ABSTRACT
The major technical and financial risks for many civil engineering works lie in the ground. The ‘Site Investigation in Construction’ series produced by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE, 1993a) provides guidance on planning, procurement and specifications for ground investigations which will help to minimise risk. It gives the warning that ‘you pay for site investigation whether you have one or not’—meaning apparent savings on investigation at the start of a project may well lead to considerable additional later costs in coping with ‘unforeseen’ ground conditions.
