piling records - who should do i

huangyhg

piling records - who should do it
i would like to know what is normally practised in your construction industry regarding who should do piling records . is it the piling contractor or the engineering consultant? who should sign the records? during payment claims are photocopied piling records acceptable?
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i've only been involved in a few piling jobs and only two were really critical enough for "formal" pile records.  one was auger cast piles and one was drilled cassions (the others involved sheeting or steel piling for earth retention).  in both cases, the pile records were made as the drilling progressed by the drilling crew foreman.  then the original was signed and copies of the log were made at the site at the end of the day for me, as general contractor rep. and the engineer as the owner's rep.  we had reputable people all around, so it wasn't a big deal.  the payment was a unit price and what was put in was paid for.
imho, the piling records should be done by the clients representative hired specifically for that task.  
most structural engineers are not qualified to do so legally and should refer the client to the geotech (or another firm) that consulted on the foundation recommendation.  in most cases the geotech firm that produced the foundation investigation report will have noted that very item in the report.
some clients, such as dot's, have in-house staff to watch pile operations.  and recently dot's seem to be consulting out inspection work to firms with those capabilities (which include civil and geotech along with welding etc).
i agree with qshake...actually, the geotechnical engineer or his site representative should log the piles.  this allows evaluation of conditions in "real time" and can help to prevent a lot of problems.  this is particularly true of augered concrete piles (augercast) and drilled shafts.
drcraneboom@aol.com (visitor)22 jul 02 1:37
normally on the jobs that i supervised, i was responsible for the log, or if i had to bid another job my replacement had to do the paperwork.  as long as the logs were legible, that is really all that counts, unless specified in the original bid for contractors.  it really all depends on the original contract, and of course the state that the work is done in.  if it is in the contract it is there for a reason.
normally, in canada, the geotech's inspector will keep the piling record and these will be signed by the engineer of record, i.e. the geotech.
capnahab (visitor)22 jul 02 20:43
in the midwest in my experience,piling log records, blow count,caisson size, are logged by the geotech firm
in the u.k. and ireland:
the piling contractor installs and tests (or pays a testing specialist to test) the piles.  he should also provide records of the work he is doing.  the geotech engineer employed to advise the client's engineer will monitor the workmanship on site during construction, the production of records.  he will also monitor the testing processes.
the question of certification of the records may vary in the u.s.a., and the particular records prepared will vary with the type of pile being installed.
payment in accordance with the contract is usually re-measurable, and the contractor is paid for the total length of piles installed, unless he is on a lump sum.  (in that case there will be a lot of special conditions, allocating the risk.)  measurement will normally be based on the lengths of piles recorded by the contractor in his installation records, and these will usually have been signed off by the client's engineer on the advice of his geotechnical advisor or by the geotechnical advisor himself.
by contract the designated person/entity will record and sign the pile installation record. if not stated, the contractor and and the owners rep will do the job. the contractor's rep/engineer will always record the installation anyway. copies will be distributed to owner, engineer and contractor next day. an agreed upon data to be recorded on a form will serve as the as-built documentation of the driven pile. during installation, if problems or questions arise, the engineer and owner are contacted for directions. a pile driving consultant will be chosen to evaluate the problem pile as need arises. this consultant can be a pda person, soils or pile driving experienced person. a weap analysis must be ran prior to driving starting with the test pile program to evaluate and develop the pile driving criteria which must be agreed upon prior to start.