The Federation of Piling Specialists (FPS) has won the “Best Use of Data – Application” award at the GE GeoTech Awards 2026 for its innovative Piling Data Sharing Map.
Developed through the FPS Digital Progression Group, the national, publicly accessible platform has been created to tackle a longstanding challenge within the piling and geotechnical sector: valuable information generated by thousands of piling projects can often remain within individual organisations, making historic project experience difficult to identify and access.
This fragmented data landscape can lead to duplicated work, less efficient design and missed opportunities to learn from previous projects or consider the reuse of existing foundations.
The FPS Piling Data Sharing Map offers a practical solution by using a cloud-based GIS platform to signpost historic piling project information across the UK.
Rather than seeking to make every piece of project data publicly available, the platform acts as a data ‘marketplace’, allowing designers, clients, consultants and contractors to identify potentially relevant projects and then request further information where appropriate.
By making previous piling experience easier to locate at an earlier stage, the map has the potential to support better-informed ground models, risk appraisal and optioneering, as well as decisions surrounding pile testing and the potential reuse of existing foundations.
The benefits extend beyond access to historic information. More effective use of piling data can support improved early contractor involvement, more efficient foundation solutions, reduced programme impacts and lower embodied carbon, while helping the industry realise greater value from information that already exists.
The platform has also been designed with the practical realities of data sharing in mind, including data ownership, commercial sensitivity and the varying quality and availability of historic records.
Its longer-term development provides further opportunities to grow the available dataset, integrate additional open data sources and create greater links with wider industry data initiatives.
The GE GeoTech Award recognises both the practical application of the platform today and its wider potential to change the way piling information is shared and reused across the industry.
The achievement is also testament to the collaborative work of the FPS Digital Progression Group and the organisations and individuals involved in developing the project.
The FPS Piling Data Sharing Map is available here: https://www.fps.org.uk/fps-projects-map/