Share Soil Investigations on the Cloud: Connecting the Field and Office with Real-Time Integration

Overview and Purpose of Soil Investigation

In construction and civil engineering sites, soil investigation (ground investigation) is indispensable for safely supporting buildings and structures. Professionals such as construction companies, geological survey firms, and engineers involved in ground improvement and pile foundation work need to ascertain in advance whether the ground at a planned site has sufficient strength and what the geological composition is. Soil investigation makes it possible to verify the bearing capacity and stability of the ground, consider ground improvement methods if necessary, and optimize pile foundation design.

Soil investigation includes various methods such as borehole investigation (drilling of test pits) and the Standard Penetration Test (measurement of N-value), as well as plate load tests and Swedish-style sounding tests (simple penetration tests). Information obtained from these investigations about ground stiffness, density, and soil type becomes important data for designers when deciding on foundation structures and implementing safety measures. Having prior ground information also enables appropriate risk assessment in situations such as infrastructure design, retaining wall design, and slope countermeasure planning.

However, because soil investigation itself is specialized and generates large amounts of site-specific data, its information management and sharing tend to present challenges. The purpose of investigation is to accurately grasp site ground conditions, but to make those results smoothly usable within a team, attention must also be paid to how the data are handled. The next section organizes the data management issues in traditional soil investigation workflows and then looks at cloud-based solutions.

Challenges in Traditional Soil Investigation Data Management

In traditional soil investigations, inefficient data management often posed problems. Information obtained at the site was dispersed across paper records, spreadsheet files, photo folders, and the like, making it time-consuming to organize and integrate later. Below are typical issues seen in conventional approaches.

• Data is prone to dispersion: Records of borehole investigations and test results were noted in paper field notebooks, photos were stored on digital cameras or smartphones, measured position coordinates were obtained separately from GPS devices, and so on, so information was split across various media. Therefore, when compiling all of these into a single report after the investigation, there was a risk of data omissions or loss.

• Errors and shifts in location information: Traditionally, coordinates of measurement points were recorded manually or approximate positions were indicated on paper drawings, which could lead to discrepancies with the actual locations. For example, a borehole location recorded in an investigation report might be off by several meters (several ft) on a map, making it difficult to find the exact spot during a later re-survey. Inaccurate location information can affect later-stage construction planning, so obtaining accurate positioning data from the field was a challenge.

• Delay in real-time sharing: After conducting soil investigations on site, there was a time lag before the results reached office engineers. Typically, investigators had to return to the office to compile paper materials, import photos from digital cameras to a PC, and then transfer them by email attachment or USB memory. This process took time and, in some cases, reports could be delayed by several days. Meanwhile, other processes might advance, causing the decision to change designs or order additional investigations to be delayed.

• Effort for sharing and storing information: Sharing investigation results with internal stakeholders or the prime contractor/client also required effort. This was because people relied on analog means such as mailing or delivering paper reports, or splitting large photo files to send by email. When sharing data among multiple teams or subcontractors, it was often unclear who had the latest data, raising concerns about inconsistencies. Even locating past investigation data could take time as files had to be searched on file servers or in cabinets—this management complexity became a burden on site operations.

These issues have increased the demand in the soil investigation field for centralized data management and real-time sharing. So how can we specifically streamline information sharing between the field and the office? One answer is the use of cloud technology. The next section examines the mechanisms for linking soil investigation data in real time using the cloud and the benefits thereof.

Cloud Sharing and Real-Time Integration Mechanism

Saving investigation data obtained in the field to the cloud and sharing it instantly over the Internet can greatly improve the issues described above. Using a cloud sharing mechanism, the field and office can always access the latest information and literally coordinate in real time. Below, the mechanism and benefits are explained step by step.

• Digital data entry in the field: Investigators enter data such as borehole sample collection conditions and Standard Penetration Test results directly into dedicated apps or forms on tablets or smartphones. Recording data electronically instead of in paper field notebooks prevents misreading handwriting and transcription errors later. When entering observations of strata or N-values, positioning data (latitude, longitude, elevation) are automatically attached from the device's GPS or high-precision GNSS equipment.

• Immediate upload of field photos and videos: Photos and videos showing the conditions at investigation points can also be uploaded to the cloud on the spot. For example, if a smartphone is used to photograph the setup of a drilling rig or sample appearance and shared via an app, the images are plotted on a cloud map with location information. office engineers can view from a browser map which photos were taken at which points in a list. This eliminates confusion such as “which site was Photo A from.”

• Automatic aggregation and synchronization to the cloud: Data entered in the field and uploaded files are aggregated in real time into a cloud database. Because they are synchronized with the server continuously over a network connection (cellular or on-site Wi‑Fi), investigators do not need to send emails or hand over USB memory sticks. Information stored in the cloud becomes shared data that all stakeholders can access, enabling everyone to work from the single latest version.

• Immediate verification and feedback from the office: Office engineers and managers can access dashboards and map screens on the cloud from a browser without installing dedicated software to check field progress and data. For instance, if the test results from a borehole completed in the morning are shared via the cloud immediately afterward, office staff can begin analysis in the afternoon. If unexpectedly soft strata are found on site, sharing that information instantly allows the office to send instructions or advice for additional investigations in real time. This dramatically improves communication between the field and the design department, speeding up decision-making.

• Centralized storage and backup of data: Since all information is saved in the cloud, data are centrally managed and always backed up. Data accumulate in the cloud during and after the investigation period, making it easy to review later or reference in other projects. Concerns about loss of paper materials or data loss due to PC failure are reduced. Also, when sharing data with external subcontractors or clients, it is only necessary to grant access rights or share links to the required information in the cloud, so secure information sharing is possible without complicated transfer procedures.

By leveraging the cloud for real-time integration, the information gap between the field and the office is eliminated. Making the flow from data entry to sharing seamless is expected to yield significant improvements in operational efficiency and reductions in human error. The next chapter looks at more advanced technologies that combine high-precision positioning and AR (augmented reality) to support fieldwork.

Borehole Location Navigation Using High-Precision Positioning and AR

The next point for improving soil investigation efficiency is enhancing on-site positioning accuracy and location identification. Traditionally, identifying borehole investigation points relied on measurements on drawings or rough position measurements with simple GPS devices. However, recent technology known as RTK-GNSS (real-time kinematic GPS) makes it easy to perform high-precision positioning on site with errors limited to several centimeters (a few in). Using a smartphone or a handheld GNSS receiver, one person can obtain accurate coordinates, greatly simplifying surveying tasks that used to be necessary, such as staking points or laying out locations.

By using these high-precision positioning technologies together with mobile devices, it is also possible to intuitively indicate investigation points via AR (augmented reality) navigation. For example, if a tablet displays the site view and shows AR markers or arrows indicating the specified borehole position, the investigator can tell at a glance “where to drill the hole” just by looking around. Even on large reclaimed sites or fields with few landmarks, you can reach the precise point without time-consuming alignment between drawings and the actual site.

AR navigation is also powerful for reproducing locations during re-surveys. Even if ground surface conditions have changed since the initial investigation, you can display the same points on site in AR using the precise coordinates saved in the cloud to pinpoint “where the previous borehole was” without confusion. This enables strict comparisons with past data when conducting additional boreholes or follow-up investigations, allowing high-reliability verification.

Combining high-precision positioning and AR technology makes field navigation both visual and reliable. Digital tools guide to the correct positions without relying on an investigator’s experience or intuition, which reduces errors and improves efficiency. Next, we will look at how using geotagged photos and 3D data obtained on site can streamline report preparation.

Streamlining Reporting with Geotagged Photos and Point Cloud Data

Field photos and topographic survey data are also important information sources in soil investigation. In cloud-integrated investigations, each dataset is automatically tagged with location coordinates, allowing these data to be used to streamline reporting tasks.

First, regarding field photos. Traditionally, when inserting photos into reports, it was necessary to caption them or create a separate photo ledger to explain “which photo corresponds to which location.” With a cloud system, photo files are stored with linked latitude and longitude, so the shooting location is obvious at a glance on a map when viewed later. When preparing reports, you can simply select photos from cloud data and the location information and shooting times are recorded automatically. This reduces the effort of organizing photos and eliminates confusion about which photo corresponds to which borehole.

Next is the use of 3D point cloud data. Recently, drones, LiDAR on tablets, and smartphone-compatible 3D scanners make it possible to capture site topography and conditions around borehole locations as point cloud data. For example, if you laser-scan the terrain around borehole investigation points, you can later reproduce surface irregularities and the distribution of test locations in three dimensions. Point cloud data uploaded to the cloud can be displayed and shared on maps or models like other survey data, and used for understanding site conditions and preparing reports.

Using point cloud data allows information that is difficult to convey with planar drawings or photos to be presented intuitively. For instance, when reporting soil investigation results on a slope, cross-sections or 3D views generated from point clouds can visually express differences in terrain and elevation between investigation points. This is useful for explanatory materials to clients or other departments and increases the persuasive power of investigation results.

Photos and point cloud data stored in the cloud with coordinates become valuable assets for future additional investigations or reference in other projects. Because you can search and retrieve needed information with one click, there is no longer waste such as “turning the warehouse upside down to find old investigation photos.” As a result, man-hours spent on report preparation are reduced, allowing more time for analysis and discussion.

So what operational improvements can actually be achieved by introducing cloud sharing and advanced technologies? The next chapter examines the effects through use cases in soil investigation workflows.

Case Study: Operational Improvements in Soil Investigation Using the Cloud

Here we look at an imaginary case to see the operational improvements brought by cloud sharing.

A mid-sized construction company was running a project that involved conducting soil investigations simultaneously at several reclaimed sites. Under the traditional method, investigators at each site would bring back daily reports and investigation results, which would be compiled at headquarters the next day or later and then passed on to the design department. As a result, there was always a lag of several days from investigation completion to design reflection, requiring extra schedule padding.

The company introduced a cloud sharing system for soil investigation data. Tablets were distributed to each site, and investigators uploaded data to the cloud in real time. The project manager could get an overview of progress on a map from a PC at headquarters, and N-values and soil information obtained at Location A in the morning could be shared with design staff in the afternoon so they could start reviewing—enabling concurrent workflows.

As a result, lead time from investigation to foundation design was significantly shortened compared with before. Specifically, whereas design work previously began only after all site investigations were complete, after adopting the cloud the team could reflect data incrementally, reducing the overall project schedule by several weeks. Also, when unexpected soft ground was found on site, the information reached all stakeholders the same day, allowing immediate arrangement of additional boreholes and minimizing schedule delays.

There was also a secondary effect of quality improvement. Sharing data on the cloud allowed veteran engineers in the company to review junior investigators’ records in real time and provide advice as needed. This reduced instances of unclear points discovered only at the time of report preparation, resulting in high-accuracy data collection from the start. Photo omissions and coordinate recording mistakes were eliminated, increasing confidence in each site’s investigation results.

This example shows that by adopting cloud and real-time integration, it is possible to achieve both speed and accuracy. Finally, we will touch on the outlook for how these technologies are spreading beyond soil investigation and conclude.

Conclusion: The Future of Field DX Expanding from Soil Investigation

Cloud sharing and real-time integration in soil investigation are becoming a new norm that connects the field and the office. Their effects go beyond improving efficiency and accuracy in investigation tasks; they are beginning to transform the way field workers operate. When data are digitally centralized and circulated in real time, tacit knowledge that had been person-dependent can be shared across the team, creating an environment where anyone can make quick decisions based on the latest information.

In recent years, tools that support field DX have been emerging, such as simplified surveying devices using high-precision GNSS technology like LRTK, and easy-to-use tools for obtaining point cloud data. LRTK is one example of a solution that combines a small high-precision positioning device that can be attached to a smartphone with a cloud service. Using such tools, accurate three-dimensional coordinates can be measured on site without specialized surveying equipment, and surrounding 3D scans can be performed as needed. The acquired data are sent to the cloud immediately and shared among stakeholders for use.

These technologies are being applied not only to soil investigation but across many construction site scenarios. For example, situations that require real-time field information sharing include as-built verification of earthworks, infrastructure inspections, and disaster-site assessments. Field DX solutions that combine cloud, positioning, and sensor technologies are expected to spread to an increasing variety of tasks, contributing to improved productivity and safety across the industry.

Finally, it is important to emphasize that technology is only a means; the goal is to solve field problems and create value. Using cloud sharing of soil investigation as a starting point, deeper collaboration that crosses the boundaries between field and office will lead to better infrastructure and construction. The wave of field DX is surely spreading. Through efforts to connect the field and the office with real-time integration, we can look forward to further advancement in the construction and civil engineering industries.