Seequent has streamlined laboratory testing with Open Gound, a cloud-connected geotechnical data management enhancement. It represents a major update to geotechnical data management solutions and enables organisations to digitise geotechnical lab testing, enhancing efficiency and collaboration across engineering teams. Seequent is a Bentley Subsurface company.
Geotechnical labs can generate Atterberg limits test certificates from raw lab test data in OpenGround. Atterberg limits tests reveal soil behaviour under moisture changes, guiding geotechnical engineers in soil classification and foundation design for civil infrastructure projects.
The new OpenGround Labs capability enables seamless transfer of soil and rock sample data from field collection to laboratory testing and reporting, with results delivered directly to engineers. The advancement enables an end-to-end digital engineering-to-lab workflow, enhancing collaboration and improving efficiency between ground investigation and laboratory testing teams.
“Trusted Lab testing data is vital for developing our understanding of ground conditions and for the creation of robust geotechnical reports on major infrastructure projects,” says Carl Grice, Seequent’s Director of Geotechnical Information Management.
A lab technician is pictured conducting an Atterberg limits test.
“By eliminating fragmented processes and manual data re-entry, these enhancements enable organisations to digitise lab operations — improving data quality, saving time, improving collaboration and accelerating project delivery.’
Multi-discipline geoscience consultancy Inosys participated in an early access programme for the new OpenGround Labs capability.
“Inosys deals with high volumes of laboratory data, commissioning and managing thousands of tests each year. In many cases the supplied files frequently contain errors, omissions and conflicts, requiring significant remedial works,” says Andy Wood, Associate Director of Inosys
“I will be encouraging our partner laboratories to adopt this new capability in OpenGround. If fully adopted, this software has the potential to revolutionise the way multi-stakeholder geotechnical projects are delivered.
A lab technician is pictured conducting a particle size distribution test.
“It is set to fundamentally change the way laboratories and engineering clients work together, increasing efficiency and creating transparency between client, engineer and laboratory.’
Additionally, the OpenGround Data Collector app, which captures borehole data in the field using a mobile device, has been rebuilt for iOS and Android, for better usability, efficiency, and enhanced cross-solution support.
Integrates engineering and lab projects
Engineering consultants, transportation departments, and federal agencies collaborate using OpenGround to achieve clarity throughout every stage of the ground investigation process.
Now, laboratory professionals can utilise OpenGround with the flexibility to integrate alongside existing systems and standards. The latest release enables independent engineering and laboratory projects to operate within the same workflows, providing organisations with full control over administration, oversight, access, and data management.
OpenGround delivers enterprise-grade security and compliance, featuring role-based access, automated backups, and robust service-level agreements, ensuring organisations can manage their data with confidence.
Organisations can integrate the system’s extensive APIs into partner solutions, in-house tools, third-party applications, and enterprise reporting systems, to enable automation, custom workflows, and advanced analytics.
Sieve testing to determine a soil’s particle-size distribution for soil classification.
Field data collection
The rebuilt data collector app delivers a faster, more intuitive, and highly efficient field data collection experience. Now compatible with both iOS and Android devices, the app allows teams to use their preferred mobile platforms, ensuring a consistent and high-quality experience across all devices in demanding field conditions, ensuring rapid access to critical information –- even when offline.
“This update underlines our ongoing commitment to meet user needs — ground investigation teams now have the flexibility to capture quality digital data at source — no matter what device or workflow they choose to deploy on site,” Grice says
