Site Investigation
"if you do not know what you should be looking for in a site investigation, you are not likely to find much of value" (Glossop 1968)
Whilst a desk study is fundamental in evaluating what is already known about a site, it is insufficient on its own for developing a conceptual framework of the possible engineering geological conditions at a site. The interpretation of the desk study information to generate a conceptual framework will be dependent on the engineering geological knowledge and experience of the individuals involved in the project, with this knowledge and experience derived from past cases of engineering geological model generation.
In essence, the conceptual framework allows an understanding of how the ground conditions at a site came to be, i.e. it tells a story. It is this understand of that “story” that is key, as the sum of this knowledge is considerably more powerful than its individual parts. It is the understanding of this story that allows the identification of potential problematic ground conditions that may exist at a site prior to observations being made.
The use of high quality engineering geological models allows a targeted cost effective site investigation to be undertaken, allowing the uncertainties to be evaluated rather than simply providing the known..