ABSTRACT
Site investigation, which needs generally to abide by European Community legislation, comprises a preliminary review of information relating to the construction site, observation of surface features at the site and the drawing of conclusions therefrom, and the specification and implementation of an in-ground investigation from which parameters necessary for the geotechnical design of the works can be drawn. Because of the importance of ground investigation (Attewell and Norgrove, 1984a, b; Norgrove and Attewell, 1984), it is essential that the work be carried out by experts under full professional control (Uff and Clayton, 1986). Descriptions of site investigation procedures sometimes accompany descriptions in the literature of civil engineering works. However, information on investigations that were deficient, and which may have led to contractual claims, is often not given, any comments on shortcomings usually being revealed in discussions on professional and research papers. Yet it is such comments that are perhaps of the greatest value.
