project managers often use multiple tools to stay organized. One being a Gantt Chart. Designed by Henry Gantt in 1910, the Gantt Chart allows to illustrate the project schedule and shows the dependency relationships between activities and current schedule status. Here is a basic example of a Gantt Chart:

This is a very simplified version. Within each of these steps multiple people and processes are involved.

Link Between Operations and Logistics, and Geology

Considering the project life-cycle, geology plays a continuous role in each of the five steps.

1. Definition: goal of project is determined and roles are established - Depending on the project, different goals are established. For construction projects, from the geological perspective, one goal is to ensure the correct construction site is chosen in order to be able to endure the stress put on land by the construction. When looking at the factors that are influence by construction logistics- security, project costs, waste reduction, and health and safety are important. Geological engineers play a large part in positively influencing those factors.
2. Design: design is developed based on requirements established in phase one - This phase includes the use of flow charts, sketches, and site trees. Much of the geological engineers' role is to help with project design. Through field studies, they are able to determine the correct tools and methods to use in excavation and structural design. By conducting those studies, geological engineers are able to communicate the materials and time needed for the project. With this information, operations personnel uses different optimization models (using advanced technology similar to Excel) to determine the most cost-efficient, time-efficient, and safe way to accomplish each of the goals while keeping in mind the design required.
3. Development: everything needed for implementation is arranged - The project schedule is made including a specific timeline for each project stage. The timeline of the project is made using optimization data and the design given by the geological engineers. Geological engineers not only aid with the design, but also help predict the problems that may occur during the construction depending on the geological conditions of the land. This allows logistics personnel to prepare for change orders and allocate the correct budget to hazard mitigation.
4. Deployment: project is implemented, process is monitored - At the end of the stage, the results of the project are compared to the requirements determined at the beginning of the project. Both geological engineers and logistics personnel monitor the project process. During the process, failures can occur, for example if rock masses are abrasive, drill bits may be scratched and new equipment may be required.
5. Departure: workers are no longer needed, follow-up or exit interviews are conducted - At the end of the project, the success of the process is evaluated. Geological engineers and logistics personnel come together to determine if safety standards were adequately met and if any failures were sufficiently dealt with.

Evidently, geology plays a large role in a project's life cycle, from preliminary project planning to project monitoring. Yet, geology also ties into more intricate parts of operations an logistics.

Reservoir Simulation Model

Simulation Models

Construction projects are quite different from regular business operations as once they have been built, they can not be easily altered. Therefore, simulation models are built to ensure the design is effective and appropriate. Simulation modeling is a large part of operations and logistics as personnel in that area gather various data and information to make company-wide decision making. In construction specifically, one example is reservoir simulation models. A paper by D.G. Harris a common simulation model called a two-dimensional multicell cross-section. This model can handle vertical variations in porosity, permeability, and capillary properties for an area. Data such as parameter values, fluid volumes, and fluid state are entered into a computer program. The results determine the geometry of the model and the type of model that should be used. To determine the correct model, many geological activities must be conducted. Some of these include 1) rock studies establishing lithology and studying the depositional environment, 2) studies discovering the structural style and thickness of reservoir rocks, 3) reservoir-quality studies to determine the variability rock in porosity, permeability, and capillary properties, and 4) integration studies developing hydrocarbon pore volume and fluid transmissibility patterns in three dimensions.

The table on the left shows the the parameters required for every cell of the model. As you can see, geology plays the key role in its functionality.

Data Analytics

In addition to simulation models, both geological and logistics activities require a lot of data collection and analysis. Construction sites now are drowning in data, such as design data from planning stages of a project, site data collected through worker's mobile devices, and job progress data. This data can determine the success of the project if used effectively.

Logistics personnel use that data to automate tasks, find inefficient processes, and cut costs. They even track employees' movement through smartphones to view the extra movement taken during the day. That data is used to move around different equipment to reduce walking time and increase efficiency.

As discussed previously, geological engineers also continuously deal with data as they lead countless site investigations and studies. The two areas combine when it comes to safety. The data collected and analyzed by geological engineers is used by logistics professionals to identify the high-risk tasks, dangerous conditions, and ensure the prevention of future accidents. This can be influenced both by geological properties, such as rock mass hardness, as well as the project design (height, weight, etc.) The concepts of using data to predict the future is called predictive analysis and is a current trend in the construction industry as people are increasingly using predictive models in construction.

Geology - The Rock in Business Success for Large-Scale Projects

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Consistent Problem of Cutting Corners in Business

As seen above, extensive geological work must be completed before initiating large scale projects, and at times, geological engineers may even deem a project infeasible because of the conditions of the chosen land. As expected, in business, cost-cutting is a very common discussion being one of the central roles of operations and logistics. In fact, this is often done in construction projects. In order to move up the project deadline and reduce costs, not enough time is taken to run the appropriate studies and prepare correct engineering designs. This is the reason behind the most common causes of construction project failures being project design errors, not planning for change orders in case of design failure, and poor site management (ineffective quality control, incorrect tools, etc.). Not only does this cause severe financial deficits for organizations, but introduces various safety hazards, putting many lives at risk. That is why geology plays such a key part in construction. The financial loss in times of design failure or hazards is a lot larger than the cost of appropriate site investigation and design. Therefore, geology actively participates in project cost efficiency.

Summary

Many consider geology as the study of the history of earth, having more impact on gaining knowledge regarding the past, rather than determining our future. But, this is not the case. Geology consistently impacts our daily life by ensuring successful development of large scale projects that improve our quality of life. From building dams and reservoirs to allow for consistent water supply, to ensuring safety on a construction site so we can have a secure place to live, geology works alongside the business industry to create and innovate our world.