Theme: 02. Assessing Remediation Effectiveness

Topic Area: 02b. Remedy Implementation: Assessing Performance and Costs

Formatted Title:

Power BI as an Innovative Analytical and Visualization Tool in a Short-Term Remediation Project

Background/Objectives:

At a former industrial plant in Belgium, soil and groundwater impacted with cumene and other volatile compounds had to be remediated. The remedial strategy consisted of excavating a significant amount of contaminated soil (close to 30,000 m³), and application of substrates at the bottom of the excavation pit to enhance biodegradation processes and reduce the potential for re-contamination of shallow backfill material. The depth of the excavation (up to 7 meters below ground level [m-bgl]) required lowering the groundwater table using a groundwater extraction and treatment system, and an extensive monitoring program needed to be implemented to allow the close follow-up of the installation. In addition, given that the main compounds of concern were volatiles, a specific air monitoring program was developed to track real-time potential impacts to Site workers and neighbors during the remediation works.

In order to follow up on the development of the excavation works including environmental and safety monitoring activities, a Power BI dashboard was developed prior to the start of the remedial works. The main objective of the dashboard was to expose and analyse data collected on the field and sustainability metrics through Key Performance Indicators (KPI), tables, maps, and graphs, and to facilitate the communication with the different project stakeholders involved.

Approach/Activities:

The Power BI dashboard was composed of multiple tabs to create personalized and interactive visuals through a shared online interface for all the project elements being tracked. The dashboard was built with four main sections – Excavation, Groundwater Treatment Installation, Ambient Air Monitoring and Backfilling Activities – and had a set of applications and connectors functioning together to transform divers’ data sources into visual, immersive, and interactive information.

Each section had interactive filters, unique visuals and built-in indicators allowing the project team to evaluate continuously the advancement of the project. Data were collected daily through online collect forms synced to the EQuIS database and shared networked documents, resulting in a daily refreshed dashboard that fitted to the best extent the reality of the field conditions.

Results/Lessons Learned:

As the remediation project ended, it became clear that the innovative dashboard was an essential tool in the communication, assessment, and transparency of the project towards relevant stakeholders. Having a digitalized approach facilitated the access to information and provided the status of the excavation and monitoring works continuously to the client, safety coordinator, technical experts, and the project team. To this day, the dashboard has evolved into a necessary support tool for the reporting tasks, as key data are present in the dashboard and related database as well as for assessing results of post-excavation monitoring rounds.

Looking forward in time, improvements to the data storage and inputs can be introduced through less human intervention, automation and the use of the EQuIS database for broader nature of information.

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James Vondracek