Specialty Services

Materials Testing

Pioneer offers a variety of professional geotechnical and construction materials testing services to public, commercial, and residential construction industries. Working from a high standard of quality control we provide clients with accurate results needed for design and specification. Our services include field inspections, construction materials testing and geotechnical testing.

Construction Materials Testing

We offer the following professional services to test construction materials:

Aggregate Testing

• Sieve Analysis Coarse and Fine Aggregate – ASTM C136/AASHTO T27
• Particle-Size Analysis of Soils (Hydrometer) – ASTM D5519
• Large Rock Gradation
• Specific Gravity and Absorption of Fine and Coarse Aggregate – ASTM C128, C127/AASHTO T84, T85
• Los Angeles Abrasion – ASTM C131, C535/AASHTO T96
• Friable Pieces Aggregate – ASTM C142/AASHTO T112
• Lightweight Particles – ASTM C123
• Flat and Elongated Particles – ASTM 04791
• Sodium or Magnesium Soundness – ASTM C88/AASHTO T104
• Soundness of Aggregate by Freeze and Thaw – AASHTO T103
• Micro-Deval Coarse and Fine Aggregate – ASTM D6928, C7428/AASHTO T327

Compaction Testing

• Standard Proctor (Moisture-Density) – ASTM 0698, D558
• Modified Proctor (Moisture-Density) – ASTM D1557, D558
• California Bearing Ratio (CBR) of Laboratory Compacted Soils – ASTM D1883, AASHTO T193

Portland Cement Concrete and Masonry Testing

• Compressive Strength of Cylinders, Concrete Beam, Concrete Core, Mortar Cube, Grout Prism, CMU Prism – ASTM C39, C42, C109, C1019, C1314
• Fresh Concrete or Grout Testing – ASTM C143, C281, C1064, C31, C39

General Testing

• Atterberg Limits – ASTM D43181/AASHTO T88, T89
• Organic Content by Loss-on-Ignition – ASTM D2947/AASHTO T257
• Moisture Content and Unit Weight from Liner – ASTM D2216, D2937
• Moisture Content – ASTM D2216/AASHTO T265

Hot Mix Asphalt

• Asphalt Content and Gradation
• Asphalt Content – AASHTO T308, T30/ASTM D6307, D5444
• Marshal Stability, Flow, and Unit Weight – AASHTO T245, T166/ASTM D6927, D2726
• Unit Weight of Asphalt Core Sample – AASHTO T166/ASTM D2726
• Theoretical Maximum Specific Gravity – AASHTO T209/ASTM D2041
• Complete Design for a Given Asphalt and Aggregate
• Marshall Test, Including Asphalt Content, Gradation, and Air Voids – AASHTO T245/ASTM D6926, D6927
• Superpave Volumetric Mix Design (Complete)- AASHTO T312, ASTM D6925
• Superpave Volumetric Mix Design (Trial) – AASHTO T312, ASTM D6925
• Superpave Consensus Aggregate Test – Various AASHTO/ASTM Methods
• Modified Lottman Test – AASHTO T283/ASTM D4867
• Cover Aggregate Physical Properties/Application Rate
• Field Verification of Grade S Mixes, Includes Volumetrics, % Bitumen Unit Weight, Gradation – ASTM D6925
• Immersion-Compression Test – AASHTO T167/ASTM D1074, D675
• Volume Swell of Bituminous Mixtures – MT-305

Field Inspection

Field Construction Inspections

• Compaction Control Testing using a Nuclear Densometer for Soils, Aggregates, and Asphalt – AASHTO T3101, ASTM D69381, ASTM D2950
• Fresh Concrete Testing including Slump, Air Content,  Cylinders, Beams, and Flexural Strength Testing – ASTM C143, C231, C1064, C31, C39
• Grout Testing
• Concrete or Masonry Special Inspections
• Rebar Inspection for Concrete or Masonry
• Coring Concrete or Asphalt Testing
• In-Place Density with Sand Cone – AASHTO T191/ASTM D1556
• Foundation Soil Evaluations
• Concrete Floor Flatness Testing

Asphalt Testing

• Superpave and Marshall Mix Designs
• Field Verification of Mix Designs – AASHTO T312/ASTM D6925

Additional Field Services

• Boutwell Permeability – ASTM D6391
• Double Ring Infiltrometer – ASTM D5093
• Electrical Resistivity Surveys
• Installation and Monitoring of Piezometers and Inclinometers
• Seismic Refraction
• Geogrid/Geotextile/Geosynthetic Clay Liner (GCL) Installation Monitoring

Certifications and Laboratory Accreditations – NICET, ACI,  AASHTO, ASTM, and WAQTC.

Surveying

Pioneer Technical Services, Inc. provides land surveying services to homeowners, developers, contractors, municipalities, and state and federal agencies. Pioneer has the capacity to undertake major and minor land surveying projects in both the public and private sectors.

Complete with the latest land surveying technology and an experienced full-time professional staff, Pioneer is committed to providing our clients with accurate and timely surveys at the best possible value. Our experience is an important component in completing projects of any size or complexity for a broad spectrum of clients.

Service Areas

Control Surveys

• Primary Control Networks
• Photogrammetric Control
• Precise Leveling
• Construction Control
• Deformation Surveys

Boundary Surveys

• Certificates of Survey
• Subdivisions
• PLSS Retracements
• Rights-of-Way
• Easements
• ALTA/ALSM Land Title Surveys

Design and Construction Control. Topographic Surveys for:

• Design
• Design Layout
• Site Plan Layout
• Utility Staking
• Structure Layout

GIS

Pioneer offers a fully equipped, in-house department to deliver Geographic Information System (GIS)-based maps and graphics, and provide data collection, development, analysis, and management solutions. Our staff includes trained specialists with experience using ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Desktop, Spatial Analyst, and 3D Analyst. We design and maintain databases, design and maintain geodatabases, and integrate data for use in multiple disciplines. GIS and CAD personnel work proficiently in both ArcMap and CAD and work with engineers to produce data and products that help visualize, analyze, and map data for better decision making.

Our GIS, CAD, database, and survey departments work together to deliver a full spectrum of services ranging from data generation and collection to data analysis and management to graphical representation of the geospatial data:

• Acquire, Develop, Maintain, and Manage Large Amounts of GIS Data.
• Manipulate, Analyze, and Display Data.
• Collect Data in the Field Using Collector for ArcGIS and Trimble GPS.
• Integrate Survey, CAD, and GIS Data from Multiple Sources (Client/Public).
• Develop Web-Based GIS Applications.
• Apply Geoprocessing Models and Scripts to Streamline Data Processing.

Geotechnical

Pioneer offers offers a wide range of geotechnical engineering services. Our geotechnical staff believes efficient and constructible designs are founded on a sound understanding of geological conditions and fundamental engineering concepts married with a practical approach. We not only provide a complete design, we also clearly convey levels of risk and uncertainty to our clients to help them balance those risks with project needs, costs, and constructability. We provide our clients with analyses and recommendations in a variety of sub-disciplines related to geotechnical engineering. Our service areas include the following:

Subsurface Investigations

• Detailed soil and rock borehole and test pit logging
• Auger, air rotary, sonic, and core drilling expertise
• Geologic field mapping and engineering interpretation
• Highway centerline soil surveys

Deep and Shallow Foundation Design

• Residential, commercial, and industrial buildings
• Bridges
• Spread footings, mat foundations, subgrade soil stabilization
• Helical piers, micro-piles, driven piles, and drilled shafts

Reinforced Earth and Retaining Structure Design

• Slope stabilization
• Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) and cast-in-place concrete retaining walls
• Driven sheet piles
• Soil nails, rock bolts, and tie-back anchors
• Strand/cable anchors

Geophysical Investigations

• Seismic refraction surveys
• Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) surveys to located subsurface voids.
• Electrical resistivity/induced polarization

Soil and Tailings Slope Stability

• Earthen embankment dams
• Landslide investigations
• Municipal solid waste/landfills
• Tailing dams, repositories, and waste dumps
• Excavation safety

Subsidence Evaluations

• Abandoned mine subsidence
• Historic infrastructure
• Karst geology
• High-Precision Subsidence Monitoring

Rock Slope Evaluations

• Wedge planar and toppling stability modeling
• Rock bolt, rock fence, draped mesh design
• Rock slope instrumentation
• Rockfall Hazard Rating System

Structural Field Mapping

• Engineering geology field mapping
• Fracture mapping/characterization
• Rock fall hazards

Geotechnical Laboratory Testing

• In-house Soil Mechanics Laboratory for triaxial testing, consolidation testing, and shear testing.
• Rock mechanics index testing
• Corrosion testing
• Soil index property testing.

Construction Support

• Foundation subgrade inspections
• Earthwork recommendations
• Quality control/quality assurance

Soil Dynamics

• Shear and P-wave velocity profiles
• Soil liquefaction
• Earthquake/seismic design recommendations

Geomechanical Modeling (FLAC)

• Mine subsidence
• Soil and rock slope stability
• Dynamic foundation analyses
• Slope stabilization design

Geotechnical Field Monitoring Techniques

• Slope inclinometers
• Tilt meters
• Extensometers
• Time domain reflectometry
• Pressure cells
• Vibrating wire piezometers

Transportation

• Geosynthetics
• Typical section design for flexible, rigid, and pervious pavements

Soil Strength Testing

• Unconfined Compressive Strength of Cohesive Soil – ASTM D2166/AASHTO T208
• Direct Shear Test of Soils Under Consolidated Drained Conditions – ASTM D3080
• Unconsolidated Undrained Triaxial Compression Test on Cohesive Soils – ASTM D4767
• Consolidated Undrained Triaxial Compression Test for Cohesive Soils – ASTM D4767
• Consolidated Drained Triaxial Compression Test for Cohesive Soils – ASTM D4767

Soil Permeability Testing

• Hydraulic Conductivity of Saturated Porous Materials using a Flexible Wall Permeameter, Falling Head Methods – ASTM D5084
• Permeability of Granular Soils (Constant Head) – ASTM D2434
• Hydraulic Conductivity of Porous Material using a Rigid-Wall, Compaction-Mold Permeameter – ASTM D5856

General Soil Testing

• Particle-Size Distribution (Gradation) of Soils using Sieve Analysis – ASTM D6913
• Particle-Size Analysis of Soils (Hydrometer) – ASTM D422/AASHTO T88
• Atterberg Limits – ASTM D4318/AASHTO T88, T89
• Organic Content by Loss-on-Ignition – ASTM D2947/AASHTO T257
• Moisture Content and Unit Weight from Liner – ASTM D2216, D2937
• Moisture Content – ASTM D2216/AASHTO T265
• Dispersive Characteristics of Clay Soil by Double Hydrometer – ASTM D4221
• Identification of Dispersion Soils by the Pinhole Test – ASTM D4647
• Standard Proctor – ASTM D698, D558
• Modified Proctor – ASTM D1557, D558
• California Bearing Ratio (CBR) of Laboratory Compacted Soils – ASTM D1883/AASHTO T193
• Harvard Miniature Compaction – NEV T101F
• Specific Gravity and Absorption – ASTM D854/AASHTO T100
• Total Porosity – API RP40
• Soil Corrosivity Testing – MT232

Certifications and Laboratory Accreditations – NICET, ACI,  AASHTO, ASTM, and WAQTC.

Geoprobe Drilling

Pioneer offers probing services and experienced professionals and experts trained to assist you with specific fieldwork requirements. Our staff is qualified to probe under various conditions with versatile equipment that goes where you need it to go. We offer direct-push drilling technology for soil, groundwater, and geotechnical investigations. Direct Push Technology (DPT) is an efficient method to install boreholes without bringing any undesired soil to the surface. DPT pushes rather than rotates probe rods into soil, collecting soil samples with minimal site disruption.

Services & Support

• Soil and Groundwater Characterizations
• Geotechnical Investigations
• Radioactive Waste Investigations
• Probing to Depths of up to 100 feet
• Monitoring Well Installations
• Soil Gas/Vapor sampling
• Groundwater Sampling and Monitoring
• Grouting and Remediation Fluid Injections

Capabilities

• Probe Configurations
  • Vertical Pushes
  • Slanted Pushes
  • Horizontal Pushes
• Operates in Rough Terrain
• Operates inside Buildings
• Maneuvers where Trucks cannot Venture Easily
• Dual Tube Soil Sampling Systems inlcuding
  • DT22 – 2 inch System
  • DT325 – 3 inch System

Pioneer uses a Geoprobe direct-push machine to collect soil and groundwater samples and set small diameter wells and soil vapor probes into the subsurface. The track-mounted machine has proven to be very versatile, allowing it to be maneuvered over rough terrain and into locations with limited room and access, often going where pickup or trailer mounted rigs cannot venture. The unit can also probe slant holes, allowing soil samples to be collected under buildings and other surface improvements. The unit is mobile allowing us to get to your site quickly. We transport all the equipment in a support trailer stocked with hand tools, repair parts, safety equipment, tooling, decontamination equipment, and other support equipment. The trailer also serves as an in-field shelter for safety, pre-job meetings, and sample handling.

Construction Oversight

Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.’s highly trained and experienced team of engineers, scientists, and technicians provides oversight for numerous large and small-scale construction projects in some of the most remote and challenging locations in the northwest United States. Our resume includes the overall planning, coordination, and control of large dirt-moving remediation, high-mountain mine closure, major subdivision, and municipal rehabilitation projects. Our focus is aimed at meeting our client’s project objectives in order to produce a functional finished product on time, in accordance with the required standards, and within the authorized budget. Pioneer has the capacity to undertake major and minor construction administration and management projects in both the public and private sectors.

Service Areas

• Construction Drawing and Specification Preparation
• Contract/Bid Document Development
• Bid-Phase Services
• Contract Administration
• Construction Inspection and Documentation
• Measure and Payment
• Change Order Review
• Contractor Pay Request Review
• Budget Tracking
• Materials Testing
• Management of Change
• Project Reporting
• As-Built Preparation and Submittal