Geotechnical Risk Management (GRM) General: Ground Conditions Can Never Be Totally Certain and Invariably Constitute A

M110EXQ Soil Structure Interaction
Geotechnical Risk Management (GRM)
General: Ground conditions can never be totally certain and invariably constitute a
significant risk for all projects. Some ground uncertainty will always remain in most projects
even after the most rigorous design procedures.
Many countries and certainly the UK tend to follow some form of Geotechnical Risk
Management (GRM) process for their construction and improvement works, so that any
geotechnical risks are identified ahead of the problems on site, and efforts made to correctly
manage them. Eurocode 7 recommends a geotechnical design and risk management process
for construction and improvement projects as below:
The role of Geotechnical Risk Management (GRM) and the Geotechnical Risk Register
(GRR) through a project can be seen in the following chart.
Preliminary Geotechnical Investigation
Ground Investigation (Preliminary Geotechnical Report)
↓↑
Sufficient information?
Geotechnical Design (Geotechnical Report)
Construction Works
Geotechnical Feedback Report
Geotechnical design and risk management processes can be applied to all projects, large or
small, as part of a continuous management process over the life of the project, the only
difference being the level of work considered necessary to meet the needs of the project.
Reports and engineering positions can be updated and amended as new information becomes
available and the geotechnical risk is assessed.
Project Stage Action Geotechnical Risk Management
Planning → Preliminary assessment → Commence GRM & GRR

↓ ↓ ↓
Design → Detailed design → Update GRR
↓ ↓ ↓
Construction → Construction of Works → Update GRR
↓ ↓ ↓
Operations → Maintenance → Update GRR
The preliminary geotechnical investigation and report: The Preliminary Geotechnical

Investigation is the first stage in the process. It considers the geotechnical risks of the various
options for the project and offers guidance on them. A typical preliminary geotechnical
investigation report will include details of:
 the desk studies carried out, e.g. geological maps and records, aerial photographs,
mines and mineral workings, previous ground investigations, flood records,
contaminated land, etc.
 the site visits made, e.g. the initial walkover, geomorphological & geological
mapping, probing, trial pits, samples and testing, drainage/hydrology, etc.
 the ground conditions – soils on the site and their engineering properties, significance
of geological formations, ground water conditions, etc.
 a comparison of the options and risks
 recommendations on instrumentation for site monitoring and the frequency of
readings.
 the Geotechnical Risk Register
The geotechnical report: The Geotechnical Report is the main geotechnical interpretation
report for larger projects and includes details of all of the investigations carried out together
with the design of the geotechnical structures. The report builds on the initial report and
updates the Geotechnical Risk Register with any new risks identified together with any
mitigation measures.
The geotechnical feedback report: The geotechnical feedback report is the formal record of
all of the geotechnical matters encountered during the Works. This report is started at the
beginning of the construction works on site and typically comprises a full record of the
ground conditions, materials and structures used, testing carried out, instrumentation,
monitoring, design changes any problems experienced during the Works. This report should
be safely recorded in a central library as a collective learning document for future projects.
The geotechnical risk register: The Geotechnical Risk Register is the key in the
geotechnical risk management process. It systematically records and considers all of the risk
identified in a structured fashion and ensures that they are dealt with. Each hazard is
considered as 4 steps:
 The identification of the hazard

 Assessing the probability of it occurring and its impact if it did
 Managing the risk identified
 Allocating responsibility and action
Risk = Probability x Impact
Good communication between client, designer and contractor is essential for this process to
work. When all parties are working together openly on the project there is a better chance of
any risks being identified and considered early enough to offer solutions, or put contingency
plans in place.
Examples of pages from a risk register for a new thin embankment over peat are shown in the
following tables:
Table A. Typical Geotechnical Risk Register criteria for Probability (P), Impacts (I) and Risk
(R). A risk value of 1-4 is considered trivial, 5-8 tolerable, 9-12 significant, and above 12
unacceptable.
Ideally, only trivial risks (1-4) should be accepted, but in practice this will not always be
possible. Risks with a value above 9 should not be accepted. These should be reduced to less
than 9 by appropriate risk control measures, i.e. management and/or mitigation. An example
of this is shown in Table B below.
Table B. Simplified example of part of a risk register for a thin embankment over peat on a
geotextile. Risk rating (R) = Probability (P) x Impact (I)
An alternative method of presenting risk rating as a matrix is shown below in Table C
Table C. An alternative method of presenting Risk rating (R) = Probability (P) x Impact (I)
as a matrix
In the above examples the geotechnical risk has been measured in terms of the potential delay
to the delivery of the Works. An alternative method for environmentally sensitive sites could
be to measure the “Impact” as the impact of the geotechnical hazard on the environment.
Test
1. Geotechnical risk management should be commenced:

o At the early feasibility stage of a project
o At the design stage
o When construction work starts on site
2. The geotechnical risk register:

o Records the risks identified during the planning and design stages
o Records all hazards, risks and decisions at all stages of the project
o Is only useful in the event of an unforeseen incident
3. The geotechnical feedback report:

o Is a report on how the contractor dealt with excavations
o Is the record of all geotechnical matters that arose during the construction
of the Works
o Is the report produced by the ground investigation contractor
4. Risk, for the purposes of geotechnical risk management, means:

o A geotechnical hazard
o The consequence of a geotechnical hazard
o The product of the probability of the hazard occurring and its impact
5. A risk of 20 in the standard risk matrix is:

o Trivial
o Tolerable
o Unacceptable

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M110EXQ Soil Structure Interaction

Geotechnical Risk Management (GRM)

Preliminary Geotechnical Investigation

Ground Investigation (Preliminary Geotechnical Report)

Geotechnical Design (Geotechnical Report)

Geotechnical Feedback Report

Project Stage Action Geotechnical Risk Management

Planning → Preliminary assessment → Commence GRM & GRR

The preliminary geotechnical investigation and report: The Preliminary Geotechnical

 The identification of the hazard

An alternative method of presenting risk rating as a matrix is shown below in Table C

1. Geotechnical risk management should be commenced:

2. The geotechnical risk register:

3. The geotechnical feedback report:

4. Risk, for the purposes of geotechnical risk management, means:

5. A risk of 20 in the standard risk matrix is:

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