There are no greater demands imposed on structural members than those experienced by the elements of the foundation system. Whether a shallow foundation, deep foundation, marine or temporary structure, the capabilities and proven experience of our design engineers will have your project addressed with confidence from the onset.

The durability of any permanent structure begins and ends with its foundation. Our knowledge and expertise of soil-structure interaction, construction means and methods, and directing geotechnical investigations save time and money during foundation construction.

By leveraging a deep and broad understanding of geotechnical, structural and construction engineering principles, we bring immediate and observable cost savings to Owners and Contractors.

We routinely provide the following services for Building, Bridge, Marine & Industrial projects:

Shallow Foundations

Shallow foundations are the most cost-effective foundation solution when they can be used to safely and economically* support loads from the superstructure into the soil formation found onsite. When the loads from the superstructure are larger than the allowable bearing pressure of the soil, additional design consideration must be provided.  Typical shallow foundations include:

• Spread Footings with Stem Walls for Crawlspaces and Basements
• Cantilevered and Floor Diaphragm Restrained Retaining Walls
• Rigid Mat Structural Slabs with and with/out Intended Uniform Settlement
• Slabs on Grade with Thickened Edges with and with/out Post-Tensioning
• High-Performance Concrete for Industrial and Food Processing Facilities

We also provide structural analysis, design and retrofit for existing structures with performance problems in support of Owner, Contractor or Consultant requests.

Ask about our Limited Consultation Service for smaller projects that require sophisticated engineering design solutions.

We use the state of the art computer program SAFE by Computers and Structures, Inc. to model complex and sophisticated structural floors, resulting in the most economical construction that matches Owner expected performance. That’s the value of quality engineering service.

* Shallow foundations that experience “excessive settlement” are proven to not be economical recommendations to Owners due to historical observation of loss of tenant revenue.

Marine Foundations & Structures

Deep marine foundations or pile supported marine structures are the primary specialty of the design engineers at BSM Engineering. We have married the engineering disciplines of geotechnical and structural engineering to the equipment and tools used by the leading marine pile driving contactors to insure optimum performance in this environment. Waterfront marine construction is the most expensive type of work performed in the industry and there is little room for error without significant cost incursions.

We have a vast amount of experience associated with performing in a full service or specialty consultant role to other firms or Owners in the following marine foundation market sectors:

• Docks, Piers and Wharves
  • Signature Infrastructure for Cruise Ship Terminals
  • Small Craft Recreational Marinas
  • Shipyards and Heavy Civil Marine Facilities
  • Fixed Pier or Floating Structures
  • Deep Draft Terminals and Ship Berths
  • Mooring and Fendering System Design
• Marinas for Small Craft Recreational Facilities
  • Signature Marinas and Floating Infrastructure
  • Floating Docks and Anchor Pile
  • Breakwaters and Wave Attenuators
  • Boat Ramps and Upland Infrastructure
  • Dredging Design, Coordination and USACE Permit Support
  • Site Civil Design for Planning and Infrastructure
• Shoreline Erosion, Protective Stabilization and Land Reclamation
  • Coastal Erosion Studies and Due Diligence Support
  • Post Storm Damage Insurance Claim Support
  • Design for Beach Nourishment and Protection
  • Civil, Structural, Geotechnical Support to Others

Deep Foundations for Driven Piles or Drilled Shafts

We are best known for some of our work in the deep foundations industry where the presence of our work has crossed the boundaries of most states and reached into the international market sector. Our scope of service offerings and capabilities in the deep foundation industry are essentially limitless through our broad network of design and construction professionals. We routinely provide services to public and private Owners, Marine & Land Based Pile Driving & Drilling Contractors, Consultants, and to Material and Equipment Supply professionals.

• Geotechnical Report Review, Coordination and Pile Driving Plan Support
• Full Service Pile Design and Installation Support for:
  • Driven Piles of Timber, Steel, Concrete or Composite Material
  • Drilled Shafts, Cased or Uncased, w/Coordinated Reinforcing
  • Helical Anchors, Soil Nails/Tie-Back Systems, Augured/Bored Piles
  • Documented Foundations™ for Structures with Design Life Greater than 50-years
• Support Services for Deep Foundation Installations:
  • Pile Installation Efficiency™ Comprehensive Verification Services using our in-house developed Foundation Procedure Specification™ QC Checklist
  • WEAP Analysis for Pile Drivability, Capacity Prediction, Hammer Selection
  • Inspection, Evaluation and Load Rating Support of Existing Piles or Piers
  • Coordination with Specialty Third Party Testing Companies as Needed
  • Remote and Onsite Pile Driving Analysis with a Pile Driving Analyzer (PDA)
  • Signal Matching of PDA data w/ CAPWAP and PDA Reports per ASTM 4945
  • Welding Engineering & Spliced Joint Design and Support

Shored Excavations & Braced Cuts

The ability to perform Critical Engineering can often be observed in Heavy Civil & Marine projects when Shored Excavation or Braced Cuts must be constructed. Often these excavations are in support of deep cuts typical of subway and tunnel access shafts, large and deep water and sewer infrastructure projects as well as in highway road and bridge projects.

• Full Service Engineering Design and Installation Support for:
  • Soldier Pile Walls with or w/out Tie-Back System
  • Closed Cell and Partially-Closed Cell Structures with Flat Sheet Pile
  • Bulkhead Wall Structures using Z-Sheet Pile with or w/out Tie-Backs
  • Secant and Combination Wall Structures of either Concrete or Steel
  • Braced Cofferdams for Deep Marine & Land Excavations
  • Proprietary Flat Sheet Pile Wall System for Unobstructed Deep Cuts
  • Review and Coordination Support of Geotechnical Data and Constructability

The general nature of this type of work is sensitive and requires an exceptional amount of skill, inter-discipline coordination, and a solid foundation of the geotechnical, structural and equipment capabilities associated with the support of excavation for both temporary and permanent structures. To be successful, this work must not disrupt or damage neighboring property and the need to maintain open roadway traffic is often expected.

Driven Pile Testing with a Pile Driving Analyzer (PDA)

We can Instrument, Monitor and Test both Driven Piles and Drilled Shafts when the ability to simulate an impact is provided at the jobsite. For Driven Piles, the contractor’s production hammer is used assuming the Ultimate Load Capacity can be produced by this hammer. For Drilled Shafts, a simulated impact load can be provided by a drop weight, impact hammer, or controlled blast where appropriate and the ‘butt’ of the shaft is often extended above the grade using neat cement to instrument the shaft with strain gages and accelerometers for PDA data collection. Other testing methods exist and are presented to our clients when contracted to perform QC/QA support.

• High-Strain Dynamic Testing using a Pile Driving Analyzer (PDA) with signal matching using CAPWAP® is required in accordance with ASTM 4945-latest edition. Dynamic Testing with a PDA provides the operator with the following real-time data:
  • Energy Transferred from the Contractor’s Impact Hammer
  • Total Force Delivered to the Driven Pile or Built-Up Heels for Drilled Shafts
  • Maximum Compressive and Tensile Internal Stresses in the Pile or Shaft
  • Distinction Between Skin Friction or End Bearing Dominant Soil Resistance
  • Significant Change in Impedance, Z or Beta Indicators Reporting Pile Damage

Working together with Owner’s, Consulting Engineers and Piling Contractors, BSM Engineering has been able to provide a high level of confidence to our clients for both certainty in high-capacity load transfer to the deep foundation, and construction cost economy for the production pile efforts.