Geo Risk Management Results for a Public Client Organization

Rijkswaterstaat is the executive agency of the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, responsible for development and maintenance of the Dutch main road network, main waterway network and main water systems. Managing and realizing these networks, not only within time, budget, safety margins and quality standards, but also with a minimum of public inconvenience during construction, are key success factors. In this respect subsoil conditions imply great risks and therefore are of major importance. For these reasons Rijkswaterstaat initiated the Dutch Geo-Impuls program for reducing geotechnical failure. This joint industry programme aims to strengthen the geotechnical community by substantially reducing geotechnical failures in all types of construction projects. It started in 2009 and was completed in 2015. All of the more than 40 Geo-Impuls participants embraced Geotechnical Risk Management (GeoRM) as the preferred geotechnical working method. Parallel to, and in close cooperation with, the evolvements within the Geo-Impuls program, Rijkswaterstaat developed its own processes and practices, keeping Geotechnical Risk Management (GeoRM) and its associated GeoPrinciples in mind. Our paper for the ISGSR2013 addressed the implementation of GeoRM working methods in the organization. This paper aims to provide an overview of the unique set of GeoRM tooling that has been developed within RWS. These tools include an organization specific GeoRM guideline, which entirely fits the existing project management approach, the so-called Geo Project Sieve for quickly assessing and addressing the geotechnical risk profile of a new infrastructure projects. And furthermore an approach for risk-driven quality assurance and control after contract award, during design as well as construction of infrastructure projects. In addition to the descriptions of these tools, this paper gives specific attention to the results and benefits of the application of tool-supported GeoRM in a number of projects of RWS. It also addresses several activities that were carried out to implement GeoRM within the internal organisation. The results contribute for example to better cooperation between contract partners, in-time assessment and control of geotechnical risks, and therefore improved control of costs, time, and quality of services and civil works.