Construction Monitoring & Materials Testing
GeoSystems will provide QA/QC testing and monitoring services that are required for most construction projects. These services include, but are not limited to, the testing and monitoring of soil, excavations, foundations, concrete, and steel.
Soil Testing and Monitoring
During the design or early construction stages of a project, GeoSystems can review grading plans and specifications to verify that they are consistent with site subsurface conditions and project requirements. We can also review the contractor’s planned construction procedures with respect to site conditions and offer recommendations for more appropriate methods, if warranted.Also, GeoSystems can evaluate the suitability of potential borrow materials for use as structural fill and backfill. Such an evaluation may include field exploration (borings or test pits) and lab testing. Typical lab tests for a borrow study are soil classification, compaction, and possibly strength or permeability, depending on the project.
During the earthwork phase, GeoSystems can provide engineering and technician services to verify compliance with project specifications and geotechnical recommendations. Our geotechnical engineers will observe site stripping, undercutting of soft soils and proofrolling of subgrades. GeoSystems’ technicians, working under the direction of a registered geotechnical engineer, can perform soil density testing to confirm that fill placement meets project requirements.
Foundation Testing and Monitoring
GeoSystems’ engineers have extensive experience monitoring the installations of foundation systems. Our staff members have inspected shallow footing and mat subgrade, as well as the installation of deep foundation systems (driven piles, cast-in-place piles and drilled shafts).Concrete Testing
- Batch Plant and Truck Monitoring: GeoSystems personnel can inspect batch plants and delivery trucks to reduce potential problems during concreting operations. This may include monitoring measuring devices, the functioning of mechanical parts, calibration of scales, and the integrity of mixing blades.
- Fresh Concrete Field Testing and Monitoring: GeoSystems technicians can measure or observe concrete's physical properties in the field, including slump, air content, mix and air temperature, unit weight and physical condition. We can also cast cylinders for compressive strength testing.
- Laboratory Testing of Hardened Concrete: GeoSystems has an in-house laboratory to determine the compressive strength of normal and lightweight concrete. Tests are usually performed on 6 by 12 inch cylinders or cored samples of hardened concrete. Tests can also be performed on prisms (cubes) or beams for flexural strength.
- Evaluation of In-place Concrete: GeoSystems can help determine compliance of in-place concrete to specified strength requirements and to aid in determining initial strength gain for use in removing forms. Both in-place non-destructuve testing and concrete coring techniques can be used.
- Laboratory Testing of Hardened Shotcrete: GeoSystems has the capability of coring samples of shotcrete formed on site in panels. Shotcrete panels are collected by our staff and processed in our laboratory. Once the panels have been cored into individual samples, the specimens are stored and tested similar to hardened concrete cylinders.