Our Geotechnical Engineering Division is comprised of highly skilled geotechnical professionals with vast experience in engineering consulting and design throughout Alberta and Western Canada.
Our team of Engineers and Technologists provide a range of geotechnical engineering services to our clients at the onset of development projects. During design development, we collaborate with the project team to design foundations, roadways and pavement structures, retaining walls, and drainage systems in accordance with governing authorities, and in support of project design objectives.
In our work with our clients, we take pride in providing practical geotechnical solutions. Throughout the lifecycle of each project, our team is prepared to offer a highly responsive approach to changes and challenges when needed. If new constraints present budget concerns as the project unfolds, we lead our clients through a value engineering process to ensure each project arrives at the end goal as efficiently as possible.
Through our technical expertise we provide custom and project-specific solutions that are practical and feasible.
Our geotechnical engineers and engineering technologists perform investigations to obtain information on site-specific ground conditions:
- Groundwater Conditions
- Physical Soil Properties
- Bedrock
The objectives of the site investigations may vary, however, most often geotechnical project aspects comprise of design and construction recommendations associated with:
- Site Grading, Backfill, & Compaction Requirements
- Shallow & Deep Foundation Analysis
- Shoring & Deep Excavations
- Roadways & Pavement Structures
- Slope Stability Assessments
- Deep Fills Assessments
- Retaining Structure Design
Our field technicians complete on-site soil sampling and field-testing services for various soils, concrete and asphalt. Our team is equipped to provide quality assurance and quality control testing for your construction needs during grading, utility installation/backfill and surface improvements construction work.
- Compaction Monitoring & Testing
- Soils Testing (Index Properties, Laboratory & In-Situ Density)
- Aggregate & Asphalt Testing (Gradation/Mix Design, Density)
- Concrete Testing (Slump, Air, Compressive Strength)
Foundation engineering requires an assessment of the ground conditions and selection of the most appropriate method to transfer the loads into the ground while limiting the impacts on the local environment. Our Geotechnical team provides design for a range of foundation needs:
- Shallow Foundation Design
- Deep Foundations – including special deep foundation design
- Grouted Micropiles
- Helical (Screw) Steel Piles
- Expanded Base Drilled Shafts
- Compacted Base Concrete Piles
- Augered Cast-in-Place Concrete Piles
- Deep Drilled Shafts for Soft Soils – often using temporary steel casing or slurry boring methods
Featured Project: Trinity Hills
Shoring is the means of providing temporary support of vertical or near vertical excavation side slopes for the purpose of constructing a new below-grade structure with greater embedment depth. Typical shoring systems designed for our clients include:
- Soldier Pile & Lagging
- Tangent/Secant Cast-in-Place Concrete Walls
- Shotcrete and Anchor Systems
Underpinning is carried out when a new building is to be constructed adjoining to an existing building, and the new building extends below the footing depth of the existing structure. We provide underpinning designs that ensure that there is limited to nil movement of the existing structure.
Our Geotechnical team provides pavement structure design in accordance with municipal, provincial and federal requirements – depending on the project location and applicable jurisdictions. Pavement structure design takes into account a variety of parameters such as:
- Subsurface Ground and Groundwater Conditions
- Proposed Pavement Materials
- Traffic Loads
- Anticipated Design Life Span
When urban developments are expanding into marginal terrain, retaining structures are often used to create more useable space. Our team designs retaining wall structures to resist the lateral pressure of soil when there is a desired change in ground elevation that exceeds the angle of repose of the soil. Our experience includes design for:
- Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) Walls
- Reinforced Soil Slopes
- Modular Block Walls with Soil Reinforcement (such as Allan Block, Ultra Block)
- Conventional Gravity Walls (Concrete, Natural Stone)