Abstract:
A system and method is provided for on-site site risk assessment and to encourage collaboration between professional disciplines related to land development and construction projects. A graphical risk analysis system is provided based on answers to interdisciplinary questions related to risks. Use of the system promotes a complete checklist of interdisciplinary and informational consultation which, when completed for a project, assesses the risk related to land development and allows for reduction in risk as the project progresses.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a Continuation-In-Part claiming priority benefit from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/689,290 entitled “Multidiscipline Site Development and Risk Assessment Process” filed on Oct. 20, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,693,724. 
    
    
     FIELD OF INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a system and method to encourage collaboration between various disciplines and more particularly to a system to encourage collaboration between various engineering disciplines related to land development and building construction projects. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Many engineering professionals are required in order to complete a large building construction project. Numerous consultations with civil, environmental, structural and geotechnical engineers as well as land and site development professionals are required. 
     Information from each engineering discipline must be shared in order to coordinate various aspects of the construction project and reduce risks. A risk assessment “protocol” is usually developed on a case by case basis to qualitatively address the risks at a particular site in order to reduce the degree of uncertainty. 
     The prior art does not provide a useful and uniform method to assess site development risks and reduce the uncertainty involved in a construction project. 
     Therefore, a system and method are needed that encourage collaboration between professionals in different engineering disciplines working on large construction projects. The system should allow information to be easily accessible to each professional and project management. The system should statistically and/or qualitatively address the known risks and reduce the degree of uncertainty for a construction project. Further, the system should function at a construction site. Therefore, the system should be capable of manual operation, function with minimal or no electrical power and be resistant to weather and other rugged worksite conditions. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     One preferred embodiment provides a transparency system that utilizes light reflectivity and transmissivity to convey information with a series of overlay sheets. The system is designed to encourage collaboration between various engineering disciplines related to land development and construction projects. 
     The preferred embodiment provides a semi-transparent overlay related to each engineering discipline. Each overlay provides a checklist of interdisciplinary and informational consultations which, when completed, reduces the risk related to site development. Each overlay displays a data section including questions which are related to the disciplines. For instance, in the “civil engineering” section, questions are posed which relate to roads and streets, fill and cut, erosion control, drainage and grades in the location of the project. In the “site development” section, questions are posed which relate to grades, water, soil type, vegetation, fill, and property maintenance. In the “environmental engineering” section, questions are posed which relate to historical usage at the project area. In the “structural engineering” section, questions are posed which relate to the design of the foundation system, slab thickness, steel usage and beam construction. In the “geotechnical engineering” section questions are posed which relate to subsurface moisture, inclusions and geological anomalies. 
     The questions are accessed and answered by a professional trained in each field. Once each of the questions has been answered, a user observes the completed answers and accesses a key that correlates “risks” with the answers provided. The “risks” may include warnings and reminder messages related to certain topics such as pre-existing conditions, suggested meetings between various disciplines, or additional information which may be needed. These “risks” may be associated with contact information for the engineers responsible for a particular task or discipline in order to promote communication between the various disciplines. 
     The graphics section provides an efficient method for identifying potential problems. The responses in the data section provide a way to statistically analyze the risks associated with site development by accessing the key that correlates responses to “risks”. 
     The preferred embodiment is an improvement over the prior art because it provides a statistical method of evaluating risk based on interdisciplinary questions related to site development, is easily accessible to individuals in different project progressions and encourages collaboration between individuals, and because it provides a visual method of ascertaining risks and addressing those risks at a particular construction site to reduce the degree of uncertainty. 
     An alternate embodiment provides a transparency system that operates based on light traveling through the overlay sheets. The transparency system benefits from the use of a light table or a light source placed directly behind the binder holding the overlays. 
     Those skilled in the art will further appreciate the above-mentioned features and advantages of the invention together with other important aspects upon reading the detailed description that follows in conjunction with the drawings. 
    
    
     
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A better understanding of the invention can be obtained from the following detailed description of one exemplary embodiment as considered in conjunction with the following drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  shows a side view of an overlay binder. 
         FIG. 2  shows a top view of an overlay binder. 
         FIG. 3A  shows a top view of a single overlay. 
         FIG. 3B  shows a top view of a single overlay. 
         FIG. 4  shows an isometric view of a light ray in relation to a set of overlays. 
         FIG. 5  shows a partial view of an aerial map overlay. 
         FIG. 6  shows a plat map overlay. 
         FIG. 7A  shows a fill map overlay. 
         FIG. 7B  shows a combined fill map overlay, aerial map overlay and plat map for overlay. 
         FIG. 8  shows a detail view of a building site. 
         FIG. 9  shows a vertical resistivity map. 
         FIG. 10A  shows a partial view of a horizontal electrical resistivity map overlay. 
         FIG. 10B  shows electrical resistivity map overlay with a fill map overlay. 
         FIG. 10C  shows a partial view of structural engineering map overlay. 
         FIG. 11  shows a combined view of multiple overlays, including the graphical and data sections. 
         FIG. 12  shows an alternate embodiment. 
         FIG. 13  shows a flow chart of a method of a preferred embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
     In the descriptions that follow, like parts are marked throughout the specification and drawings with the same numerals, respectively. The drawing figures are not necessarily drawn to scale and certain figures may be shown in exaggerated or generalized form in the interest of clarity and conciseness. 
     The exemplary embodiments described herein relate to a transparency based risk assessment system for construction projects. The disclosed embodiments do not particularly utilize a computer system for field use, although computer systems including associated programs, memory, storage and printing capabilities may be used to generate the transparency materials. As for a computer based risk assessment system, patent application Ser. No. 10/689,290 to Bryant discloses such a risk assessment system requiring a computer system which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     A first embodiment of the present invention is comprised of a transparency system allowing the viewing of multiple overlays. The overlays are held in place and indexed by a retaining pin and a binder system. This system allows viewing of multiple transparencies with visual and data information along with identification information as to the identity of each engineering professional responsible for each engineering aspect of the project. 
     Moving then to  FIG. 1 , transparency system  100  consists of overlay set  150  comprising overlays  105 ,  110 ,  115 ,  120 , and  125 . The number of overlays may vary depending on the number of engineering disciplines addressed and the complexity of the construction project. The overlays include retaining holes  106 ,  111 ,  116 ,  121 , and  126 . Retaining pin  140  passes through hole  104  in binder  135  and threads into hole  132 . The overlays are held in place by binder  135  and retaining pin  140  as known in the art. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , binder  135  includes rectangular indention  136 . The rectangular indention in cooperation with retaining pin  140  allows the overlays to pivot into varied angular positions with respect to each other and with respect to binder  135 . The various angular positions allow the overlays to be viewed together, separately or in various combinations to arrive at different views. An alignment surface  137  is also provided in binder  135 . In use, each overlay may abut the alignment surface in order to align each overlay with the others. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3A ,  3 B and  11 , the overlays will be described. Each overlay is comprised of graphics section  315 , data section  320 , identification section  325 , contact section  336  and key section  341 . In this example, overlay  105  is assigned to the discipline of “civil engineering”. 
     Identification section  325  allows for identification of project information, inception and completion dates and revision information for the overlay. In the preferred embodiment, bar code  324  is provided for automated logging of the overlay. As a project progresses, the overlay may be revised to include new questions. New questions may be added to set of questions  330  as each question is answered or the task relating to each question has been completed. The engineering professional in charge of a task may be replaced and the contact information updated in a revision to overlay  105 . Thus, identification section  325  serves to track the revision of the overlay. 
     Contact section  336  includes contact information for engineering professionals for those in charge of the disciplines of civil engineering, environmental engineering, site development, structural engineering and geotechnical engineering. For each discipline, there is a section for contact information  339 , status active  338  and status inactive  337 . “Status active” indicates that the individual is currently working on the project. Conversely, “status inactive” indicates that the individual is no longer working on the project. 
     Each overlay also includes risk key section  341  including the listing of question IDs and questions for its assigned discipline and including a text version of the risks and risk IDs. 
     Question identification number  350  correlates to a specific risk identified in risk key section  341 . Risk key section  341  correlates appropriate responses to specific questions by specific disciplines with a risk and a curative action. 
     The risk data section  320  graphically groups and displays risks which have been generated by professionals in the civil engineering section  1151 , the environmental section  1152 , the site development engineering section  1153 , the structural engineering section  1154 , and geotechnical engineering section  1155 . The risks displayed are derived from key section  341  for all risks associated with the project. The generated risks are tasks for the viewer to perform. 
     Risk data section  320  is comprised of a set of question boxes  330  and a set of response boxes  335 , of which each response box has an associated set of responses  340 , and of which each response box is associated to one question box in the set of question boxes  330 . Each set of responses is prompted by a question in an associated question box. Each question residing in set of question boxes  330  is identified by a question identification number  350 . 
     In general, the question boxes and response boxes are specific to the engineering discipline addressed by each overlay. However, some questions and responses are common among the engineering disciplines. In this case, the questions boxes and the response boxes are positioned in the same relative position on each overlay so that the responses overlap. 
     In a preferred embodiment, responses  340  are mapped to the response boxes  335  as follows. As in Table 1, first response indicates  335   a  the discipline code (C, D, E, G, and S). Four responses  335   b ,  335   c ,  335   d , and  335   e  form a response list and indicate each of the “YES”, “NO”, “SKIP”, “DNK” risk identifiers from Table 2, respectively. A sixth response,  335   f , includes the completion status indicators: green check mark, yellow warning sign or red stop sign. 
     In another embodiment, each response box in set of response boxes  335  is pre-labeled with a letter indicating which discipline should use the respective response box to answer the question presented in the associated question box. The letter is lightly shaded, also known as “ghost script”, so as not to obscure responses in overlays below it. Alternatively, a single grid of letters corresponding to the set of response boxes  335 , may be placed on the bottom-most overlay. Preferably this grid would be highly reflective, so that the letters could be seen through all layers of overlays. 
     In another embodiment, responses  340  may be in the form of a written word or a symbol from a response library. For example, a question may ask if a job is started, is not started, is completed, or if the answer is not known? Proper responses might be: for a job that is started but not completed—an “S”; for a job that is completed a “C”; for a job that is not started “N”; and for unknown “?”. The response library may be communicated in an additional information section, one information section for each overlay or alternatively one information section for the set of overlays for the project, so that appropriate responses are available to the user. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the graphical presentation of risks includes yellow warning signs as uncompleted risk areas  1160  and green check marks as completed risk areas  1161 . If a risk area is overdue, a red stop sign is depicted. The overlaid data response section  1110  allows the viewer to view a graphical risk analysis totaling the number of check marks and the number of warning signs displayed. The larger number of unchecked risks shows a greater amount of risk to the completion of the project. Simply adding the number of completed boxes numerically and dividing by the total provides a statistical measure of risk evaluation. 
     If one uncompleted risk area requires the viewer to inquire about a specific discipline, then the user may use the overlay contact section  1111  to identify the appropriate person responsible for the risk. Each contact person and each risk are all visible from the overlay set without moving any of the overlays by the viewer. 
     Civil engineering discipline questions include questions relating to the civil engineering aspects of the project. Such questions may include: Have you participated in an early development, pre-construction meeting to evaluate potential civil site challenges? Has the civil engineer provided positive grades on each of the building lots? Has sufficient pad design been done to avoid excessive cut and fill beneath the building pads? Has the erosion control been addressed in the civil engineering report? Have retaining structures been identified for this site? Has the civil engineer provided control of surface and subsurface water migration, if the potential exists? Have the final grades and drainage been validated as specified in the civil engineering design document? 
     Site development engineering discipline questions include questions relating to the development of the project site. Such questions may include: Does the tree canopy extend over the building site pad? Have there been prior roads, fences, and trails that existed at this site? Does this site have expansive soils? Does this site have excessive elevation changes? Have there been cuts or fills on pads that exceed five feet? Are there proper positive drainage grades away from the homes? Are there variable soil types at this site? Is there known surface or subsurface water present at this site? Have the homeowners been informed about the importance of proper maintenance? 
     Environmental engineering discipline questions include questions relating to the environment surrounding the project site for the user to answer. Such questions may include: Have you participated in an early development, pre-construction meeting to evaluate potential environmental site challenges? Have aerial photographs and other applicable maps been reviewed to access present and prior land usage? Have there been any environmental issues that need to be communicated at this site? 
     Geotechnical engineering discipline questions include “ground related” questions. Such questions may include: Have you participated in an early development, pre-construction meeting to evaluate potential geotechnical site challenges? Has a geotechnical report that included all available sub surface information been provided to you? Have there been a sufficient number of spatial densities of soil boring to characterize the soils at the site? Were the grading operations complete prior to the geotechnical investigation? Has the placement of fill been tested for density and moisture content? Have any known or expected unfavorable site and sub surface conditions been identified at this site? Has the geotechnical report provided recommendations for foundation systems, and have associated risks been defined for each? Has the geotechnical report provided suitable design parameters for the foundation system? Have soil treatment options been identified and recommended in the geotechnical report? 
     Structural engineering discipline questions include questions relating to the structure or building. Such questions may include: Have you participated in an early development, pre-construction meeting to evaluate potential structural site challenges? Have you received a structural plan from the structural engineer? Have you had a pre-pour verification of conformance of the as-built conditions with the foundation design? Have you had a post-pour verification of conformance of the as-built conditions with the foundation design? 
     Table 1 shows an exemplary list of questions for use in set of question boxes  330 . The user identifies risk by matching the risk identification number in the risk key and correlating it with the “yes”, “no”, “skip”, or “dnk” (do not know) response supplied by a given discipline. 
     
       
         
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 ID 
                 Area 
                 Question 
                 YES 
                 NO 
                 SKIP 
                 DNK 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 37 
                 C 
                 Have you participated in an early development, pre- 
                 0 
                 102 
                 0 
                 103 
               
               
                   
                   
                 construction meeting to evaluate potential civil site 
               
               
                   
                   
                 challenges? 
               
               
                 19 
                 C 
                 Has the civil engineer provided positive grades on 
                 0 
                 104 
                 0 
                 105 
               
               
                   
                   
                 each of the building lots? 
               
               
                 20 
                 C 
                 Has sufficient pad design been done to avoid 
                 0 
                 104 
                 0 
                 107 
               
               
                   
                   
                 excessive cut and fill beneath the building pads? 
               
               
                 21 
                 C 
                 Has the erosion control been addressed in the civil 
                 0 
                 108 
                 0 
                 109 
               
               
                   
                   
                 engineering report? 
               
               
                 22 
                 C 
                 Has retaining structures been identified for this site? 
                 110 
                 0 
                 0 
                 111 
               
               
                 23 
                 C 
                 Has civil engineer provided control of surface and 
                 0 
                 112 
                 0 
                 113 
               
               
                   
                   
                 subsurface water migration, if the potential exists? 
               
               
                 24 
                 C 
                 Have the final grades and drainage been validated 
                   
                 114 
                 0 
                 115 
               
               
                   
                   
                 as specified in the civil engineering design 
               
               
                   
                   
                 document? 
               
               
                 29 
                 D 
                 Does the tree canopy extend over building site pad? 
                 122 
                 0 
                 0 
                 123 
               
               
                 30 
                 D 
                 Have there been prior roads, fences, and trails that 
                 124 
                 0 
                 0 
                 125 
               
               
                   
                   
                 existed at this site? 
               
               
                 31 
                 D 
                 Does this site have expansive soils? 
                 127 
                 0 
                 0 
                 128 
               
               
                 38 
                 D 
                 Does this site have excessive elevation changes? 
                 138 
                 0 
                 0 
                 139 
               
               
                 32 
                 D 
                 Have there been cuts or fills on pads that exceed 
                 129 
                 0 
                 0 
                 130 
               
               
                   
                   
                 five feet? 
               
               
                 33 
                 D 
                 Are there proper positive drainage grades away 
                 0 
                 131 
                 0 
                 132 
               
               
                   
                   
                 from the homes? 
               
               
                 34 
                 D 
                 Are there variable soil types at this site? 
                 133 
                 0 
                 0 
                 134 
               
               
                 35 
                 D 
                 Is there known surface or subsurface water present 
                 135 
                 0 
                 0 
                 136 
               
               
                   
                   
                 at this site? 
               
               
                 36 
                 D 
                 Have the homeowners been informed about the 
                 0 
                 137 
                 0 
                 137 
               
               
                   
                   
                 importance of proper maintenance? 
               
               
                 7 
                 E 
                 Have you participated in an early development, pre- 
                 0 
                 85 
                 0 
                 86 
               
               
                   
                   
                 construction meeting to evaluate potential 
               
               
                   
                   
                 environmental site challenges? 
               
               
                 8 
                 E 
                 Have aerial photographs and other applicable maps 
                 0 
                 87 
                 0 
                 87 
               
               
                   
                   
                 been reviewed to access present and prior land 
               
               
                   
                   
                 usage? 
               
               
                 10 
                 E 
                 Have there been any environmental issues that 
                 88 
                 0 
                 0 
                 89 
               
               
                   
                   
                 need to be communicated at this site? 
               
               
                 11 
                 G 
                 Have you participated in an early development, pre- 
                 0 
                 90 
                 0 
                 91 
               
               
                   
                   
                 construction meeting to evaluate potential 
               
               
                   
                   
                 geotechnical site challenges? 
               
               
                 12 
                 G 
                 Has a geotechnical report that included all available 
                 0 
                 92 
                 0 
                 92 
               
               
                   
                   
                 sub surface information been provided to you? 
               
               
                 13 
                 G 
                 Has there been a sufficient number of spatial 
                 0 
                 93 
                 0 
                 94 
               
               
                   
                   
                 densities of soil borings to characterize the soils at 
               
               
                   
                   
                 the site? 
               
               
                 14 
                 G 
                 Were the grading operations complete prior to the 
                 0 
                 95 
                 0 
                 95 
               
               
                   
                   
                 geotechnical investigation? 
               
               
                 15 
                 G 
                 Has the placement of fill been tested for density and 
                 0 
                 96 
                 0 
                 97 
               
               
                   
                   
                 moisture content? 
               
               
                 16 
                 G 
                 Has any known or expected unfavorable site and 
                 0 
                 98 
                 0 
                 98 
               
               
                   
                   
                 sub surface conditions been identified at this site? 
               
               
                 9 
                 G 
                 Has the geotechnical report provided 
                 0 
                 99 
                 0 
                 100 
               
               
                   
                   
                 recommendations for foundation systems, and have 
               
               
                   
                   
                 associated risks been defined for each? 
               
               
                 17 
                 G 
                 Has the geotechnical report provided suitable design 
                 0 
                 101 
                 0 
                 100 
               
               
                   
                   
                 parameters for the foundation system? 
               
               
                 18 
                 G 
                 Have soil treatment options been identified and 
                 0 
                 101 
                 0 
                 100 
               
               
                   
                   
                 recommended in the geotechnical report? 
               
               
                 25 
                 S 
                 Have you participated in an early development, pre- 
                 0 
                 116 
                 0 
                 117 
               
               
                   
                   
                 construction meeting to evaluate potential structural 
               
               
                   
                   
                 site challenges? 
               
               
                 26 
                 S 
                 Have you received structural plan from the 
                 0 
                 118 
                 0 
                 119 
               
               
                   
                   
                 structural engineer? 
               
               
                 27 
                 S 
                 Have you had a pre-pour verification of 
                 0 
                 120 
                 0 
                 120 
               
               
                   
                   
                 conformance of the as-built conditions with the 
               
               
                   
                   
                 foundation design? 
               
               
                 28 
                 S 
                 Have you had a post-pour verification of 
                 0 
                 121 
                 0 
                 121 
               
               
                   
                   
                 conformance of the as-built conditions with the 
               
               
                   
                   
                 foundation design? 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     The “ID” column in Table 1 displays the question identification number  350  of the question. The “area” column displays the discipline corresponding to the question. For example, in one preferred embodiment, the following disciplines are represented by discipline codes, C=Civil, D=Site Development, E=Environmental, G=Geotechnical, and S=Structural. The “question” column contains the text of the question that is presented to the user in question box  330 . The “yes”, “no”, “skip”, and “dnk” (do not know) columns display a set of risk ID numbers assigned to each response for each question. 
     Table 2 shows an exemplary list of risks which may be presented in the key section: 
     
       
         
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 2 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 ID 
                 Area 
                 Risk 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 102 
                 C 
                 Setup up a meeting with all interested parties on civil 
               
               
                   
                   
                 engineering site challenges. 
               
               
                 103 
                 C 
                 Meeting needed to reduce information gaps, communicate process, and 
               
               
                   
                   
                 reduce risk. 
               
               
                 104 
                 C 
                 Contact your land developer about positive grades on each of 
               
               
                   
                   
                 the building lots. 
               
               
                 105 
                 C 
                 Determine grade requirements for this site, BCI recommend 
               
               
                   
                   
                 2% grade eight feet from the perimeter of a structure. 
               
               
                 106 
                 C 
                 Contact land developer regarding higher risk involved with 
               
               
                   
                   
                 excessive cut and fill. 
               
               
                 107 
                 C 
                 Review cut and fill information. 
               
               
                 108 
                 C 
                 Contact civil engineer for an erosion control recommendation. 
               
               
                 109 
                 C 
                 Review civil engineer report for erosion control recommendations. 
               
               
                 110 
                 C 
                 Review detail design of structural engineer. 
               
               
                 111 
                 C 
                 Review civil engineer design plans for retaining structure. 
               
               
                 112 
                 C 
                 Contact Bryant Consultants Inc. on a plan of action on 
               
               
                   
                   
                 surface and subsurface water migration. 
               
               
                 113 
                 C 
                 Review risks associated with perched ground water. 
               
               
                 114 
                 C 
                 Contact civil engineer to validate the final grades and drainage. 
               
               
                 115 
                 C 
                 Contact the land developer to see if the final grades and 
               
               
                   
                   
                 drainage has been validated. 
               
               
                 122 
                 D 
                 Review remediation techniques for trees. 
               
               
                 123 
                 D 
                 Determine if the canopy of the trees at this site extend over building site pads. 
               
               
                 124 
                 D 
                 Consider possible soil treatments for the affected areas of historical usage. 
               
               
                 125 
                 D 
                 Contact Earth Systems Technologies to discuss course of 
               
               
                   
                   
                 action on historical land usage study. 
               
               
                 127 
                 D 
                 Consider soil treatment method(s) to help reduce the soil 
               
               
                   
                   
                 movement potential and the corresponding reduction in 
               
               
                   
                   
                 predicted movement. 
               
               
                 128 
                 D 
                 Review geotechnical report concerning soil types. 
               
               
                 129 
                 D 
                 Review compaction, treatments, and possible deep 
               
               
                   
                   
                 foundation requirements. 
               
               
                 130 
                 D 
                 Contact Earth Systems Technologies to discuss course of 
               
               
                   
                   
                 action on grade analysis study. 
               
               
                 131 
                 D 
                 Contact civil engineer on the correction of grades around the home. 
               
               
                 132 
                 D 
                 Determine proposed grades around the homes at this site. 
               
               
                 133 
                 D 
                 Contact geotechnical and site development engineers to 
               
               
                   
                   
                 identify variable soil risks. 
               
               
                 134 
                 D 
                 Contact Earth Systems Technologies to discuss course of 
               
               
                   
                   
                 action on variable soil analysis study. 
               
               
                 135 
                 D 
                 Contact geotechnical engineer to identify the lot(s) where 
               
               
                   
                   
                 known perched water conditions may exist. 
               
               
                 136 
                 D 
                 Contact Earth Systems Technologies to discuss course of 
               
               
                   
                   
                 action on identifying perched water conditions. 
               
               
                 137 
                 D 
                 Develop a process for individual homeowners to review the 
               
               
                   
                   
                 maintenance requirement of their new home. 
               
               
                 138 
                 D 
                 Consider the usage of designed retaining structures. Contact 
               
               
                   
                   
                 the civil, geotechnical and structural engineers. 
               
               
                 139 
                 D 
                 Excessive elevation changes may result in excessive cuts and 
               
               
                   
                   
                 fills, slope failures, and thus, should be strongly considered in 
               
               
                   
                   
                 the overall type of foundation system. 
               
               
                 85 
                 E 
                 Setup up a meeting with all interested parties on 
               
               
                   
                   
                 environmental site challenges. 
               
               
                 86 
                 E 
                 Meeting needed to reduce information gaps, communicate 
               
               
                   
                   
                 process, and reduce risk. 
               
               
                 87 
                 E 
                 Contact Earth Systems Technologies to discuss course of 
               
               
                   
                   
                 action on historical land usage study. 
               
               
                 88 
                 E 
                 Inform all interested parties about environmental issues 
               
               
                   
                   
                 related to this site. 
               
               
                 89 
                 E 
                 Contact Land Developer to ask for environmental impact study. 
               
               
                 90 
                 G 
                 Setup up a meeting with all interested parties on 
               
               
                   
                   
                 geotechnical site challenges. 
               
               
                 91 
                 G 
                 Meeting needed to reduce information gaps, communicate 
               
               
                   
                   
                 process, and reduce risk. 
               
               
                 92 
                 G 
                 Contact your land developer about getting a copy of the 
               
               
                   
                   
                 geotechnical report. 
               
               
                 93 
                 G 
                 Additional geotechnical and or geophysical data is needed at 
               
               
                   
                   
                 the site. Contact the geotechnical engineer. 
               
               
                 94 
                 G 
                 Refer to recommended guidelines and industry standards for 
               
               
                   
                   
                 spatial boring density for subdivisions and individual lots. 
               
               
                 95 
                 G 
                 Contact geotechnical engineer to see if finished pad 
               
               
                   
                   
                 elevations alter the original geotechnical recommendations. 
               
               
                 96 
                 G 
                 Contact your land developer, geotechnical, and structural 
               
               
                   
                   
                 engineers about testing fill materials. 
               
               
                 97 
                 G 
                 Improperly compacted fill can result in excessive settlement 
               
               
                   
                   
                 which can cause differential foundation movement primarily in 
               
               
                   
                   
                 slab on grade foundations. Fill soils placed in a dry stated can 
               
               
                   
                   
                 result in excessive upward differential movements. 
               
               
                 98 
                 G 
                 Contact Earth Systems Technologies for a plan of action to 
               
               
                   
                   
                 identify unfavorable site and sub surface conditions. 
               
               
                 99 
                 G 
                 Contact geotechnical engineer for recommended foundation systems. 
               
               
                 100 
                 G 
                 Review Pros and Cons of foundation design. 
               
               
                 101 
                 G 
                 Contact the geotechnical engineer for design parameters. 
               
               
                 116 
                 S 
                 Setup up a meeting with all interested parties on structural 
               
               
                   
                   
                 site challenges. 
               
               
                 117 
                 S 
                 Meeting needed to reduce information gaps, communicate 
               
               
                   
                   
                 process, and reduce risk. 
               
               
                 118 
                 S 
                 Contact the structural engineer for a copy of their plan. 
               
               
                 119 
                 S 
                 Contact the land developer regarding structural engineer plan. 
               
               
                 120 
                 S 
                 Contact structural engineer to arrange an appointment to 
               
               
                   
                   
                 inspect as-built prior to pour. 
               
               
                 121 
                 S 
                 Contact structural engineer to arrange an appointment to 
               
               
                   
                   
                 inspect as-built after the pour. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     The ID column in Table 2 displays the risk ID number of an associated question. The area column displays the discipline to which the question corresponds. In this example, the following codes and disciplines are used, C=Civil, D=Site Development, E=Environmental, G=Geotechnical, and S=Structural. 
     Graphics section  315  provides visual cues and data relating to the building site. Examples of data relating to the building site include building layouts, aerial maps, plat maps, fill maps and electrical resistivity maps. The overlays have a defined set of dimensions “A” and “B” indicating a scale, so that each graphics section corresponds to the same scale on each overlay and appears the same place on each overlay. Furthermore, each graphics section corresponds to the same physical longitudinal and latitudinal coordinates so that the same geographic location is depicted. In this example, the coordinates are shown defining a rectangle (x 1 , y 1 ), (x 2 , y 1 ), (x 2 , y 2 ), (x 1 , y 2 ). 
     Referring then to  FIG. 3B , overlay  125  is described as a second example. In general, overlay  125  also includes graphics section  315 , risk data section  320 , contact section  336 , identification section  325  and key section  341 . However, it is noted that question ID  350   a , question boxes  330   a , and responses  335   a  are shifted in position by the vertical distance “C” and horizontal distance “D”. Similarly, status active  330   a , contact information box  339   a  and status inactive box  337   a  are shifted vertically by a distance “E”. 
     Referring to  FIG. 11 , when each of overlays  105 ,  110 ,  115 ,  120  and  125  are assembled, the transparent nature of the overlays and the relative positions of the question boxes, response boxes and contact information boxes allow a viewer to see each set for each discipline at the same time. As shown on  FIG. 11 , overlay set  150  includes a set of question boxes and response boxes for civil engineering  1151 , environmental engineering  1152 , site development engineering  1153 , structural engineering  1154 , and geotechnical engineering  1155 . Similarly, overlay set  150  includes contact information for civil engineering  1115 , environmental engineering  1116 , site development engineering  1117 , structural engineering  1118 , and geotechnical engineering  1119 . Furthermore, as can be seen in overlaid graphics section  1105 , all graphical cues are visible in varying degrees at the same time from each of overlays  105 ,  110 ,  115 ,  120  and  125 . 
       FIG. 4  describes the system in use. In use, light ray  408  passes through each of the overlays individual overlays being partially reflected from images on individual sheets, so that a viewer at vantage point  420  observes a composite image of the combined overlays. 
       FIG. 5  shows an overlay which includes a graphical representation of the physical features of a worksite associated with the structural engineering discipline. The physical features may be located and identified by methods such as aerial photographs. Aerial map  500  comprises graphical representations of trees  540  and  550 , ponds  510 ,  515  and  520 , existing structures  525 ,  530 , road  505  and fence line  521 . The graphical representations may be in the form of line drawings coded with various patters related to height, density or material and may also include aerial photographic images. 
       FIG. 6  shows an overlay that includes a plat map graphics section of the worksite associated with the site development engineering discipline. Plat map  600  describes a set of individual plats  620  of a proposed residential community, as well as key features such as existing structures  525 ,  530  and road  505 . 
       FIG. 7A  shows a fill map  700  including graphics section for a fill overlay of the worksite associated with the civil engineering discipline. In relation to construction activity on the worksite, fill areas  705 ,  710 ,  715  required fill material to be added to level ponds  510 ,  515 , and  520 , respectfully; cut areas  720  and  730  require removal of material to ensure a proper grade on which to build. 
     Electrical soil resistivity measurements may be made to determine the soil moisture content and underground water formations of a given area. Soil resistivity measurements play an important role in assessing the suitability of constructing a building. 
       FIG. 9  shows a cross-section of two intersecting vertical plots of resistivity data. Resistivity data is collected from electrical test stakes  950  placed in the ground on a grid labeled V-Z and A-E in a first horizontal direction and labeled −5 to 0 and 0 to +5 in a second horizontal direction. Current is injected at various points on and near the stakes during the data collection. Various methods of obtaining vertical plots of resistivity data exist in the art. One example is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,295,512, entitled “Subsurface Mapping” to Bryant, incorporated herein by reference. The collected resistivity data can be organized to show horizontal resistivity maps indicating equipotential contours at specific depths  905 ,  910 ,  920 ,  930  and  940 . The resistivity data indicates equipotential contours indicative of area of high and low resistivity. It is known in the art that low resistivity often indicates ground water and hazardous conditions. 
       FIG. 10A  shows a horizontal resistivity map graphical section for a resistivity overlay for lot  800  for the geotechnical engineering discipline.  FIG. 10B  shows the horizontal resistivity map  1000  when overlaid with aerial map  500 , plat map  600  and fill map  700  for lot  800 . Horizontal resistivity map  1000  shows a cross section of resistivity data chosen at one specific depth selected from depths  905 ,  910 ,  920 ,  930  or  940 . Formations  1005 ,  1010 ,  1015  and  1020  represent various geological formations and moisture contents for a specific depth. Horizontal resistivity map  1000  includes a set of grid lines  1025  labeled horizontally from −5 to 0 and 0 to +5 and vertically from V to Z and A to E, allowing for determinations of specific areas that may require conditioning prior to building. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 10C , a structural engineering map is shown. The structural engineering map includes plan drawings for all existing structures relevant to the site. In this example, structural engineering map  1900  includes structure  525 , concrete feature  526 , and road  505 . Other structural features such as foundations, retaining walls and road grading can be included as well as other structural features. The structural engineering map is associated with overlay  125  for the structural engineering discipline. 
     Referring again to  FIG. 11 , the use of the preferred embodiment will be described. Set of overlays  150  are viewed simultaneously as represented in the overlaid graphics section  1105  and overlaid data response section  1110 . The overlays provide a tool for ready analysis of various types of data along with information provided visually in overlaid graphics section  1105  and in response to the progress shown based on questions and responses in the overlaid data response section  1110 . Overlaid key section  1112  provides ready access to the key code, risks and questions associated with the risks. 
     As a project begins, each of the overlays is prepared by a project manager or an engineering professional in charge of a specific engineering discipline. The various maps are located and scaled. Also, photographic information for the geographic area covered by the coordinates is abstracted into a set of line drawings. Cross hatching or colors may be added to various features according to a legend (not shown). Revision numbers are recorded. The set of overlays is then assembled using the binder and then distributed to project management and engineering staff. The set of overlays viewed simultaneously form dark and/or significantly colored areas in the graphics section that indicate certain geographic risk areas may be present. The geographic areas corresponding to the risk areas may need special attention and project management to mitigate project risk. Similarly, the set of overlays combine to form light or dark response boxes in overlaid data response section  1110  that serve to alert the viewer that certain contractors working on the project have or have not addressed questions or tasks that serve to mitigate the project risk. Each viewer of the completed set of overlays, when indexed, can readily observe the number of red blocks, yellow blocks and green blocks contained in the response boxes in the risk data section. These numbers, when divided by the total provide a quick statistical method of analyzing the project “risk”. 
       FIG. 7B  shows the graphics section of an overlay combination of fill map  700 , aerial map  500  and plat map  600 . Aerial map  500  and plat map  600  indicate features such as ponds  510 ,  515  and  520 , individual plats  620  within building site  610 . Additional features are added by fill map  700  such as fill areas  705 ,  710 ,  715  and cut areas  720 ,  730 . 
     When viewed in combination, the aerial, plat and fill overlays identify several areas of interest where graphical information overlap to aid in decision making. One such area of interest is building site  610 , which includes pond  520 , fill area  715  and cut area  730 . 
       FIG. 8  shows an enlarged view of building site  610 . Lot  800  is an area of interest for electrical resistivity measurement due to fill area  715  and cut area  730  required to create a proper grade for construction. There is potential for moist soil conditions presented by ponds  510 ,  515 ,  520  filled by fill areas  705 ,  710 ,  715  which poses a risk to any potential building built on lot  800 . 
       FIG. 13  is a flowchart of a method for using the transparency system to assess project risk for a geotechnical construction project. The method utilizes the apparatus of  FIGS. 1-4 : a geotechnical overlay  207  comprising a graphics section, key section, responses section, contacts section, and identification section. There is an identified set of risks  205  and a response list  206  from which responses to a set of questions contained in the key section may be selected. 
     The method begins in step  210  of providing a first set of civil discipline questions for a first geotechnical overlay. The first set of civil discipline questions are provided in the key section and are preferably chosen from those questions shown in Table 1 associated to the geotechnical area of interest for the first geotechnical overlay. Each question in the first set of questions has a question id number. The first set of civil discipline questions is a associated to a set of project risks in step  212 , each project risk being labeled with a risk id number. A response list is associated to each question and to each project risk in step  214 , wherein a set of responses for “Yes”, “No”, “Skip”, “DNK” are provided as risk id numbers as shown in Table 1. A preferred response list is shown in Table 2. In step  216 , a question from the first set of civil discipline questions is then associated to a response box in the first geotechnical overlay. In step  217 , a contact responsible for providing the answers to the questions is chosen and recorded in the contacts area of the first geotechnical overlay. 
     When some action has occurred on the project requiring a response in the first geotechnical overlay, step  218  is performed, where a user chooses and records a response from the response list associated to a response box. Then in step  220 , a completion status indicator is filled out in the response box, such as a green check mark, a yellow warning sign or a red stop sign, wherein the green check mark indicates a completed item and the yellow warning sign and red stop sign indicate uncompleted items. The red stop sign may indicate that the associated risk needs immediate attention. The method continues in step  222  by recording a status in the contact box as “status inactive” or “status active”. 
     The method is repeated in step  224  for all questions in the first geotechnical overlay and then for all additional geotechnical overlays, iterating over all additional sets of discipline questions in each additional geotechnical overlay. In the preferred embodiment there are five geotechnical overlays, one each for civil discipline code, site development code, environmental code, geotechnical code and structural code. Alternate embodiments may include other construction related codes or a subset of the five preferred geotechnical overlays. 
     Step  230  completes the assessment of project risk by placing the overlays in a binder or on a light table and examining the completion status indicators in the response section. At a glance, a project manager can ascertain which questions are impeding the project and presenting risk to the project. The project manager can also ascertain which contacts are responsible for those questions and communicate as needed. 
       FIG. 12  shows an alternate embodiment of the invention. A light table  1200  has a retaining pin  141  fastened perpendicular to its top surface for folding a transparency system  1205 . Transparency system  1205  comprises a set of overlays, each overlay having a through hole  1207  to allow for registration on retaining pin  141 .  FIG. 12  describes three layers of overlays; however any number of overlays is possible. Individual overlays are transparent with translucent objects printed on them. A first set of translucent objects  1210  are printed on a first overlay, a second set of translucent objects  1220  are printed on a second overlay and a third set of translucent objects  1230  are printed on a third overlay. The translucent objects may be graphics, written data and other non-transparent markings residing on the overlay. Light table  1200  preferably includes a set of lamps for illuminating the overlays from below while the overlays are typically viewed from the top. Clamps may optionally be included for holding the overlays stationary, for example clamp  1203 , by providing threaded holes at clamp positions  1208 . 
     In use, light table  1200  passes light through each individual overlay of transparency system  1205  allowing the graphics, written data and markings to be seen through multiple overlays. However, as markings appear in coincident locations on multiple overlays, the areas having coincident markings appear darker in proportion to the number of overlays. This darkening effect is shown as first-second overlay interference  1240  and first-second-third overlay interference  1245 . 
     The effect of multiple layers of markings can be used to produce colors indicating areas requiring additional attention. Each overlay of transparency system  1205  may have data in only a single translucent color. This allows for combining multiple colors to provide warning signs of specific events. For example, if the translucent objects  1210  on the first overlay were yellow and the translucent objects  1220  on the second overlay were blue: when viewed as a combination, the first-second overlay interference  1240  would appear as green. 
     The use of translucent overlays of different color can serve to pass important information. For example, if the aerial overlay of  FIG. 5  is placed directly on light table  1205  and the fill overlay of  FIG. 7A  is placed on top of the aerial overlay, then first-second overlay interference  1240  would be where ponds  510 ,  515 ,  520  intersect with fill areas  705 ,  710 ,  715 . If the ponds are printed as translucent yellow objects on  FIG. 5  and the fill areas are printed as translucent blue objects on  FIG. 7A , then first-second overlay interference  1240  would show as green, providing a visual cue to areas requiring electrical resistivity mapping, the results of which may be overlaid as an aid to further identify the condition of the soil near the worksite prior to building. 
     Although the invention has been described with reference to one or more preferred embodiments, this description is not to be construed in a limiting sense. There is modification of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternative embodiments of this invention, which will be apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art, and the invention shall be viewed as limited only by reference to the following claims.