Soil-Structure Control: DAARWIN for Ground Improvement

On active works, soil–structure control means proving—while construction progresses—that ground-improvement zones deliver their design intent (stiffness/strength gain, pore-pressure dissipation, settlement targets) and that nearby assets (trackbeds, foundations, retaining systems, utilities) remain within serviceability limits. Doing this credibly takes more than plots: you need reliable data coming in, instruments you can trust, a model that keeps pace with staging, and a clear record of what was decided and why. DAARWIN links those pieces so teams can explain behaviour, act early, and document outcomes.

What control looks like in practice. Across preload with drains, vibro-compaction, columns/rigid inclusions, DSM, jet grouting and grouting, the questions are consistent: are vertical responses (settlement level, rate, angular distortion) tracking expectations; are lateral responses (movement and its velocity by panel/section) stable; are hydraulic conditions (Δu trend, uplift risk) behaving; and is the treatment delivering the expected stiffness/strength gain with acceptable uniformity?

DAARWIN shows measurements beside forecasts and recent construction activity in a single decision view so cause, effect, and next steps are clear.

Make control measurable. Use the language and tools site teams live with every day:

• Automatic and manual data acquisition. Bring in automated sensor readings and manual measurements together, so the dataset is complete and reliable.

• Compatibility with third-party systems. Import from external loggers and platforms so your monitoring stack remains flexible.

• Interactive instrument visualisation. Locate instruments by type and position on interactive maps for immediate spatial context.

• Custom plots for trend analysis. Build the views you need to see correlations across sensors and zones.

• Alarm systems with thresholds. Set project-specific limits and receive automatic alerts to catch anomalies early.

• Construction phase tracking. View progress by date, zone and activity to relate behaviour to what happened on site.

• Comparative analysis with numerical models. Overlay model predictions with live data to validate assumptions and spot deviations.

Control metrics that direct action. 

Four signals do most of the heavy lifting. Pore-pressure dissipation (Δu) is the earliest indicator that ground behaviour is on track: you want a sustained downward trend after loading/drainage, with rainfall and dewatering in view; a plateau or reversal prompts drainage/vacuum checks and a look at staging. Settlement control (with a forward view) turns curves into planning decisions; forecasting with uncertainty—and keeping a live view of proximity to serviceability limits—lets you bring preload forward, adjust drainage capacity or resequence heavy activities before stoppages bite. Differential settlement and angular distortion should be judged by the governing span/bay, not sitewide averages; local exceedances call for targeted re-treatment or temporary design checks rather than blanket conservatism. Stiffness/strength gain and uniformity confirm that improvement is both sufficient and consistent; outliers are identified, explained and, where needed, scheduled for re-work.

What DAARWIN adds. 

Time series are auto-annotated with rainfall, dewatering and staging events; a Predictions-vs-Data view keeps the forecast and the measurements in one place, including a per-point proximity-to-limit view for critical locations. Spatial heatmaps rank hotspots for differential settlement and uniformity. From any indicator you can open the evidence—raw sensor traces, production and QA logs, the current model assumptions, and the recorded decision—so root-cause analysis and review are fast and defensible.

Observational Method, operationalised. 

The workflow is simple and repeatable: baseline the inputs and set residual bands; observe and compare behaviour with Predictions-vs-Data while relating it to construction phases; perform Back-Analysis when residuals widen or acceptance drifts, updating permeability/compressibility/strength only when justified and keeping changes versioned and approved; decide and record the action, owner, due date, rationale and reassessment point; then verify that behaviour returns to band and save a dated snapshot for the file. In DAARWIN, this loop runs continuously—live, controlled and explainable—so designers, site teams and owners share one view of risk, cost and schedule.

Next step. If you’d like to evaluate this approach on your project, we can arrange a short pilot session with your team to review data inputs, model comparison and governance end to end in DAARWIN.