ecuscino | Created: 09 Jun 2025 | Updated: 09 Jun 2025
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Deep foundations
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Daniel Ponti, USGS (retired) and Nick Machairas, Haley and Aldrich

Deep foundation specialists deal with mountains of pile driving records, PDA data, and equipment specifications. Efficiently managing these data to analyze trends across multiple projects, transfer data between software tools, or to share data with colleagues, poses real challenges. As our industry moves toward digital workflows, the need for standardized data formats has never been greater. That's where the latest DIGGS extension comes in.

Through an G-I Technical Committee Special Project, we've developed comprehensive XML schema extensions for encoding driven pile installation data as structured text. These extensions create a standardized way to encode everything from basic pile properties to detailed PDA measurements. Rather than wrestling with multiple spreadsheets and PDF reports, engineers can store pile driving data in a single, structured format that future DIGGS-compatible software can read from and write to.

Flowchart
Generalized structure of the DIGGS schema extension for encoding driven pile installation data, showing the categories of data captured. Drive records are linked to a PileDrivingActivity object that carries equipment specifications and other metadata. In turn, the activity object is linked to the as-installed pile. The Sounding (a previously defined DIGGS object) is used to represent the space occupied by the pile and holds critical spatial reference information. In addition to steel pipe-piles shown, the schema supports concrete, steel-H and timber driven piles.

 

The schema supports specifications for four pile types (concrete, steel-H, steel pipe, and timber), including spatial data and geometries. It is also designed to capture complete installation records including:

  • Equipment specifications (hammer. striker plate and cushion properties)
  • Driving records (manual and PDA measurements)
  • Testing and quality control information

Developed from real-world data formats used by 18 state DOTs, these extensions are available now for beta testing. Check out the schema specification and the summary report.

We're also planning future extensions to cover cast-in-place piles, vibratory installations, and post-installation testing. Join our monthly DIGGS meetings to stay involved and help shape future developments!

With these new extensions, we're one step closer to seamless digital workflows in geotechnical engineering. Whether you're a foundation contractor, DOT engineer, or consultant, standardized pile data opens new possibilities for analysis, quality control, and project documentation.