Better data, better decision-making is helping public safety during major underground motorway construction. For the M6 Stage 1 project in Sydney Australia, the New South Wales government needed advanced underground monitoring to ensure public safety and the protection of the surrounding environment during the motorway’s construction. We talked to Luke Young, Tetra Tech Coffey’s Senior Engineering Geologist who helped design, implement, and oversee a remote, automated monitoring system for the project.
From internal geological design engineers to external excavation and construction contractors, there are many stakeholders who need visibility into the sensor data readings on a project like this. Senior Engineering Geologist Luke Young is a specialist in instrumentation technology at Tetra Tech Coffey and was integral in developing the solution.
“There are quite a few professionals interested in viewing the sensor data and monitoring what’s happening for different purposes,” Luke says, including daily reviews by multiple tunnelling teams and as part of the approvals process for tunneling permits.
As part of its solution, Tetra Tech Coffey chose Bentley’s Vista Data Vision instrumentation data monitoring and management software for its capabilities around data storage, analysis, reporting, and visualisation. This robust, locally-hosted software enabled Tetra Tech Coffey to securely capture, analyse, and share reliable, real-time sensor measurements, such as pore water pressure and lateral displacement.
“Our experience told us we could present an effective dashboard, create daily reports and initiate alarms based on trigger thresholds.” says Luke. “With instant, remote access to the sensor data, we can see real-time data analyses and insights that can easily be shared with stakeholders for better collaboration and decision-making.”
The system’s custom alarms and notifications allows Tetra Tech Coffey to be immediately notified if sensor readings are outside of the normal range, empowering them to make well-informed critical decisions quickly and with confidence.
Richer data, simplified
From internal geological design engineers to external excavation and construction contractors, there are many stakeholders who need visibility into the sensor data readings.
“There are quite a few professionals interested in viewing the sensor data and monitoring what’s happening for different purposes,” Luke says, including daily reviews by multiple tunnelling teams and as part of the approvals process for tunneling permits.
With the Vista Data Vision platform, Tetra Tech Coffey is able to clearly present the sensor data in streamlined reports and dashboards that are easy for all stakeholders to understand. According to Luke, “It provides greater confidence in decision-making when they can log on and see the data in real time.”
The customised daily reports also give stakeholders actionable insights that save time and money and increase efficiency.
“Key to what we’re trying to do is not overcomplicate things,” Luke says. “That’s why having a geotechnical consultancy like ours look after this data is important; we understand what the decision-makers are trying to see. With this platform, we’re able to present the most important information to them.”
A single, secure data source
Tetra Tech Coffey ensures the monitoring data is securely captured and stored using the platform, which serves as the single source of truth and is accessible to all stakeholders who need it.
“Often what happens is that data goes missing, or someone doesn’t have access to it, or no one knows where it is,” Luke says. “And often the team that collected the data is not the same as the one doing sensor installation or data monitoring, so those two sets of information are separate; they never come together.”
In addition to tunnel monitoring, Tetra Tech Coffey has also provided a number of other services on the M6 project, including the initial subsurface site investigation. Excerpts of this can be added to the platform and is valuable in combination with ongoing condition monitoring data streams.
“We were able to bring our observations from the field into the platform, overlay our sensor data, and present them on graphs to better represent what’s happening underground,” Luke says. “We can bring it together in one place so people can make better-informed decisions.”
Looking toward the future
Digital tools are rapidly transforming engineering fields, including critical infrastructure and construction, and Tetra Tech Coffey has been a keen adopter of emerging technologies.
Looking toward the future, Luke says they see great potential to bring digital technology to all project stages, from investigation and design to construction to asset management.
“This is the future,” Luke says. “Integrating sensor readings of all types, including geotechnical, structural, and environmental, with other data sets, as well as seamlessly integrating with other digital tools is exactly where our services are expanding to.”
About M6 Stage 1 – creating a more accessible, livable city
The M6 Stage 1 provides a “missing link” by connecting the Sydney’s south to its larger motorway network. The approximately $AU2 billion project features a north-bound and a south-bound tunnel — each around 4 kilometers long — and pathways for pedestrians and bicyclists. Built mainly underground, the M6 will contribute to a more accessible and livable city, reducing congestion, improving travel time, and diverting more than 2,000 trucks a day from surface roads.
The M6 is expected to open to traffic in late 2025.
Connect with Luke Young – Luke.Young@tetratech.com