CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand - Seequent, the Bentley Subsurface company, has streamlined laboratory testing in OpenGround, the leading cloud-connected geotechnical data management solution. The new OpenGround Labs capability enables seamless transfer of soil and rock sample data from field collection to laboratory testing and reporting, with results delivered directly to engineers.  

The advancement enables an end-to-end digital engineering-to-lab workflow, enhancing collaboration and improving efficiency between ground investigation and laboratory testing teams.  

‘Trusted Lab testing data is vital for developing our understanding of ground conditions and for the creation of robust geotechnical reports on major infrastructure projects,’ said Carl Grice, Seequent’s Director of Geotechnical Information Management. ‘By eliminating fragmented processes and manual data re-entry, these enhancements enable organisations to digitise lab operations - improving data quality, saving time, improving collaboration and accelerating project delivery.’ 

Multi-discipline geoscience consultancy Inosys participated in an early access programme for the new OpenGround Labs capability. Andy Wood, Associate Director, Inosys, commented, ‘Inosys deals with high volumes of laboratory data, commissioning and managing thousands of tests each year. In many cases the supplied files frequently contain errors, omissions and conflicts, requiring significant remedial works.   

‘I will be encouraging our partner laboratories to adopt this new capability in OpenGround. If fully adopted, this software has the potential to revolutionise the way multi-stakeholder geotechnical projects are delivered. It is set to fundamentally change the way laboratories and engineering clients work together, increasing efficiency and creating transparency between client, engineer and laboratory.’ 

Additionally, the OpenGround Data Collector app, which captures borehole data in the field using a mobile device, has been rebuilt for iOS and Android, for better usability, efficiency, and enhanced cross-solution support. 

New OpenGround capability integrates engineering and lab projects  

Engineering consultants, transportation departments, and federal agencies collaborate using OpenGround to achieve clarity throughout every stage of the ground investigation process. Now, laboratory professionals can utilise OpenGround with the flexibility to integrate alongside existing systems and standards. OpenGround’s latest release enables independent engineering and laboratory projects to operate within the same workflows, providing organisations with full control over administration, oversight, access, and data management.  

OpenGround delivers enterprise-grade security and compliance, featuring role-based access, automated backups, and robust service-level agreements, ensuring organisations can manage their data with confidence. Organisations can integrate OpenGround’s extensive APIs into partner solutions, in-house tools, third-party applications, and enterprise reporting systems, to enable automation, custom workflows, and advanced analytics.  

Faster field data collection with a rebuilt mobile Data Collector app for iOS and Android  

The rebuilt OpenGround Data Collector app delivers a faster, more intuitive, and highly efficient field data collection experience. Now compatible with both iOS and Android devices, the app allows teams to use their preferred mobile platforms, ensuring a consistent and high-quality experience across all devices in demanding field conditions, ensuring rapid access to critical information – even when offline.  

Grice added, ‘This update underlines our ongoing commitment to meet user needs — ground investigation teams now have the flexibility to capture quality digital data at source — no matter what device or workflow they choose to deploy on site.’