ISO certification for ground monitoring instrumentation 21 Jun 2018

Manufacturer of geotechnical and structural instruments to monitor stability of civil and underground structures, Geokon, received the ISO 9001:2015 certification from both the US certification board ANSI ANAB and the UK UKAS for its products and services.

Geokon monitoring instruments

Accredited certification provider NQA performed a mandatory recertification audit on the company between February and May 2018 before awarding the certification on 1 June 2018.

Geokon instruments include vibrating wire gauges, micro electro mechanical system (MEM) sensors, data loggers, wireless networks and software for the collection and visualization of data. It is a specialist supplier of extensometers, pressure cells, inclinometers, load cells and displacement transducers for monitoring the SEM/SCL/NATM method of tunnel and cavern excavations. In addition to almost all major cities in the USA, Geokon has instrumented subway systems in Seoul, Taipei, Guangzhou, Istanbul, Hong Kong, Singapore and London and has installed instruments in the Channel Tunnel.

A recent specialist project includes supply of instruments to monitor stability at the Blackfriars Station redevelopment project in London. An extensive instrumentation system was installed to monitor the station, rail tracks and surrounding buildings as the underground part of the old station was demolished and the new station constructed. Instrumentation included automated total stations, accelerometers, crackmeters, tilt beams and strain gauges.

During the summer of 1997, instrumentation was installed to monitor the behaviour, during filling and operation, of the headrace and penstock tunnels of the Chaira pumped storage power plant in Southwest Bulgaria. The instrumentation around the headrace tunnel consisted of vibrating wire piezometers installed both in the concrete lining and in the surrounding rock. Instrumentation in the penstock tunnels consisted of vibrating wire strain guages to measure stress in the concrete, and embedment jointmeters to measure any detachment of the concrete from the steel liner. Readings were taken and recorded using the GK-403 Vibrating Wire Readout Box.

The Geokon calibration program also complies with ANSI/NCSL Z540-1 and all primary calibration standards are traceable to the US Department of Commerce and National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Washington DC, and are calibrated by laboratories with ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation.

Geokon is also a qualified supplier for US nuclear facilities in accordance with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)/Nuclear Quality Assurance (NQA)-1, quality assurance program requirements.

“We are excited to be awarded the ISO 9001:2015 certification which demonstrates our company commitment to ensuring high quality in our instrumentation, as well as our core philosophy to continuously improve our products, services, and processes,” said Jack Taylor, Geokon Director. “It demonstrates our pledge to offer the highest levels of quality, efficiency and integrity, providing the finest performing instrumentation and customer-focussed service from our network of 45 global agents.”