I had a great time back in Queensland last week catching up with some old faces and meeting new ones.
A recurring topic of discussion among those I met was the challenge in innovating in geotechnical instrumentation, and engineering for that matter, in Australia – particularly when it comes to civil infrastructure. The concerns raised surrounded three interlinked issues:
1. Client specifications are prescriptive to the extent that opportunities to introduce innovative solutions, advanced construction practices, or apply an observational approach in which efficiencies can be introduced through close real-time monitoring, are being stifled. Removing the opportunity to value engineer based on in-situ data limits the value offered by advanced instrumentation and monitoring programs.
2. The engineers developing the I&M plan aren’t necessarily the ones reviewing and implementing the outputs, so the intended application of the data to the design can get lost in translation. This can go one of two ways; data from a comprehensive monitoring plan is underutilised by the reviewing consultants, stripping away value from the program; or inadequate instrumentation and monitoring is implemented, restricting the reviewing consultant’s capacity to derive value from it. Either way, the potential value from the instrumentation and monitoring plan is not met. Where outputs are applied appropriately, the ability to enhance design is inhibited by point 1.
3. The ultimate purchasing decision for instrumentation will often come down to the contractor. With little upside exposure to the value offered by comprehensive monitoring programs, the lowest price to “tick the box” will often win, leaving little room for performance-based innovation.
Clients, consultants, and contractors working together to deliver data-driven designs enabled by a modern monitoring approach will mean more efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective infrastructure and a better return on investment for the taxpayer.
Do you agree? If so, how do we motivate clients to adjust their tolerance for creativity?
Founder at Murray McIntosh
2wWonderful! I’m so pleased to see the continued engagement with our report.