Transportation Curriculum Coordination Council

The Inspector's Role

Well, we have reached the final step of the process, Pile Driving. This is where you, the Inspector, have significant involvement; although your initial involvement begins in the Test Pile Program. The Inspector's role during the Test Pile program only differs in that the Driving Criteria Letter and the Pile Lengths Letter have not been issued. In addition, the PDA Engineer, on-site, with their instrumentation, directs the driving of the test piles as to when to stop, etc.

The purpose for a Pile Driving Inspector is to serve as a representative of the State of Florida to assure that the State gets what it is paying for. However, it is important that the Inspector remembers - the jobsite belongs to the Contractor. The Contractor is ultimately responsible. The Inspector is there to monitor the Contractor's compliance with the project plans and specifications.

It is the Inspector's responsibility to inform the Contractor, in a timely manner, when something is out of compliance. It is the Contractor's responsibility to fix it. Your functions are:

1. To know the specifications and the job Plans and Specifications.
2. To record and document activity relative to the Plans and Specifications.
3. Raise a red flag soon enough to make a difference if work is performed outside of those specifications.
4. Call the Project Engineer if judgment is needed to interpret a Specification.

Inspector Attitude - The Inspector should concern himself with making accurate, unbiased observations of all-important pile driving events. These observations are very important should driving proceed other than anticipated. If this is the case, the Inspector should not assume faulty operation on the part of the Contractor; the cause may be unanticipated site conditions, errors or omissions on the part of the designer, or equipment malfunction.

The pile driving record kept by the Inspector is the only form of tangible data to make an engineering judgment and should be a diary of the day's activities. When questions or problems arise, accurate and complete written observations made by the Inspector, often can supply the answers.

In addition to making data observations, the Inspector must approve completion of various phases of construction and make reports on Pay Items. The Inspector should always be aware that prompt performance of these duties is required so that follow-up work can be performed expeditiously.

Inspector Authority-You have the responsibility to tell the Contractor when the pile meets driving criteria -- i.e., blow count criteria, minimum penetration, and practical refusal. You may also ask the Contractor to stop driving operations when you suspect the Contractor's equipment or operations are outside of Specifications or unsafe.

The Contractor has two choices -- stop or continue. If the Contractor chooses to continue driving, they accept full responsibility for this action and you must document their decision by recording time, response and consequence, if any.

Inspector must immediately advise the Contractor when:

• pile is accepted
• unsafe condition
• out of tolerance
• pile is damaged
• cushions are worn
• splice is wrong
• hammer malfunction

Then: Document

Your Role

Illustrated below are the various phases or steps in which you are involved and play a role. From familiarizing yourself with the project plans to recording information for pay quantities, you have an important role to fulfill.

The following chapters have detailed information about each phase.