Public Ground Information: A Key Pillar for Smarter Geotechnical Planning
- SAALG GEOMECHANICS
- Jun 19
- 2 min read
The success of a geotechnical project doesn’t begin with the first borehole—it starts much earlier, at the planning stage. For experienced professionals in infrastructure, mining, or tunneling projects, early-stage uncertainty is a familiar challenge. However, one fundamental data source remains underutilized: public ground information.
Access to historical geotechnical data—originating from government repositories, national databases, or previous studies—offers a critical opportunity to optimize early project decisions. Yet traditionally, these datasets are scattered, inconsistent, and often locked behind inefficient workflows.
This article explores how the Public Ground Information System in DAARWIN is transforming that landscape, becoming a strategic pillar in modern geotechnical planning.
Development
The Historical Fragmentation of Public Data
For decades, using public ground data has meant navigating a patchwork of scanned reports, isolated boreholes, and non-interoperable formats. The result? Engineering teams frequently default to launching new site investigations from scratch, overlooking vast reservoirs of existing knowledge.
The Solution: A Centralized and Accessible Portal
DAARWIN’s Public Ground Information System provides a practical solution. With over 6 million ground data points from countries like the UK, Spain, Germany, Canada, and the US, the platform allows users to:
Access historical geotechnical data (reports, lab tests, in-situ tests) in one click.
Geospatially visualize available data over a target area.
Download and integrate public data into advanced workflows like digital ground modeling or backanalysis.
This approach not only saves time—it builds a solid foundation for identifying data gaps, optimizing investigation plans, and reducing uncertainty from the outset.
Strategic Benefits for Senior Engineers
For senior professionals—project managers, geotechnical leads, or field specialists—early access to public ground data allows them to:
Avoid redundant testing by checking where sufficient historical data already exists.
Identify historical patterns in ground behavior at or near the project site.
Optimize resource allocation by targeting investigations where uncertainty remains high.
Moreover, the direct integration of this data into other DAARWIN modules (like Ground Investigation or Backanalysis) converts historical records into living, actionable inputs for digital geotechnical workflows.
Practical Use with DAARWIN
Imagine an urban tunneling project in a European city with a long history of civil works. With DAARWIN’s Public Ground Information System, the geotechnical team can:
Instantly retrieve all available reports and test results in the project area.
Identify zones where information is sparse and plan additional boreholes only where needed.
Feed this public data into the digital ground model and calibrate backanalysis accordingly.
This synergy between historical data and digital tools improves project transparency and enhances decision-making from day one.
When properly integrated into digital workflows, centralized access to public ground data becomes a strategic asset for any geotechnical project. Tools like DAARWIN’s Public Ground Information System democratize access to valuable datasets, simplify planning, and raise technical standards at the earliest stages of the project lifecycle.
To explore the platform and access over 6 million ground data points from around the world:
