2012 Buchanan Lecture: Allen Marr: Active Risk Management in Geotechnical Engineering

The Spencer J. Buchanan Lecture Series on the GeoChannel is presented by the Geo-Institute of ASCE. For more information about the Geo-Institute: http://www.asce.org/geotechnical-engi...

The 20th Spencer J. Buchanan Lecture in the Department of Civil Engineering at Texas A&M University was given by W. Allen Marr on Nov. 20, 2012.

"Active Risk Management in Geotechnical Engineering "

Active risk management, (ARM™), is a systematic process of identifying, analyzing, planning, monitoring and responding to project risk over the life of the project. It involves processes, tools, and techniques that help the project team minimize the probability and consequences of adverse events (threats) and maximize the probability and consequences of positive events (opportunities)
throughout the life of the project. It is especially useful in projects with significant geotechnical risks. It provides the project team with more complete information on the risks they face in a format understandable to non-specialists – cost and schedule impacts. It identifies the uncertainties and potential events that create the most risk to the project and develops ways to minimize
these uncertainties as they affect final project cost and schedule.
The concept of Active Risk Management applied to civil engineering projects has been developed by the author on a variety of projects over 35 years. This paper lays out the steps of Active Risk Management and discusses how they are applied in geotechnical engineering. It illustrates the use of the method with a practical example that shows the value of obtaining additional geotechnical information to reduce risk.

About W. Allen Marr:

Dr. Allen Marr, President and CEO of Geocomp, has over 40 years of
specialized expertise in design and construction of large earthwork facilities, value engineering for earthworks and earth retention systems, risk management for underground construction, and instrumentation and real-time monitoring systems. He has spent his entire professional career focused on incorporating the benefits of applied research in geo-engineering into civil engineering practice.

Dr. Marr holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of California at Davis as well as a MS and PhD in Civil Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) which recognizes outstanding engineers for their dedication to their discipline as well as for their development of an engineering invention or process that has greatly improved humanity.

Some of his significant contributions in the field of engineering include the development of techniques for monitoring the stability, movement and pressure in earthworks projects by using sensors,nwireless communications, automated analysis and visualization of data. In developing sensing, monitoring, measurement and analysis technologies, Dr. Marr has enabled full-scale construction projects to be built more safely and efficiently, at lower cost.

Dr. Marr has developed the concepts of “Active Risk Management”; “Key Risk Indicators” and “Risk Monitoring” to better manage risks associated with heavy civil construction. Active Risk Management assesses risk throughout the design and construction life of a project and indicates where and what mitigation measures should be employed to optimally manage risk. And, as the developer of an integrated iSite™ system which monitors sensors located anywhere in the world via a Web browser, Dr. Marr has created a system that is increasingly used to monitor the safety of facilities during construction and provides early warnings of adverse performance.

His many contributions have been widely published and he serves on a number of professional society committees and boards. Dr. Marr has consulted on such significant projects as Boston’s Central Artery Tunnel; Dulles Airport Expansion; the new World Trade Center construction and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge in Washington, D.C., as
well as projects in Canada, the Netherlands, Qatar, Japan, Venezuela and South Korea

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