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Technical Committee 205 /
Comité technique 205
Figure 1. The GeoRM process in six steps.
While these six GeoRM steps are quite straightforward, it helps
to take them according to so-called GeoRM principles. These
are presented in the next section.
4 GEO RISK MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES
Basically, there are two main routes of doing risk management:
rule-based and principle-based. The rule-based approach is
using rules and results into one best way for managing risk.
This is not appropriate for GeoRM, because of the large
diversity of engineering and construction projects in
complexity, size, location, and ground conditions.
For these reasons the Geo-Impuls takes the principle-based
route for allowing fit-for-purpose geotechnical risk
management. Based on the eleven generic risk management
principles from ISO31000 (2009), eight specific geotechnical or
GeoRM principles have been defined by a number of Geo-
Impuls participants.
By definition, principles are abstract and need a translation
into activities. Such a translation can be done for specific
projects and even for specific project phases, again in a fit-for-
purpose way. By this approach GeoRM is a mean for realizing
project objectives and not an end in itself. Table 1 presents the
eight GeoRM interrelated principles and a number of examples
of related actions in the format of a simple checklist.
Table 1. GeoRM principles in a checklist format.
Done
GeoRM Principles
GeoRM Actions
Yes
No
1. Generate and
protect value
Make all geotechnical risks
in each project explicit,
including all risk effects
and the selected risk
remediation measures.
2. Participate in
decision
making in all
project phases
Make a geotechnical risk
file from the start if the
project and use it for
decision making.
Include geotechnical
sensitivity analyses with
margins in project reports
3. Make
geotechnical
uncertainty
explicit
Use the geotechnical risk
file for managing the
consequences of any
geotechnical changes
during the project
4. Work
systematically,
structured and
in time
Include GeoRM explicitly
in the project planning and
reserve resources for it.
Use all available historical
and other relevant project
information, right from the
start of the project
5. Use all available
information
Work from a general level
to a detailed level, from
using geological maps to
geotechnical monitoring
Asses the influence of the
ground conditions on the
critical success factors of
the project stakeholders
Communicate clear about
geotechnical risk with all
parties involved
6. Work
transparently
together with
all stakeholders
Indicate and communicate
any dependencies of
geotechnics with other
disciplines in the project
7. Include the role
of the human
factor
Make any differences in
organizational culture of
all involved project parties
visible and feasible
Use all available and
relevant project
evaluations
8. Use experiences
and lessons for
continuous
improvement
Organize that geotechnical
professionals participate in
GeoRM courses and
communities of practice
Table 1 can be used as a checklist, by simply tick boxing
whether the principle-driven GeoRM actions have been
executed in a project or not.
In summary, the main advantage of a principle-based
approach is that any type of organization, in any type of
construction project, is able to design its own tailor-made risk
management activities and processes. This avoids a well known
“one size fits nobody” situation.
5 GEO RISK MANAGEMENT TOOLS
In addition to the GeoRM process and the GeoRM principles, a
set of GeoRM tools is of great help for facilitating geotechnical
risk management. Therefore, the Geo-Impuls program aims to
provide a toolbox with tools for the three themes of contracts,
geo-engineering and project communication. As a result of the
Geo-Impuls program, the following tools examples become
ready:
Theme 1: Contracts:
Geotechnical Risk Allocation Reports, comparable to
the concept of Geotechnical Baseline Report (GBR)
from the United States. Recent project evaluations
demonstrated that this concept is also beneficial to
Dutch projects.
Guideline for defining Risk-based Site Investigation
programmes that provides explicit information and
data for quantification of geotechnical risk
Ground Risk Identification Checklists
Theme 2: Geo-Engineering
Guideline with best practices for monitoring based
design & construction by the Observational Method
Long Term Subsoil Monitoring results for validation of
existing numerical ground deformation models
Techniques for checking the integrity of diaphragm-
walls and in-situ made piled foundations. By using
these techniques, weak spots can be detected and
repaired before excavation
Theme 3: Project communication
Communication strategies for managing expectations
of the project stakeholders
Intervention
models
for
risk-based
subsoil
communication with in particular the public living and
Step 4: Risk remediation
Step 1:
Objectives & information
Step 6: Risk reporting
Step 2: Risk identification
Step: 3 Risk classification
Step 5: Risk evaluation
