USACE Civil Works Data Management During Construction – An Integrated Approach Towards Dealing with Construction Data for a Levee Construction Project

Construction projects generate tremendous amounts of data from multiple sources. Construction data includes pre- and post-construction surveys; thousands of quality control and quality assurance field and laboratory testing results; contractor submittals such as work plans, mix designs, and material certifications; site and inspection photographs and videos; inspection and daily observation records; and as-built record drawings. Traditionally, the data comes in a multitude of file formats and sources and is stored electronically and in hard copy. A comprehensive and systematic review of the data is essential for timely decision making on an in-progress construction project. Similarly, cataloguing the design and construction information can be invaluable to the future maintenance, emergency response, and future design activities on civil works projects. This paper focuses on the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) initiative to create an integrated approach to collect, catalogue, and systematically review construction data, differentiating this approach from the existing conventional process. This initiative is referred to within this paper as Geology, Geotechnical, and Materials Data Management (GGMDM). This integrated approach requires the creation of a database to store data generated during construction of a civil works project. Generally large-scale dam projects were the first to implement GGMDM. USACE is now expanding this initiative to other civil works projects, such as levee improvement construction. The Kleinfelder-Stantec (KSJV) team supported USACE by providing geotechnical engineering during construction (EDC) support and creation of an Enterprise Relational Database for the Natomas Reach E levee improvements as a part of the American River Common Features (ARCF) 2016 Project north of Sacramento, CA. The Natomas Reach E project included construction of 3-miles of adjacent levee and inspection trench, a seepage berm, replacement of five culverts through the existing levee and proposed adjacent levee, and approximately one mile of open-trench soil bentonite cutoff wall. This paper will discuss the implementation of GGMDM on the Natomas Reach E project and meeting USACE’s initiative for database creation. Lessons learned over 3 years of data collection, review and transfer into the geospatial database will also be discussed.