BARAB information system for monitoring

The BARAB (R) database system is a support tool for the management and archiving of data for monitoring, especially for large engineering structures. This system was developed at ARCADIS Geotechnika a.s. (until April 2009 called SG-Geotechnika, a.s.) and utilises the possibilities of an SQL server and web applications to present data. With the growing size and complexity of structures, their vulnerability also increases, as does the risk of various undesired events occurring during construction. In order to avoid negative results, in particular when driving underground works, observational methods and monitoring are used, which rely on the constant receipt of information about the reaction of the rock massif to the driving of underground works and the interaction between the rock and structure so that it can be done in a quality, economic and secure fashion while following the time schedule. The objective of monitoring is also to verify the compliance of construction project estimates with reality. Repeated measuring produces amounts of data that must be stored together in order to reach an immediate evaluation and can be available for the decision-making process. During construction, there is a whole range of monitoring data users - the construction investor, contractor, designer, monitoring supplier, supervisor, etc. The variety of requirements from individual users for information provided by this monitoring puts great demand on fulfilling the basic conditions of the system service - to ensure user comfort. The cornerstone of the system is the measuring point to which the relevant data is assigned. There are two types of measuring points - static or dynamic, i.e. the position of the measuring point is constant or variable in time. The BARAB (R) system currently allows a dual access method to the measuring point - via GIS (visualisation of the measuring point locations on the basis of the project layout) or via the database portal. The appropriate data for the measuring point is discrete (individual readings of intermediate values of measurement) or in the form of documents (forms with readings of special geotechnical meters, records, protocols, logging, etc.). The presentation of information is implemented either in graphs generated by the system (discrete information) or in a document. All types of geotechnical measuring used in this monitoring giving discrete values are stored in the system as discrete. The system also supports the transfer of special forms (faces, technological lists) into a database. This allows data mining for the creation of various types of inventories and reports as a basis for the analysis of contractions of the current environment and implemented construction. The modern BARAB (R) database system together with a GIS platform has been used successfully since 2006 and has provided support during the construction of major tunnels in the Czech Republic. Access to data in the BARAB (R) system is implemented via a web application at the BARAB (R) portal (www.barab.eu). In 2009 it underwent major innovations. The report below includes information on these innovations.