Engineers' Role in Site Exploration and Investigation

1 Introduction 1.1 Role of the engineer in the systematic exploration of a site The investigation of the suitability and characteristics of sites as they affect the design and construction of civil engineering works and the security of neighbouring structures is laid out in British Standard Code of Practice for site investigations (BS 5930:1981, formerly CP 2001). The sections on geology and site exploration define the minimum that a professional engineer should know. The systematic exploration and investigation of a new site may involve five stages of procedure. These stages are: (1) preliminary investigation using published information and other existing data; (2) a detailed geological survey of the site, possibly with a photogeology study; (3) applied geophysical surveys to provide information about the subsurface geology; (4) boring, drilling and excavation to provide confirmation of the previous results, and quantitative detail, at critical points on the site; and (5) testing of ______s.