Data Analysis and Reporting Spreadsheets
for the Civil Engineering Soils Laboratory!
Does your Civil Engineering Materials Lab or Geotechnical Laboratory produce Test Results for:
- Road Indicator or Foundation Indicator:
- Sieve Analysis to TMH1 Method A1 (a) or SANS 3001-GR1 - Chart of Percent Passing Sieve Size,
and Grading Modulus
- Mechanical analysis to TMH1 Method A5 or SANS 3001-PR5 - Percent of Soil
Mortar
- Hydrometer Analysis (ASTM - D422) or SANS 3001-GR3 - Percent Passing Sieve Size
- Particle Size graph (logarithmic-linear S-curve chart)
- Atterberg Limits to TMH1 Methods A2, A3, A4 or SANS
3001-GR10 Forms S2 to S4 (Liquid Limit, Plasticity Index, Linear Shrinkage)
- Maximum Dry Density (MOD) and Optimum Moisture Content (OMC) - TMH1 Method A7
or SANS 3001-GR30
- California Bearing Ratio (CBR) - TMH1 Method A8 or SANS
3001-GR40
- AASHTO Group Index
- Unified Classification
- TRH14 Material Type Classification (1985),
- COLTO Type of Material (1998), and
- Potential Expansiveness chart (Van der Merwe diagram)?
If So – We Can Help!
In 2007 we wrote a suite of five Excel
Spreadsheets to
- do the calculations for
the tests listed above
and
combine the results for up to five samples at a time
with a choice of output for
Road Indicator, Foundation Indicator, or Extended Foundation
Indicator (with MOD and CBR)
into a pleasing easy-to-read Excel spreadsheet that
you can print, fax, or e-mail (directly or as
a PDF file),
together with the necessary Grading Curve Graphs and
Potential Expansiveness Chart (Van der Merwe
diagram).
Geosure, who commissioned the work, have given us permission to
license the suite to other Soils Laboratories. The
spreadsheets are secured so that changes can not be made off site
(or even on unlicensed PCs!).
The calculations have been verified extensively by Geosure and
us, though we always encourage you as good engineers to take a
critical look at the results and make sure that you agree with them.
The suite can be licensed to you on a monthly or annual basis.
Instead of having to lay out a large sum up front to develop your
own reporting spreadsheets (or hacking it, getting formulas wrong, and improving gradually
over time), you can have a ready-made professional presentation
right now, and pay for it as part of your regular tax-deductible overheads.
You can
insert your own scanned signatures (password-protected).
This lets you print to fax or
electronic format (e.g. PDF) without having to print to paper and
sign that first. There is also a "stamp"
saying "DRAFT" for results not yet approved.
As
reflected above, the original TMH1 Method spreadsheets have been updated
for SANS 3001.
We can personalise output with your company details and logo for
professional presentation to clients.
Best of all, we'll give you a 15 days free trial so that you can satisfy yourself that it suits
your needs (for one PC, not personalised).
If it doesn't quite fit your needs, we are happy to make the changes you desire (at a
price, of course).
Contact Us Now!
Send us an
e-mail for the Soils Lab Spreadsheets:
- containing all
your company details (physical and postal address, telephone, fax
and e-mail, contact person's name,
and VAT number),
- telling us a bit about your
Lab,
- giving us an idea of how many tests you do in a given period,
- and
asking for the spreadsheets.
We will send you the suite of
Excel templates as a zipped file and the User Guide as a Word
document.
Installation works as follows:
Unzip the file to a suitable
location, for example
the Excel Templates folder on your test PC. Use
Excel 2010 or later (with Macro Security set to Medium) to open any
of the files, and
Enable Macros. The file will open on a sheet of instructions,
summarised here: You need to apply for a license:
The first time you open a file in this system on any PC, it will ask
you for a Key code. Fill in
your Company Name, Contact Person, e-mail address, Telephone and
Fax. Save the Template. Click the Register by e-mail button and send the e-mail that it creates:
(If that PC does not have e-mail, click the Make Registration File button to save a file to e-mail from another PC,
or print or fax).
We at Software Africa will e-mail you a Key code for that PC.
The test license is valid for 15 days.
Select the
key code
in the e-mail and copy it to the Windows Clipboard. Open the
Excel template again.
When requested, paste the key code into the input box.
This will license all spreadsheets for that PC.
If you decide that the system is for you (and if not, we'd like to
know why not!) then we will license as many PCs as you require for
whatever period you'd like to pay for in advance. Please
e-mail us now for the spreadsheets, or to get more details.
Prerequisites
To
run the Soils Lab Spreadsheets you must have
Microsoft Excel 2010 or later with macros enabled (Macro Security
set to Medium), running on Microsoft Windows 8 or 10. The
Spreadsheets also run on earlier versions, with somewhat different
security instructions.
To find out
which Windows version you have, click
Start > Run, type WinVer and press Enter.
If you have Windows XP but not Service Pack 2 or 3, we recommend that you
visit
Microsoft Update to download and install the latest
updates for your system.
To discover your version of Excel, run it and click Help >
About Microsoft Excel. If you aren't running
Microsoft Update to keep your
Office programs updated with the latest patches, we suggest
you do so.
We have not tested the spreadsheets on Libre
Office or Open Office, but would be
happy to do so if there is a demand. Excel VBA macros would
have to be supported. They do not run on Google Sheets.
Pricing
The set of five Templates is available on monthly or annual
rental, priced either per PC or per Laboratory (one physical site with one name
and e-mail address). Prices in South African Rand for the
whole suite:
- Per PC:
R600/month, or R6,000/year (a 17% discount),
minimum 3 months.
- Per Lab (unlimited
PCs): R2,400/month or R24,000/year.
Conditions: All prices are based on payment in advance,
free of bank and exchange charges.
VAT
is not included (14% in South Africa, zero elsewhere). All
prices not yet billed are subject to change without prior notice.
Prices in other currencies on application. Included:
Customisation with your company logo and contact details.
Updating the Spreadsheets
From time to time the Templates are revised to add
enhancements and fix any bugs that are found.
When a new version is released, it will be sent to you as a zipped file
just as it was originally. Unzip over the old version on each
PC.
When you open the new files, they will pick up the
registration details from your PC and run without needing to be
licensed again.
Do You Need Something More Sophisticated?
Spreadsheets are quick and versatile, and produce attractive
results. However, managing them can be painful. Because
they are all separate entities, it is difficult to make a summary of
many results. The spreadsheets don't have a formal approval
process, and they don't tie in to any billing system. They
only cater for the tests listed, and do not (for example) do UCS
(Unconfined Compressive Strength) or Asphalt tests. If these are concerns for
you, rather consider Labbie, the
Database for Soils tests.
If your Lab crushes Concrete Test Cubes
Please take a look at Labbie, the
Data Retriever for testing Concrete Cubes.
Press Ctrl+F to search this page for keywords.
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