ISO/FDIS 19901-4
(Main)Oil and gas industries including lower carbon energy — Specific requirements for offshore structures — Part 4: Geotechnical design considerations
Oil and gas industries including lower carbon energy — Specific requirements for offshore structures — Part 4: Geotechnical design considerations
Industries du pétrole et du gaz y compris les énergies à faible teneur en carbone — Exigences spécifiques relatives aux structures en mer — Partie 4: Bases conceptuelles géotechniques
General Information
Relations
Buy Standard
Standards Content (Sample)
FINAL DRAFT
International
Standard
ISO/TC 67/SC 7
Oil and gas industries including
Secretariat: BSI
lower carbon energy — Specific
Voting begins on:
requirements for offshore
2024-11-14
structures —
Voting terminates on:
2025-01-09
Part 4:
Geotechnical design considerations
Industries du pétrole et du gaz y compris les énergies à faible
teneur en carbone — Exigences spécifiques relatives aux
structures en mer —
Partie 4: Bases conceptuelles géotechniques
RECIPIENTS OF THIS DRAFT ARE INVITED TO SUBMIT,
WITH THEIR COMMENTS, NOTIFICATION OF ANY
RELEVANT PATENT RIGHTS OF WHICH THEY ARE AWARE
AND TO PROVIDE SUPPOR TING DOCUMENTATION.
IN ADDITION TO THEIR EVALUATION AS
BEING ACCEPTABLE FOR INDUSTRIAL, TECHNO-
ISO/CEN PARALLEL PROCESSING LOGICAL, COMMERCIAL AND USER PURPOSES, DRAFT
INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS MAY ON OCCASION HAVE
TO BE CONSIDERED IN THE LIGHT OF THEIR POTENTIAL
TO BECOME STAN DARDS TO WHICH REFERENCE MAY BE
MADE IN NATIONAL REGULATIONS.
Reference number
FINAL DRAFT
International
Standard
ISO/TC 67/SC 7
Oil and gas industries including
Secretariat: BSI
lower carbon energy — Specific
Voting begins on:
requirements for offshore
structures —
Voting terminates on:
Part 4:
Geotechnical design considerations
Industries du pétrole et du gaz y compris les énergies à faible
teneur en carbone — Exigences spécifiques relatives aux
structures en mer —
Partie 4: Bases conceptuelles géotechniques
RECIPIENTS OF THIS DRAFT ARE INVITED TO SUBMIT,
WITH THEIR COMMENTS, NOTIFICATION OF ANY
RELEVANT PATENT RIGHTS OF WHICH THEY ARE AWARE
AND TO PROVIDE SUPPOR TING DOCUMENTATION.
© ISO 2024
IN ADDITION TO THEIR EVALUATION AS
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
BEING ACCEPTABLE FOR INDUSTRIAL, TECHNO-
ISO/CEN PARALLEL PROCESSING
LOGICAL, COMMERCIAL AND USER PURPOSES, DRAFT
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on
INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS MAY ON OCCASION HAVE
the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below
TO BE CONSIDERED IN THE LIGHT OF THEIR POTENTIAL
or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
TO BECOME STAN DARDS TO WHICH REFERENCE MAY BE
MADE IN NATIONAL REGULATIONS.
ISO copyright office
CP 401 • Ch. de Blandonnet 8
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva
Phone: +41 22 749 01 11
Email: copyright@iso.org
Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland Reference number
ii
Contents Page
Foreword .vi
Introduction .vii
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 2
4 Symbols and abbreviated terms. 4
4.1 Symbols for shallow and intermediate foundation design.4
4.2 Symbols for pile foundation design .6
4.3 Symbols for soil-structure interaction for auxiliary subsea structures, risers and
flowlines .9
4.4 Symbols for design of anchors for stationkeeping systems .10
4.5 Abbreviated terms . 12
5 General requirements .13
5.1 General . 13
5.2 Design cases and partial factors . 13
5.3 Representative and design values of geotechnical parameters .14
5.3.1 Guidelines .14
5.3.2 Determination of representative and design values of soil parameters .14
5.4 Reliability-based geotechnical design .16
5.5 Testing and instrumentation .16
6 Site investigation, identification of geohazards and carbonate soils . 17
6.1 General .17
6.2 Geological modelling and identification of hazards .17
6.2.1 General .17
6.2.2 Assessment of site geohazards .18
6.3 Carbonate soils .18
6.3.1 General .18
6.3.2 Characteristic features and properties of carbonate soils .18
6.3.3 Foundations in carbonate soils .18
7 Design of shallow and intermediate foundations for fixed structures . 19
7.1 General .19
7.2 Principles . 20
7.2.1 General principles . 20
7.2.2 Foundation embedment . 20
7.2.3 Sign conventions, nomenclature and action reference point .21
7.3 Acceptance criteria .21
7.3.1 Material and action factors .21
7.3.2 Use of partial factors in design . 22
7.4 Design considerations . 23
7.4.1 Adjusting for soil plug weight . 23
7.4.2 Skirt spacing. 23
7.4.3 Foundation base perforations .24
7.4.4 Skirtless foundations penetrating soft soils .24
7.4.5 Tensile stresses beneath foundations .24
7.4.6 Omni-directional actions .24
7.4.7 Interaction with other structures .24
7.4.8 Multiple foundations .24
7.4.9 Hydraulic stability . 25
7.4.10 Unconventional soils or soil profiles . 25
7.4.11 Selection of soil parameter values for design . 25
7.5 Ultimate limit state (stability) . 26
7.5.1 Assessment of bearing capacity of shallow foundations . 26
iii
7.5.2 Assessment of sliding capacity of shallow foundations . 29
7.5.3 Assessment of capacity of intermediate foundations .31
7.6 Serviceability limit state (displacements and rotations) .32
7.6.1 General .32
7.6.2 Serviceability of shallow foundations under static loading .32
7.6.3 Serviceability of intermediate foundations. 34
7.6.4 Serviceability in response to dynamic and cyclic actions . 34
7.7 Alternative methods of design . 34
7.7.1 Yield surface approach . 34
7.7.2 Risk informed decision making . 35
7.8 Installation . 35
7.8.1 General . 35
7.8.2 Skirt penetration resistance .
...
ISO/TC 67/SC 7/WG 10
Secretariat: BSI
Date: 2024-08-DD10-30
Oil and gas industries including lower carbon energy — Specific requirements for
offshore structures — Part 4: Geotechnical design considerations
FDIS stage
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part
of this publication may be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on the internet or an intranet, without prior written
permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below or ISO’s member body
in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
CP 401 • Ch. de Blandonnet 8
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva
Phone: +41 22 749 01 11
Email: copyright@iso.org
Website: www.iso.orgwww.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii © ISO 2024 – All rights reserved
Contents
iii
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO
collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documentsdocument should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance
with the editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawnISO draws attention to the possibility that some of the elementsimplementation of this
document may beinvolve the subjectuse of (a) patent(s). ISO takes no position concerning the evidence,
validity or applicability of any claimed patent rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of
this document, ISO had not received notice of (a) patent(s) which may be required to implement this
document. However, implementers are cautioned that this may not represent the latest information,
which may be obtained from the patent database available at www.iso.org/patents. ISO shall not be held
responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of any patent rights identified during the
development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or on the ISO list of patent declarations
received (see ).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World
Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see
www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 67, Oil and gas industries including lower
carbon energy, Subcommittee SC 7, Offshore structures, in collaboration with the European Committee for
Standardization (CEN) Technical Committee CEN/TC 12, Materials, equipmentOil and offshore structures
for petroleum, petrochemical and natural gas industries including lower carbon energy, in accordance with
the Agreement on technical cooperation between ISO and CEN (Vienna Agreement).
This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition (ISO 19901-4:2016), which has been
technically revised.
The main changes compared to the previous edition are as follows:
— guidance extended on representative and design values for soil parameters (Clause 5);
— guidance added for geotechnical design of intermediate foundations for fixed structures and clause
renamed to ‘Design of shallow and intermediate foundations’ (Clause 7);
— requirements added on installation resistance, yield envelope approaches for ultimate limit state,
and performance- based design for shallow skirted and intermediate foundations (Clause 7);
iv © ISO 2024 – All rights reserved
— new unified CPT method for axial capacity in sands to replace the former main text method, new TZ
curve definition in sands, new unified CPT method for clays introduced into the annex Clause A.8,
new PY curve methodology for clays to replace the existing method (Clause 8);
— new requirements added clause foronon reassessment of pile capacity for existing structures
(Clause 9);
— a new clause for pipelines, conductors and risers, previously only informative (Clause 10);
— references have been reviewed, updated and reduced where possible.
A list of all parts in the ISO 19901 series can be found on the ISO website.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.
v
Introduction
The International Standards on offshore structures prepared by TC 67 (i.e. ISO 19900, the ISO 19901
series, ISO 19902, ISO 19903, ISO 19904-1, the ISO 19905 series, ISO 19906),) constitute a common basis
covering those aspects that address design requirements and assessments of all offshore structures used
by the oil and gas industries worldwide. Through their application, the intention is to achieve reliability
levels appropriate for offshore structures, whatever the type of structure and the nature of the materials
used. Application specific requirements for different energy industries are given in the relevant
standards. For example, for the offshore wind industry the IEC standards, IEC 61400-1 and IEC 61400-3-
1 outline the normative design requirements (e.g. return periods) for offshore wind turbine support
structures.
This document may be applied for the design of foundations used in the offshore wind industry. In this
case, it should be verified that the type and dimension of the foundation, as well as the type of actions
acting upon it, are consistent with those used in the development of the design methods. For example,
the pile design methods of Clauses 8 are not necessarily applicable to the design of monopiles for which
L/D is less than 10 and their validity for such cases should be assessed. Offshore wind structures can also
have other requirements, such as a characterisation of foundation stiffness, that are beyond the scope of
this document. Reference should be made to the overarching application specific codes and standards
such as IEC 61400-3-1.
It is important to recognize that structural integrity is an overall concept comprising models for
describing actions, structural analyses, design rules, safety elements, quality of work, quality control
procedures and national requirements, all of which are mutually dependent. The modification of one
aspect of design in isolation can disturb the balance of reliability inherent in the overall concept or
structural system. The implications involved in modifications, therefore, should be considered in relation
to the overall reliability of all offshore structural systems.
For geotechnical design (engineering science dealing with the properties of soil: Sandsand, silt, clay and
rock), some additional considerations apply. These include the time, frequency and rate at which actions
are applied, the method of installation, the properties of the surrounding soil, the overall behaviour of
the seabed, effects from adjacent structures and the results of drilling into the seabed. All of these, and
any other relevant information, should to be considered in relation to the overall reliability of the
structure.
The International Standards on offshore structures prepared by TC 67 are intended to provide wide
latitude in the choice of structural configurations, materials and techniques without hindering
innovation. Geotechnical design practice for offshore structures has proved to be an innovative and
evolving process over the years. This evolution is expected to continue and is encouraged. Therefore,
circumstances can arise when the procedures described in this document or the International Standards
on offshore structures prepared by TC 67 (or elsewhere) are insufficient on their own to ensure that a
safe and economical design is achieved.
Seabed soils vary. Experience gained at one location is not necessarily applicable at another. Extra caution
is necessary when dealing with unconventional soils or unfamiliar foundation concepts. Sound
engineering judgment is therefore necessary in the use of this document.
Some background to and guidance on the use of this document is provided in Annex A.
In this document, the following verbal forms are used:
— “shall” indicates a requirement;
— “should” indicates a recommendation;
— “can” indicates a possibility or a capability;
— “may” indicates a permission.
ISO 19905 provides requirements and detailed guidance on foundations for mobile offshore units.
vi © ISO 2024 – All rights reserved
Figure 1 set outs a typical workflow for design of offshore foundations with reference to other relevant
International Standards.
NOTE Specific design and installation constraints can apply for structures in arctic regions (see ISO 19906), for
mobile offshore units, especially for jack-ups (see ISO 19905) and for anchors for floating units (see ISO 19901-7
Design can be an iterative process from concept (initial feasibility and applicability study), basic to final design.
Different level of details and objectives are required in the various design stages.
Figure 1 — Flowchart showing typical design process for offshore foundations
vii
FINAL DRAFT International Standard ISO/FDIS 19901-4:2024(en)
Oil and gas industries including lower carbon energy — Specific
requirements for offshore structures — Part 4: Geotechnical
design considerations
1 Scope
This document contains provisions for geotechnical engineering design that are applicable to a broad
range of offshore structures, rather than to a particular structure type. This document outlines methods
developed for the design of shallow foundations with an embedded length (L) to diameter (D) ratio L/D
< 0,5, intermediate foundations, which typically have 0,5 ≤ L/D ≤ 10 (see Clause 7), and long and flexible
pile foundations with L/D > 10 (see Clauses 8 and 9).
This document also provides guidance on soil-structure interaction aspects for flowlines, risers and
conductors (see Clause 10) and anchors for floating facilities (see Clause 11). This document contains
brief guidance on site and soil characterization, and identification of hazards (see Clause 6).
NOTE ISO 19901-8 and 19901-10 provide requirements and detailed guidance on the performance of marine
soil investigations and geophysical investigations for acquiring or defining the soil parameters required for design.
This document may be applied for foundation design for offshore structures used in the lower carbon
energy industry. For example, this document may be applied for the design of foundations used in the
offshore wind industry. In this case, it shall be verified that the type and dimension of the foundation, as
well as the type of actions acting upon it, are consistent with those used in the development of the design
methods. For example, the pile design methods of Clauses 8 are not necessarily applicable to the design
of monopiles for which L/D is less than 10 and their validity for such cases shall be assessed.This
document can be applied for foundation design for offshore structures used in the lower carbon energy
industry.
Offshore wind structures can also have other requirements, such as a characterisation of foundation
stiffness, that are beyond the scope of this document. Reference should be made to the overarching
application specific codes and standards such as IEC 61400-3-1.
This document shall not be applied to onshore structures where it is expected that other codes and
standards provide more specific requirements or practice.
ISO 19905 provides requirements and detailed guidance on foundations for mobile offshore units.
set outs a typical workflow for design of offshore foundations with reference to other relevant
International Standards.
NOTE Specific design and installation constraints can apply for structures in arctic regions (see ISO 19906), for
mobile offshore units, especially for jack-ups (see ISO 19905) and for anchors for floating units (see ISO 19901-7
Design can be an iterative process from concept (initial feasibility and applicability study), basic to final design.
Different level of details and objectives are required in the various design stages.
2 © ISO 2024 – All rights reserved
Figure — Flowchart showing typical design process for offshore foundations
72 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 19900, Petroleum and natural gas industries — General requirements for offshore structures
ISO 19901 (all parts), Petroleum-7, Oil and natural gas industries including lower carbon energy — Specific
requirements for offshore structures — Part 7: Station-keeping systems for floating offshore structures and
mobile offshore units
ISO 19901-8, Oil and gas industries including lower carbon energy — Offshore structures — Part 8: Marine
soil investigations
ISO 19901-9, Oil and gas industries including lower carbon energy — Specific requirements for offshore
structures — Part 9: Str
...
PROJET FINAL
Norme
internationale
ISO/TC 67/SC 7
Industries du pétrole et du gaz y
Secrétariat: BSI
compris les énergies à faible teneur
Début de vote:
en carbone — Exigences spécifiques
2024-11-14
relatives aux structures en mer —
Vote clos le:
2025-01-09
Partie 4:
Bases conceptuelles géotechniques
Oil and gas industries including lower carbon energy — Specific
requirements for offshore structures —
Part 4: Geotechnical design considerations
LES DESTINATAIRES DU PRÉSENT PROJET SONT
INVITÉS À PRÉSENTER, AVEC LEURS OBSERVATIONS,
NOTIFICATION DES DROITS DE PROPRIÉTÉ DONT ILS
AURAIENT ÉVENTUELLEMENT CONNAISSANCE ET À
FOURNIR UNE DOCUMENTATION EXPLICATIVE.
OUTRE LE FAIT D’ÊTRE EXAMINÉS POUR
ÉTABLIR S’ILS SONT ACCEPTABLES À DES FINS
INDUSTRIELLES, TECHNOLOGIQUES ET COM-MERCIALES,
AINSI QUE DU POINT DE VUE DES UTILISATEURS, LES
PROJETS DE NORMES
TRAITEMENT PARALLÈLE ISO/CEN
INTERNATIONALES DOIVENT PARFOIS ÊTRE CONSIDÉRÉS
DU POINT DE VUE DE LEUR POSSI BILITÉ DE DEVENIR DES
NORMES POUVANT
SERVIR DE RÉFÉRENCE DANS LA RÉGLEMENTATION
NATIONALE.
Numéro de référence
PROJET FINAL
Norme
internationale
ISO/TC 67/SC 7
Industries du pétrole et du gaz y
Secrétariat: BSI
compris les énergies à faible teneur
Début de vote:
en carbone — Exigences spécifiques
2024-11-14
relatives aux structures en mer —
Vote clos le:
2025-01-09
Partie 4:
Bases conceptuelles géotechniques
Oil and gas industries including lower carbon energy — Specific
requirements for offshore structures —
Part 4: Geotechnical design considerations
LES DESTINATAIRES DU PRÉSENT PROJET SONT
INVITÉS À PRÉSENTER, AVEC LEURS OBSERVATIONS,
NOTIFICATION DES DROITS DE PROPRIÉTÉ DONT ILS
AURAIENT ÉVENTUELLEMENT CONNAISSANCE ET À
FOURNIR UNE DOCUMENTATION EXPLICATIVE.
DOCUMENT PROTÉGÉ PAR COPYRIGHT
OUTRE LE FAIT D’ÊTRE EXAMINÉS POUR
ÉTABLIR S’ILS SONT ACCEPTABLES À DES FINS
© ISO 2024 INDUSTRIELLES, TECHNOLOGIQUES ET COM-MERCIALES,
AINSI QUE DU POINT DE VUE DES UTILISATEURS, LES
Tous droits réservés. Sauf prescription différente ou nécessité dans le contexte de sa mise en œuvre, aucune partie de cette
PROJETS DE NORMES
TRAITEMENT PARALLÈLE ISO/CEN
INTERNATIONALES DOIVENT PARFOIS ÊTRE CONSIDÉRÉS
publication ne peut être reproduite ni utilisée sous quelque forme que ce soit et par aucun procédé, électronique ou mécanique,
DU POINT DE VUE DE LEUR POSSI BILITÉ DE DEVENIR DES
y compris la photocopie, ou la diffusion sur l’internet ou sur un intranet, sans autorisation écrite préalable. Une autorisation peut
NORMES POUVANT
être demandée à l’ISO à l’adresse ci-après ou au comité membre de l’ISO dans le pays du demandeur.
SERVIR DE RÉFÉRENCE DANS LA RÉGLEMENTATION
NATIONALE.
ISO copyright office
Case postale 401 • Ch. de Blandonnet 8
CH-1214 Vernier, Genève
Tél.: +41 22 749 01 11
E-mail: copyright@iso.org
Web: www.iso.org
Publié en Suisse Numéro de référence
ii
Sommaire Page
Avant-propos .vi
Introduction .viii
1 Domaine d'application . 1
2 Références normatives . 1
3 Termes et définitions . 2
4 Symboles et termes abrégés . 4
4.1 Symboles relatifs à la conception des fondations superficielles et intermédiaires .4
4.2 Symboles relatifs à la conception des fondations par pieux .7
4.3 Symboles relatifs à l'interaction sol-structure pour les structures auxiliaires
immergées, les risers et les conduites d'écoulement .10
4.4 Symboles relatifs à la conception des ancres pour les systèmes de maintien en position
des structures flottantes .11
4.5 Abréviations. 13
5 Exigences générales . .13
5.1 Généralités . 13
5.2 Cas de conception et coefficients partiels .14
5.3 Valeurs représentatives et conceptuelles des paramètres géotechniques . 15
5.3.1 Lignes directrices . 15
5.3.2 Détermination des valeurs représentatives et conceptuelles des paramètres du
sol . 15
5.4 Conception fondée sur la fiabilité géotechnique .18
5.5 Essais et instrumentation . . .19
6 Reconnaissance du site, identification des dangers géologiques et des sols carbonatés .20
6.1 Généralités . 20
6.2 Modélisation géologique et identification des dangers . 20
6.2.1 Généralités . 20
6.2.2 Évaluation des dangers géologiques du site . 20
6.3 Sols carbonatés .21
6.3.1 Généralités .21
6.3.2 Aspects et propriétés caractéristiques des sols carbonatés .21
6.3.3 Fondations dans des sols carbonatés .21
7 Conception des fondations superficielles et intermédiaires pour les structures fixes .22
7.1 Généralités . 22
7.2 Principes . 23
7.2.1 Principes généraux . 23
7.2.2 Enfouissement des fondations . 23
7.2.3 Conventions en matière de signes, nomenclature et point de référence des
actions .24
7.3 Critères d'acceptation . 25
7.3.1 Coefficient du matériau et coefficient d'action . 25
7.3.2 Utilisation de coefficients partiels dans la conception . 25
7.4 Considérations conceptuelles . 26
7.4.1 Ajustement relatif au poids du bouchon de sol . 26
7.4.2 Espacement des jupes .27
7.4.3 Perforations de la base des fondations .27
7.4.4 Fondations sans jupes pénétrant dans des sols mous .27
7.4.5 Contraintes de tension sous les fondations .27
7.4.6 Actions omnidirectionnelles . . 28
7.4.7 Interaction avec d'autres structures . 28
7.4.8 Fondations multiples . 28
7.4.9 Stabilité hydraulique . 28
7.4.10 Sols ou profils de sols non conventionnels . 29
iii
7.4.11 Choix des valeurs des paramètres du sol pour la conception . 29
7.5 État limite ultime (stabilité) . 29
7.5.1 Évaluation de la capacité portante des fondations superficielles . 29
7.5.2 Évaluation de la capacité de glissement des fondations superficielles . 33
7.5.3 Évaluation de la capacité des fondations intermédiaires . 35
7.6 État limite d'aptitude au service (déplacements et rotations) . 36
7.6.1 Généralités . 36
7.6.2 Aptitude au service des fondations superficielles soumises à des charges
statiques . 36
7.6.3 Aptitude au service des fondations intermédiaires . 38
7.6.4 Aptitude au service en réponse à des actions dynamiques et cycliques . 39
7.7 Autres méthodes de conception . 39
7.7.1 Approche fondée sur la surface en limite élastique . 39
7.7.2 Prise de décision fondée sur la maîtrise des risques . 39
7.8 Installation . 39
7.8.1 Généralités .
...
Questions, Comments and Discussion
Ask us and Technical Secretary will try to provide an answer. You can facilitate discussion about the standard in here.