EOSC 527: Instrumentation and Monitoring in Geological Engineering Practice

Land Acknowledgement:

This course is delivered from UBC’s Point Grey Campus, which is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) people. The land it is situated on has always been a place of learning for the Musqueam people, who for millennia have passed on their culture, history, and traditions from one generation to the next on this site.

Calendar Description:

Investigative versus performance monitoring. Monitoring requirements, limitations and system support. Tactical versus strategic monitoring. Data analysis, utilization and communication. Integration of monitoring with geotechnical and groundwater modelling. Case histories.

Prerequisites:

An undergraduate degree in an engineering or geology-related science discipline. Some knowledge of rock mechanics, geotechnical engineering, geology and/or instrumentation is beneficial but not essential.

Course Overview and Learning Outcomes:

A comprehensive and robust instrumentation and monitoring program is an essential component of the engineering design and risk management process on geotechnical projects. Its purpose is multifold, although ultimately to ensure safety and a successful project. It initially serves an investigative role providing an understanding of the ground conditions for feasibility and design purposes, and then transitions to a performance monitoring role to verify the design during construction/operations and provide early warning of a change in ground behaviour, thus enabling intervention to improve safety or to limit damage through a design change or remediation measure. 

This graduate-level course will examine geotechnical instrumentation and monitoring techniques used for investigative and performance monitoring purposes. It will provide an understanding of the currently available technology and best practices for both geotechnical and groundwater monitoring. Case histories will be used to demonstrate how to integrate monitoring data with geotechnical and groundwater modelling to manage geological, parameter and model uncertainty, and communicate results for tactical and strategic decision-making, early warning and risk management. 

Course Delivery:

This course will be delivered online and will be comprised of organized lecture modules and individual and group project work. The online delivery will focus on asynchronous learning. Different learners taking this course are located across different countries and time zones, and many are working professionals with different responsibilities, commitments and schedules. As such, "live" meeting times (via Zoom) will be limited and ad hoc. 

Instead, the course is structured as a number of paced modules hosted on UBC’s Canvas learning management system. Each week, a module will be made accessible, which the learner will work through as their schedule permits while respecting the due dates for assignments and group projects. The modules will contain subject matter, worksheets and a summary quiz. The practical examples used will draw from both underground and open-pit mining projects. The assignments will focus on the design of a monitoring system for an open pit mine, stepping through several key stages that align with the lecture modules. 

Course Schedule:

Learning Goals:

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:

1) Identify and describe commonly used geotechnical and groundwater instruments relative to how they are deployed, what they are meant to measure, how they measure and how the data are recorded, transmitted, analyzed and interpreted.

2)  Evaluate, plan and explain how different instruments should be integrated into a reliable and practical monitoring system that accounts for geological variability and uncertainty, rationalized with a project’s site-specific risk elements.

3)  Design the layout and management of monitoring systems which anticipate and account for key system support requirements and operational constrains in the design, including the need for instrument protection, reliability, calibration, servicing and staffing.

4)  Develop and justify investigation and monitoring regimes which account for the differences between instrument specifications and system design (data reliability, resolution, accuracy, precision, range and conformance) on a project site while managing data errors, noise, bias, continuity, availability and redundancy.

5)  Integrate and apply monitoring data to better understand, predict and communicate ground behaviour responses to engineering activities (design performance) so that decision-making relevant to geotechnical risk management and optimization opportunities are well informed.

Assessment Criteria and Grading: