John Westland
I am the president and founder of Ground Truth Engineering, a company created to assist a wide range of clients with their most challenging underground projects. I have been recognized as an expert for the purposes of formal court testimony and arbitration proceedings, and I delight in undertaking peer reviews that promote mutual learning and project success.
I began my career with Golder Associates in 1985, which at the time was a boutique consulting firm whose founders were pioneers in geotechnical engineering practice. My first several years were spent “in the field”, getting my hands dirty conducting subsurface investigations, and testing and inspecting the ground on construction sites. The key to managing subsurface risk is understanding the reality of the ground and its inherent variability—the reality visible on site is vastly more intricate than the idealized academic models that underpin geotechnical theory.
My immersion in projects like Toronto’s Sheppard Subway gave me experience in the full project cycle, from investigation to design, construction and dispute resolution. That project was completed on budget and illustrated the value of comprehensive site investigation and unambiguous geotechnical baselines in mitigating risk. Mitigating subsurface risk, whether for natural hazard control or for urban development, is the fundamental role of geotechnical engineers. Failure to mitigate such risks can put the public at risk and doom an underground project to cost overruns, schedule delays, and protracted disputes.
My 30 years of experience have given me the instinct and intuition necessary to temper geotechnical analysis with art and judgement. I have brought that experience to peer reviews of projects such as Vancouver’s Canada Line tunnels, York-Durham Sewage System tunnelling projects and Waterfront Toronto’s flood protection works.
To provide a thorough and understandable expert opinion, I apply a sound understanding of geotechnical theory, broad experience, and excellent communication skills. I have been retained to give expert opinion on more than 50 forensic investigations of geotechnical failures and contractual disputes arising from ground conditions and behaviour.
I have been recognized as an expert for the purposes of formal court testimony and in arbitration proceedings, and have also participated in alternative dispute resolution proceedings, where I have made presentations to dispute review boards and rigorously defended my conclusions in the face of countering expert opinion and interrogation from board members.
At Ground Truth I look forward to the opportunity to work with you to successfully execute underground projects and to helping to illuminate the truth if disputes arise during construction.