New projects and business expansion for Seequent 14 Feb 2019

3D geological modelling software provided by Seequent is being used on two of the largest underground transportation projects in the Southern Hemisphere. In Australia, the company is working with geotechnical services firm Golder to provide geological information for construction of the West Gate highway tunnel project in Melbourne and in New Zealand, the company has partnered with consulting engineer Aurecon to deliver data during the construction of the Auckland City Rail Link project.

Fig 1. City Rail Link modelled in Leapfrog Works

The 3.45km City Rail twin tunnel in Auckland runs up to 42m beneath the city centre and through an area of complex geology that includes volcanic deposits. To help attain and communicate detailed technical analysis of these complex ground conditions, Aurecon used the Seequent 3D geological modelling solution Leapfrog Works.

To make informed decisions on structural design, services locations and construction methods, engineers and construction teams needed to ‘see’ how these ground conditions interacted. Using Leapfrog Works, the Aurecon ground engineering and design colleagues were able to readily visualise the project elements in 3D and use it as an effective communication tool (Fig 1). A key feature of the software has been its ability to combine geological models with engineering designs to aid communication with stakeholders and enable Aurecon to get the design right from the start.

Fig 2. City Rail Link in detailed 3D view

As an example, with the help of Leapfrog Works, Aurecon was able to revise and optimise ground improvement works at the Water Street shaft to mitigate ground risks and clearly communicate them to both stakeholders and contractors during the procurement phases, saving time and cost. Immediate updating of the ground model based on the live data coming from the onsite shaft borehole drilling saved days and further ensured structural accuracy.

“Geologists need to be able to communicate the uncertainty in the ground conditions in a way that the engineers understand, relevant to the design,” said Philip Kirk, Geotechnical Team Leader for Aurecon, “and Leapfrog Works has been an instrumental tool to support our ground engineering team, who are the interface between science and engineering.”

From its Christchurch-based headquarters and R&D centre, Seequent has a network of offices across Asia/Pacific, Africa, South America, Europe and has recently added new offices in North America.

Visualisation of Manhattan in Leapfrog Works

Growing interest in its software solutions in the USA market prompted Seequent to open a new office in Denver, Colorado, to support its growing client base. “The United States has one of the largest infrastructure industries in the world,” said Daniel Wallace, General Manager of Civil & Environmental at Seequent. “There is a significant amount of infrastructure to be built, rebuilt and maintained. We have a local team on board in our Denver office, including three geological engineers dedicated to the region, to help support projects and show our commitment to this market.”

In Canada, Seequent signed an agreement to acquire Canadian geosience software company Geosoft, to combine the Leapfrog 3D geological modelling capabilities with the Geosoft subsurface geoscience and exploration software to create a comprehensive subsurface offering.

Shaun Maloney

Tim Dobush

“The acquisition allows two strong geoscience brands, Leapfrog and Geosoft, to join forces to offer a greater range of solutions for our customers around the globe,” said Shaun Maloney, Chief Executive of Seequent.

“By bringing our people and technology assets together under Seequent, we are able to help customers solve their geoscientific challenges across all disciplines and industries,” said Tom Dobush, CEO of Geosoft.

From headquarters in Toronto, Geosoft has offices around the world and under the combination of the Geosoft and Leapfrog brands, Seequent has a leading market position in subsurface geoscience and modelling software solutions with offices in 20 locations and approaching 400 staff around the world serving customers in more than 100 countries.