Understanding the common pitfalls in site investigation and laboratory tests can save time, money, and ensure the success of your projects. Join us for an informative seminar where industry experts will share insights on how to avoid these critical errors.


SYNOPSIS AND BIODATA OF SPEAKER

1. Title : SI for Formality or Worth the Value? – Key Consideration in Specifying Appropriate Field and Laboratory Tests

Synopsis :
This lecture will highlight common mistakes in site investigation practices, such as incorrect ground representation leading to design flaws or wasted resources due to misunderstandings of ground conditions derived from improper SI planning and execution. There are also limitations in interpreting ground conditions during the investigation for the post-development stages. While the cost of site investigation may be high, it is crucial for addressing engineering risks and preventing budget overruns. The goal should be to use minimal resources effectively, gathering quality information to build accurate geological and geotechnical models. Avoiding unnecessary repetition of information without proper planning can prevent waste within the limited project budget.

Speaker: Ir. Liew Shaw Shong
Ir. Liew Shaw Shong, Senior Director/Founder of G&P Geotechnics Sdn Bhd, holds a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from National Taiwan University (1991) and an M.Eng.Sc. from the University of New South Wales (1993). With 29 years of experience, he has worked on major projects like Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong, Tanjung Pelepas Port, Kuala Lumpur International Airport, etc. He has led forensic landslide investigations and contributed to the National Slope Master Plan Study. A past President of the Malaysian Geotechnical Society and past Chairman of the Geotechnical Engineering Technical Division of the Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM). He has published over 70 papers and won the Ir. Tan Sri Hj. Yusoff Prize twice for the best IEM Technical Paper Award.


2. Title : Common Issues in Field Tests

Synopsis :
The lecture will highlight the causes of Issues in Field Tests which ranges from lack of proper supervision or knowledgeable supervisors with incompetent drillers and drilling supervisors. Improper test equipment, test at wrong depths and test procedures not followed. Some common field tests will be discussed.

Speaker: Mr. Choong Pek Kem
Mr. Choong Pek Kem is the Technical Director/Principal of Test Sdn Bhd, an ISO 9001 : 2015 certified and SAMM ISO 17025 : 2017 accredited company. He has more than 50 years of experience in soil investigation, field and laboratory testing and Geotechnical instrumentation. He was past President of The Malaysian Site Investigators Association (MSIA) 2006/2008, 2014/2018 and the current President 2022/2024.

He was Chairman of working group for drafting of Malaysian Standard MS 1056:2005 “Methods of Test for Soils in Civil Engineering. He served in the committee for EC7 part 2 Malaysia Annex (MS EN 1997-2:2013). He served on the working group of the Technical Committee on Geotechnical works (TC/D/17), Department of Standards Malaysia. He has served in the CIDB in developing National Occupational Skills Standards and training modules for site investigation personnel.


3. Title : Common Issues in Laboratory Tests

Synopsis :
The lecture covers the following issues:
• Sampling quality for the intended tests.
• Specifying the appropriate stress options for stress test.
• Specifying appropriate consolidation stress options, especially secondary compression duration.
• Selection of soil samples (disturbed & undisturbed) for the appropriate laboratory tests.
• Soil test specimen size vs sampling size.
• Specifying the appropriate test for rock samples (requisite “hard & sound” length”).
• Minimal test(s) specimen(s) mass for classification tests for sufficient essential test(s) selection.
• Addressing wet and dry mass preparation of test specimen for hydrometer analysis.
• Addressing LL & PL natural state (wet mass) testing & passing 425µ test sieve (dry mass) testing.
• Key Laboratory Accreditation QA processes.

Speaker: Dr. Wong Kim Yuen
Dr. Wong Kim Yuen, Principal Partner and Managing Director of Soilpro Technical Services Sdn Bhd, holds a Doctor of Business Administration from the University of South Australia. He has 42 years of experience in site investigation and geotechnical laboratory tests and leads Soilpro's Skim Akreditasi Makmal Malaysia, SAMM MS ISO/IEC 17025 lab quality management system and is an authorised signatory for soil test reports. He is a past President of the Malaysian Site Investigators Association (MSIA) and serves on the Technical Committee on Geotechnical Works (TC/D/17) for the ISC/D managed by Department of Standards Malaysia. He is a trained CIDB assessor for Site Investigation program organised by CIDB, and has contributed in developing National Occupational Skills Standards and training modules for site investigation personnel. His expertise is on maintaining continuous improvement with the SAMM MS ISO/IEC 17025 framework.


4. Title : Common Issues in Geophysical Survey

Synopsis :
Despite the increased use of geophysics, clients are sometimes not satisfied with the geophysical survey results. This can lead to erosion in confidence of use in geophysics in site investigations and subsequently limit the use of geophysics. The key to successful geophysical site investigations can be largely achieved through understanding the limitations and proper use of geophysics by competently trained geophysicists. As in all practical physics, geophysics has to be used with a thorough understanding of physics principles including during data acquisition, data processing, interpretation. Common pitfalls include poorly designed geophysical survey, errors during setting out survey, shallow understanding of the underlying geology and incompetent data acquisition crew. Major errors also occur during data processing. In this presentation the issues with using geophysics in geotechnical engineering will be discussed and how the errors can be minimised through use of appropriate geophysical practices, engaging experienced geophysicists to design the surveys, supervise data acquisition, data processing and interpretation.

Speaker: Mr. Devendran Arumugam
Mr. Devendran Arumugam works as Site Investigation Manager with Gamuda Engineering. He is currently working on Mutiara LRT and Penang Sea Reclamation projects. He graduated from Universiti Sains Malaysia with a degree in Physics majoring in Geophysics. His vast experience of almost 40 years focusses on the geophysical applications in geotechnical engineering, tunnelling, groundwater exploration, offshore sand exploration, onshore and offshore soil investigations. He is a professional geologist registered with the board of geologist, Fellow of Institute Geology Malaysia, Member of Scale of Fees Committee Board of Geologist. He serves on the panel of industry experts at Universiti Teknologi Petronas and Universiti Sains Malaysia. His interest includes educating non geophysicists in the applications of geophysics and developing innovative methods in presenting geophysical findings.


MODERATOR’ BIODATA

Ir. Som Pong A/L Pichan is the Head of Site Investigation Division, Geotechnical Engineering Branch, Public Work Department of Malaysia (JKR). He obtained his Bachelor of Civil Engineering from Universiti Sains Malaysia in 2000 and M.Sc in Civil Engineering (Geotechnics) from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland in 2012. He has approximately 22 years of working experience in design and construction work. In recognition of his achievement and level of expertise, he received his Geotechnical Engineering Competency Certificate ‐ Level 4 from JKR Malaysia in 2015. In his many years of serving in the public sector, he has been appointed to be a member of various technical committee related to his area of expertise departmentally and externally. In addition, he has also published and presented several technical papers in both national and international conferences and seminars. He is a Co‐opted Committee Member of the Malaysian Geotechnical Society (MGS) for the 2021/2022, 2022/2023, 2023/2024 terms