BEST PRACTICE IN SITE INVESTIGATION

The investigation of sites for development is the key to the whole of the geotechnical industry's work and unlocks the door to the potential benefits which result from an understanding of the behaviour of the ground and to the solutions which are available to the problems which it poses. The merits and limitations of the techniques which are used for investigation and analyses are the subject of healthy debate within the industry but the underlying benefits of good quality site investigation would be accepted by the vast majority of those attending this seminar. Many in the structural engineering and architectural professions, as well as client bodies and the public at large, may well accept the intellectual arguments that every structure or installation has to interact with the ground and hence that a knowledge of its nature and behaviour is important. However, the ways in which investigations are procured, the scale of investigation, the costs allowed for, the stage at which it is commissioned and the times allowed for this work indicate a fundamental misunderstanding of its nature, the form it takes and the contribution it can make to the construction industry and to those whom it serves. This paper focuses on the process of investigation rather than on the techniques employed, in the belief that if good practice can be encouraged and rewarded, then an improvement in the techniques will follow to the benefit of all. For the covering abstract see ITRD E105619.