Learning from geotechnical failure

According to SBR, geotechnical failure costs add up to twenty-five per cent of construction costs, the NVAF notes that twenty per cent of the turnover of piers is made up of failure costs and TNO Bouw talks about nine billion euros of loss of efficiency in the construction process due to geotechnical failure.

Geotechnical bearing capacity for foundation machines (2017)

This guideline provides insights for safe design, construction and maintenance of shop floors. Furthermore, the publication provides a technical analysis of the interaction between the loads from the machine and the bearing capacity of the subsoil. It also provides guidance on the division of responsibilities between the client, main contractor and subcontractor of the foundation work. An accompanying article on the guideline appeared in Vakblad Geotechniek.

Analysis of geotechnical incidents in the trade media (2015)

To get an impression of the number and course of geotechnical incidents, Martin van Staveren recorded and analysed all geotechnical incidents reported on by newspaper Cobouw from 2010 to 2014. A clear decrease in geotechnical incidents can be seen.

'Learning from geotechnical failure' project (2010)

The CUR Bouw &Infra committee, initiated by KIVI NIRIA Geotechniek and Rijkswaterstaat, selected six cases in which soil or ground-based structures failed to meet expectations. Sometimes this led to extra costs, environmental damage, consequential damage, (temporary) unsafety and damage to image.
The committee dealt with the cases with the aim of drawing lessons to ensure that the same mistakes are not made again. A descriptive overview of the project can be found in Vakblad Geotechniek, as well as the individual results of the cases. The final review General Conclusions and Recommendations was also published in Geotechniek.

• Vlietland Hospital Schiedam
• Westerhaven car park Groningen
• Zuidpoortgarage Delft
• Dredging depot IJsseloog
• Museumpark garage Rotterdam
• Provincial road N470 South Holland

Learning from geotechnical failure (2010)

This CUR report lists the structural causes of geotechnical failure, divided into micro, meso and macro levels. For each of these levels, measures and recommendations are presented to prevent damage events. The measures are directly applicable to professionals and the organisations in which they work. Examples include controls with simple calculation models, risk analyses and a monitoring plan. In addition, more attention is needed to the effects of a structure on its immediate surroundings. The report contains the same cases as in the Geotechnical articles (see text block above) but provides a more comprehensive overall analysis.

Forty claims analysis (2007)

In the 2007 monthly magazine Cement (no 6, page 5), Prof Frits van Tol of TU Delft gives an extensive analysis of 40 damage cases to construction pits over the past 10 years. His conclusion is that in two-thirds of the cases, the necessary knowledge was available but had not been used.

Van Tol therefore advocates improving construction-related training and studies. Research is also needed into the installation effects when making sheet piling, as (slot) leakage is a major cause of damage.

A.F. van Tol, Damages in construction pits, Cement 2007 no 6, p. 6-13.