The Mn/DOT geotechnical section has records of over 70,000 soil borings and CPT soundings as well as information related to performance monitoring, load testing, and locations and condition of "geo-assets" (such as landslide monitoring). The Geotechnical Exploration, Monitoring, Instrumentation, Notification and Infomatics (GEMINI) program collects this information to make it accessible for consultants, contractors, engineers, planners, and researchers. At present the framework to distribute this knowledge is not as useful as it could be. This implementation project is suggested to make several "app" interfaces for smart devices and the web to make boring information, research data, and performance monitoring data available instantly for wider deployment across statewide users, adding substantial project and program value to the information and encouraging additional data contribution from county and local projects.
GEMINI mobile/web gateway
- Idea Submitted by:
- Derrick Dasenbrock
- List your MnDOT Office,District,City, County, Univ. or Other:
- Office of Materials and Road Research
- Idea Champion - Who at MnDOT/LRRB? :
- Derrick Dasenbrock
Why is this a priority for the State/County/City? : The state has a significant collection of high value geotechnical information; this information can be of greater value to engineers, inspectors, consultants, contractors, researchers, and other practitioners and individuals who interact with the earth environment. Easily obtaining geotechnical information from the State's archive could potentially save internal and external users (including counties and cities and the consultants who do work for them) considerable time and money. Creating a functional interface for mobile smart devices and the web is expected to add value to the investment of the original soil borings, research, geospatial data, and performance monitoring information for internal MnDOT engineers and external groups. It is anticipated that this will be a relatively low cost effort to provide a substantial return on investment through increased visibility, accessibility, and improved resource management. On several recent geotechnical projects, it was discovered after-the-fact that thousands of dollars of exploration could have been avoided if practitioners had used available existing information. The GEMINI [Geotechnical Exploration, Monitoring, Instrumentation, Notification, and Informatics] gateway will provide statewide users with immediate value- as geotechnical costs (and the respective share of cost overruns) are frequently in the range of 10% to 50% of most transportation projects. Additional geotechncal project information can improve delivery times, potentially improve LRFD resistance factors and project economy, and reduce risk.
- Project Type - MnDOT or LRRB / Research, Implementation or TRS:
- MnDOT Implementation
- Idea Status (moderator):
- Develop implementation plan for Feb. 27 TRIG meeting
Submitted by derrick.dasenbrock 3 months ago
Comments (5)
An Implementation Plan has been written for this idea.
This project will receive funding.
These kind of mobile apps can have uses throughout the Department.
Add data collection capability to further leverage and increase the return on mobile apps
This is a very good proposal. We at the DNR use this data for construction aggregate mapping.