Performance

FGE's performance record is best illustrated by the long and continuous relationship with our clients. FGE has been providing geotechnical services under agreement with Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., and it's subsidiaries on approximately 300 projects for the last 34 years. Two of the largest developers in Hawaii, The Gentry Companies and Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii, Inc. have used FGE for over 30 years. Within the last 15 years, FGE has worked extensively for Costco, D.R. Horton, and Grove Farm Properties. Our performance record also includes five Design/Build projects for Dick Pacific Construction.

FGE has worked on over 200 projects with the Department of Accounting and General Services of the State of Hawaii over the past 40 years, and on major projects for the State of Hawaii Department of Transportation, the City and County of Honolulu and the Counties of Maui and Hawaii.

These clients’ requirements for quality of work, cost control and meeting schedules are very demanding due to their financing costs and marketing requirements. This long association is the best evidence of our ability to perform the work in terms of cost control, quality of work and in compliance with the project schedule.

FGE received Engineering Excellence Awards in 1993 and 1995 for geotechnical methods and solutions exhibiting engineering ingenuity and innovation, resulting in significant savings in project costs to our clients.

Quality Assurance - FGE is a member of Geoprofessional Business Association (GBA), and has incorporated their quality control practices into our operation. GBA stress a high level of quality control as the main goal of providing error-free projects, thereby minimizing liability exposure.
The laboratory testing methods are checked twice each year with samples from the AASHTO Re: Source Services. Soil samples are tested in our lab and the results compared with those from over 400 labs across the nation.

The in-house laboratory testing services and the availability of drilling services through a long relationship with Hawaii Test Borings, Inc. results in excellent control of project scheduling. Specialized training and increased quality assurance is provided without compromising project deadlines.

The major quality assurance provision is the review of all reports by the Principal Engineers before they are issued. This review takes advantage of working years of experience to assure that the recommendations are not only correct, but also that they are reasonable and economical solutions.

Past Projects - The geotechnical engineering services, which we provide are not significantly influenced by the type of structure being investigated or the location of the project. Most projects require that the subsurface and groundwater conditions be established. These conditions must be determined through subsurface exploration and geotechnical testing to determine the physical properties of the subsurface soils.

FGE has undertaken over 3000 projects for more than 100 public and private clients including local, state and federal government, architectural and engineering firms, private developers and commercial or industrial clients in Hawaii and the Pacific Basin. The geotechnical information obtained through the investigations, studies, and observation services over the past 44 years has resulted in a vast library of knowledge regarding the geotechnical conditions throughout the State of Hawaii. The available information is extremely valuable in anticipating a site’s subsurface conditions, its ramifications on the project design, developing the most cost-effective scope of the geotechnical services and solutions, and budgeting realistic design and construction costs in the initial stages of the project.

FGE's projects vary from residential and commercial development and utility line installations to major hotels, interstate highway interchanges, and bridges. A brief listing of FGE’s Design/Build and highway/bridge projects, and other typical projects for which FGE provided geotechnical investigations, foundation design, and/or construction observation is included below.

Design/Build Projects   

• N62742-98-C-1353, FY00 MCON P-112 Design/Build Pacific Command Headquarters, Camp H.M. Smith, Oahu, Hawaii (Construction Cost $74,000,000) – Developed geotechnical recommendations of pile-supported, 7-story building underlain by residual soils. Vertical and horizontal pile load tests were performed on the driven piles. Soil anchor tiebacks were used to provide lateral support for 2-story basement retaining wall. 
• N62742-00-C-1337, Design/Build Navy Lodge at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii (Construction Cost $18,900,000) – Developed geotechnical recommendations of a 3-story building residing on a fill crust over loose/compressible alluvial and coral deposits. Helical piers were designed for the new elevator shaft in the existing Building 78. Seismic analysis of the existing Building 78 was also performed. 
• N62742-99-C-1330, FY01 MCON P-593 Design Build Regional Bachelor Enlisted Quarters, Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii (Construction Cost $23,000,000) – Developed geotechnical recommendations of a 4- to 5-story building with a retaining wall handling surcharge loads from the building.  

Highway/Bridge Projects  

• Sand Island Bridge and Parkway – Design and construction of major parkway and the foundation system for fixed-span bridge across 45-foot deep Kalihi Channel in accordance with HDOT and FHWA requirements. Difficult geotechnical data gathering due to prior excavation of the channel to service Honolulu Harbor and the depth of water at the pier locations.  
• Interstate Route H-3 Windward Viaduct Haiku Valley, Oahu, Hawaii, F.A.I.P. No. 1-H3-1(36) – Design and construction of foundations and earthwork for elevated interstate highway on 1H:1V slopes using large drilled pier foundations, 80-foot high tie-back walls and geotextile stabilizing fabrics in accordance with AASHTO, HDOT, and FHWA requirements.  
• Interstate Route H-3 Haiku Valley Bridges, Haiku Valley, Oahu, Hawaii, F.A.I.P. No. 1-H3-1(52) – Developed geotechnical recommendations for pile-supported piers and abutments of twin bridges over the steep slopes of Haiku Valley.  
• Interstate Route H-3 North Halawa Valley Highway, Unit 1, Phase 1B, Halawa Valley, Oahu, Hawaii, F.A.I.P. No. 1-H3-1(68) – Provided design services for the value engineering of the drilled shaft foundations for twin viaducts in Halawa Valley. Completed extensive stability evaluations for deep construction excavations for pile caps and access roads.
• Interstate Route H-3 Halawa Portal Building Finish, Unit 111, Halawa Valley, Oahu, Hawaii, F.A.I.P. No. 1-H3-1(75) – Performed geotechnical design of 30-foot high soil nail walls to support basement excavation adjacent to existing portal structures. Performed geotechnical design of 60-foot high MSER wall constructed on steep slopes. 
• Interstate Route H-3, North Halawa Valley Highway, Unit 1, Halawa Valley, Oahu, Hawaii, F.A.I.P. No. 1-H3-1(59) – Provided design services for the value engineering of the drilled shaft foundations and 30-foot high road embankment. 
• Interstate Route H-2, Mililani Interchange, Southbound and Northbound On/Off Ramps, Mililani, Oahu, Hawaii – Design, consultation and construction monitoring for new on- and off-ramps at Mililani over a previously filled gulch and compressible soils. Work included HDOT pavement design, obtain HDOT approval to use and subsequently design and develop specifications for segmental block mechanically stabilized earth retaining walls (MSERW) using geotextile reinforcing in accordance with AASHTO, HDOT, and FHWA requirements. 
• ISTEA 1-97 Rehabilitation of Streets, FY98 Unit 7, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii – Performed pavement investigation to determine the re-surfacing and reconstruction requirements for over 9 miles of roadway for the Federal Aid Resurfacing project for the City and County of Honolulu. 
• Reconstruction of Streets, Various Locations, Islands of Maui, Lanai, Molokai, and Hawaii – Performed pavement investigation to determine the re-surfacing and reconstruction requirements for over 34 miles of roadway for the Federal Aid Resurfacing project for the County of Maui. 
• Mamalahoa Highway Improvements, Waimea, Hawaii, Hawaii, F.A.P. No. STP-0190(12) – Performed pavement investigation for State Highway widening project in an area underlain by weak volcanic ash. 

Other Typical Projects  

• Waiau-CIP/Waiau-Makalapa 138 kV Transmission Lines – Design and construction of the support towers for over 25 miles of high voltage lines throughout Campbell Industrial Park (CIP), and extending from CIP to the Ewa Nui Substation, including the Kalaeloa and AES Substations, and from the Waiau Power Plant to the Makalapa Substation. Alignment crosses 6 different geologic formations, including highly compressible soil. Innovative foundation system resulted in $1.2 million savings in project cost and FGE, Ltd.’s 1995 Engineering Excellence Award. 
• Automated People Mover – Foundation design using different foundation systems in variable and erratic subsurface conditions for nearly mile-long elevated railway system over aircraft hardstands at the Honolulu International Airport to move passengers across the airport. 
• Honolulu Corporation Yard – Development of nearly 30 acres for various service departments and equipment of the City and County of Honolulu at Sand Island. Included the geotechnical design, field testing, and consultation for the mass grading and foundations for 9 buildings and shops for the Department of Wastewater Management, Division of Engineering, Etc. on a site covered with un compacted fills and debris over highly compressible soils.  
• Gentry-Waipio 600-Acre Development – 600-acre development consisting of single-family residential subdivisions, and multi-family cluster developments, a light industrial commercial subdivision, shopping centers, an elementary school, streets and their related site improvements. 
• Iolani School Settlements – Groundwater investigation to determine underlying hydrology beneath the site and its relationship with the geology and construction in Waikiki to determine the cause(s) of severe settlement at the school. 
• Kainehe Street, Hamakua Drive, and Keolu Drive Sewer Rehabilitation – Evaluation of existing 7,500 feet of 18- to 36-inch diameter RCP sewer line through deep deposits of soft, highly compressible soils and depressed water conditions in the Kailua Road and Enchanted Lakes portions of Kailua. Analysis included evaluating various trench less technologies such as micro tunneling, slip-lining, pipe bursting, jet grouting and horizontal drilling. 
• Waikalua Force Main – Geotechnical design and construction monitoring of buried force main beneath Kaneohe Stream. Included the use of friction piles for support of appurtenant structures and directional drilling methods beneath the Kaneohe Stream due to thick deposits of compressible soils underlying Kaneohe Stream and the surrounding areas. 
• Halawa Medium Security Facility – Design and construction monitoring of medium-rise 500-bed prison and its related infrastructure improvements in Halawa Valley in difficult soils conditions consisting of highly expansive boulder-colluvial and alluvial formations with seepage conditions. Included channelizing South Halawa Stream, design of tie-back retaining walls, extensive subdrain system, and construction of 300,000 cubic yards of fill embankments to support the facility.