2001 after studying geotechnical
investigation and geology in college,
has extensive experience in the field
as a geological technician, certified
engineering technician and construction
project manager, and is uniquely
qualified to lead Monir’s team.
“Designing and building excavation
support systems or making structural
changes to a building requires many
assumptions and predictions,” she said.
“Verifying these assumptions during
construction is critical to a project’s
success. The engineers determine where
they have geotechnical questions and
we provide answers to those questions
with our industry expertise and stateof
the-art monitoring systems.”
For a typical excavation, inclinometers,
total station monitoring and
other instruments as needed are
used to accurately measure shoring
movements. Beyond the walls of an
open excavation, Monir may monitor
neighbouring structures including
buildings, utilities and subway tunnels to
ensure operations are safe to continue.
Developers and builders may also
request pre- and post-construction
condition surveys and vibration
monitoring of adjacent properties to
insure against possible legal claims
from neighbouring owners.
Allowing for timely adjustments
during construction
Monir works closely with consultants
and builders on-site, remaining agile
and receptive to new ideas with
advancing construction methods, Ford
says. As an International Organization
for Standardization registered organization,
the company has developed
policies and procedures for all aspects
of its work.
“Anything from the telephone safety
check-in system, to the details of how
to set up a site’s total station control
network, to standardizing all our
documentation,” said Ford.
Also, since variations or inconsistencies
in data reporting can easily
result in misinterpretation of the
readings and lead to inappropriate
corrective action or inaction at the site,
she said, “We keep the report process
simple and consistent. Each time you
receive a report it’s the same – you can
see all the elements of the site, where
the tiebacks are, what the excavation
grade is.”
All aspects of previous jobs are
systematically catalogued, says Ford,
including lessons learned.
“We’re knowledge workers as well
as contractors, it’s important for
our success to document and retain
as much experiential knowledge as
technical knowledge,” she said.
A core group of about 12 field
technicians and surveyors undertake
the day-to-day work on construction
sites, and “we focus on keeping that team
together,” Ford said, since the extensive
experience of the people reading the
instruments is as important as the
instruments themselves to the success
of any project. As well, the company
provides job shadowing for new hires
and ongoing training for all of its
22 employees.
Monir has been involved in monitoring
projects in Western Canada, the
United States and the Caribbean, says
Ford, but most of its projects have been
medium- to high-rise condominiums
in southern Ontario, particularly in
Toronto’s downtown core.
Monitoring is about mitigating risk,
Ford points out, and as available sites
become smaller, deeper and closer to
sensitive structures, they come with
their own challenges.
“We’ve seen the complexity of the
scopes increase significantly over
time,” she said. “That requires a higher
degree of ingenuity when designing
the monitoring systems and increased
co-ordination on our part.”
Mitigating risk
Monitoring was an integral part of the
success of the excavation support for
Absolute Condominiums in Mississauga,
Ont., an award-winning high-rise development
whose undulating 40- and
50-storey “Marilyn Monroe” towers
included six levels of underground
parking. For the foundation construction,
which was completed in stages to
a depth of approximately 60 feet, shotcrete
shoring was the most economical
system for the upper weathered rock,
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