ENG564 Geotechnical Engineering Assignment

This exercise involves applying previously developed engineering knowledge to identify and respond to potentially unsafe or unethical site challenges. Situations like the one discussed in this assignment are examples of typical situations that could land on a site manager’s in-tray on a day to day basis. The assignment scenario is based on a real-world occurrence.

The assignment is a group exercise (3-5 group members).

The submission shall take the form of a written memo outlining and justifying in brief your decisions and recommendations (approx. 3-4 pages including any relevant diagrams to justify your position), as well as an oral presentation (5 - 10 mins) covering the same content. Submit any supporting calculations as an appendix to your written memo.

The memo shall be written from the perspective of the design engineer responding to the subcontractor’s request for approval. For the purposes of the oral presentation, you may choose to role play as either:

1. The lead engineering consultant on the project advising the site manager, or;
2. The site manager acting on advice received from the design consultant.

Internal students shall complete the oral presentation in class during the late morning session on 24th July (Week 3). All group members must contribute to the oral presentation. External students may submit a video recording via Learnline along with the written memo. Groups with a mixture of external and internal students can submit a video recording to ensure all group members are able to participate. External students who are able to present live are encouraged to do so.

The submission is due at 10:00 ACST Monday Week 3.

IN-TRAY SCENARIO – Perimeter Road Retaining Wall

Your company has been engaged to complete the structural and civil detailed design and provide construction support for a new access road to a government facility. Part of the scope involved designing a retaining wall structure to allow the road to be elevated alongside the facility. The road is subject to medium sized vehicle surcharge loading.

Your team originally designed a limestone block retaining wall to accommodate these loads. At the beginning of the construction phase, the building contractor requested an alternative precast concrete design to speed up construction and reduce cost. Your company provided the following concept design to the contractor for them to review (see Figure 2 over the page). Note that due to clashes with existing services under the road and the contractor’s construction sequencing preferences, the base of the retaining wall must face away from the road on the low side instead.

The contractor decided to engage a precast subcontractor to complete their own in-house detailed design in an effort to reduce lead times on custom precast panels. Your company supplied the selected precast subcontractor with all the design requirements (retaining wall heights, surcharge loads, geotechnical conditions, special requirements). It is worth noting that the precast subcontractor attempted to dissuade the contractor from requesting supporting calculations, stating it would incur an extended lead time and additional cost, which they claimed was unnecessary considering the substantial experience of their own certifying engineers.

The precast subcontractor has just submitted the attached fabrication drawings and design calculation package for your approval (Figure 3 and 4).

As the project design consultant, it is your responsibility to review the subcontractor’s documentation and respond to their request for approval. The subcontractor is highly confident in their design and the contractor’s site manager is keen for a speedy approval so they can begin fabrication.

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