Geo-Foundations Project Information Management Systems on a Budget-Paper

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The paper argues that Project Information Management Systems (PIMS) can improve quality control, decision-making, reporting, and as-built documentation on small geotechnical foundation projects—not just large, high-budget projects. Falling technology costs and reusable tools make these systems increasingly affordable.<br /><br />A PIMS workflow collects data from field forms, spreadsheets, and instruments; stores and validates it in a database; then makes it available for analysis, visualization, reports, and CAD drawings. Applications are especially useful when teams need timely construction decisions, transparent proof of specification compliance, or organized data submissions to owners.<br /><br />Three case studies illustrate this approach. For a deep slurry-wall access shaft, ultrasonic Koden survey files were uploaded to a shared folder and imported into a database, which automatically generated panel reports and AutoCAD as-built drawings. For a diaphragm wall, Hydromill deviation files and manually entered panel information were uploaded through a website to produce PDF reports, CAD views, and an interactive map. For a small grout curtain, web forms captured borehole geometry and stage-by-stage grout takes, enabling profile visualizations, as-built drawings, and real-time reports on grout closure, progress, and quantities.<br /><br />PIMS are generally customized services rather than off-the-shelf software, requiring data-management and geotechnical expertise. However, they can use inexpensive cloud databases and open-source or standard tools. The projects described cost approximately US$15,000–40,000, with most expense associated with initial development and deployment.<br /><br />The paper concludes that PIMS can make construction data more accessible, useful, and auditable at any project scale. By adapting workflows and templates from larger projects, smaller projects can gain similar efficiencies and quality improvements at manageable cost.

Keywords

Project Information Management Systems

PIMS

geotechnical foundation projects

quality control

decision-making

as-built documentation

database workflow

construction reporting

CAD drawings

cloud databases