Multi-Discipline Surveying Approach for Challenging City-Centre Project

Context

When complete, the Georgian constructed No. 1 Palace Street, London, will be a unique 300,000 sq ft residential development with views towards Buckingham Palace.

With considerable work required, DYWIDAG has been involved with the project from its inception, working with all contractors involved in the development, including the demolition contractors, designers and the principal contractor, Balfour Beatty.

Solution

The complexity of the task required DYWIDAG to deploy multiple services over the course of the project, including manual and automated monitoring, laser scanning and setting-out. Specifically, DYWIDAG used 3D Monitoring, precise levelling, 3D laser scanning, tiltmeters, extensometers, transceivers, wireless communication network and Infrastructure Intelligence. Client asset data captured was stored on DYWIDAG’s own cloud-based platform, from where it could be analysed, interpreted, and delivered to the client in their chosen data format, and always when the client required it.

Due to the high-profile nature of the location, the density of surrounding infrastructure, the complex design of the project and the listed elements of the current structure, the scheme required close collaboration with a project team at all stages to overcome the many challenges a project of this scale demands.

The sensors were battery powered and communicated wirelessly to a centrally located datalogger, which in turn used the 3G cellular network to send data back to the DYWIDAG servers. The data was subsequently pulled onto DYWIDAG’s data visualisation platform, where it was transformed into engineering data and displayed on the portal for interpretation by the project engineers. The automated system was backed up by 3D manual checks at a lower frequency to verify readings seen in the tiltmeters and/or add geospatial position.

This particular system was chosen for many reasons, but one of the main ones being the excellent early warning of change that the tiltmeters would provide, with minimum impact from the practical constraints others pose. Equally the secondary 3D manual system, which provided imperative geospatial position of the facades, had less pressure to provide high frequency data sets. With the high density of public, traffic, and sub-contractors, this meant a much more feasible and reliable overall monitoring programme.

Set-up positions, blocked lines of sight, scaffolding design and grouting tanks locations were all regular hindrances, which meant for regular intervention and input from DYWIDAG’s team of Surveyors. The sensors were battery powered and communicated wirelessly to a centrally located datalogger, which in turn used the 3G cellular network to send data back to the DYWIDAG servers. The data was subsequently pulled onto DYWIDAG’s data visualisation platform, where it was transformed into engineering data and displayed on the portal for interpretation by the project engineers. The automated system was backed up by 3D manual checks at a lower frequency to verify readings seen in the tiltmeters and/or add geospatial position.

This particular system was chosen for many reasons, but one of the main ones being the excellent early warning of change that the tiltmeters would provide, with minimum impact from the practical constraints others pose. Equally the secondary 3D manual system, which provided imperative geospatial position of the facades, had less pressure to provide high frequency data sets. With the high density of public, traffic and sub-contractors, this meant a much more feasible and reliable overall monitoring programme.

As with many complex construction projects of the type, there are lots of moving parts and DYWIDAG’s ability to provide skilled flexible local resource proved to be invaluable throughout.