Abstract

International standards for monitoring under ISO have been under development since 2010 and the intentions were presented during the 8th International Symposium on Field Monitoring in Geomechanics (FMGM 2011) in Berlin. Progress on this project was reported at FMGM 2015 in Sydney and ISFMG 2022 in London. The base standard on general rules was published in 2015, part 2, the standard on extensometers, in 2016 and in 2017 the third part on inclinometers. Part 4 on piezometers was published in 2020, Part 5 on pressure cells in 2019 and Part 8 on load cells in 2023. These standards have been published as ISO Standards in English and French worldwide. In Europe the standards have been published under EN ISO 18674 member countries of CEN have to publish these standards in their country. The standards on settlement measurements by hydraulic systems (part 6), geodetic measurements (part 9) and strain measurement (part 7) are under development and will be submitted to enquiry in the next few months.

Abstract

Piezometers are instruments that can produce high-quality information if suitable and effective installation and monitoring procedures are followed. In order to minimise errors and optimise quality of the obtained information, we must pay attention when prescribing the type of piezometer and its installation, as highlighted in the ISO/EN18674 standards. The use of piezometers as a geotechnical instrument is a commodity. This paper aims to exemplify how the use of piezometers can be optimised and how the most common errors can be avoided.