ABSTRACT
Embankments on soft soil are monitored to fulfill objectives that include assessment of the design assumptions; planning of the field work, especially in terms of loading and unloading stages; and to ensure the structural integrity of the neighboring constructions. In order to achieve the above objectives some important criteria must be met:
• The magnitudes of each type of measurement as well as the range of expected variations must be known in advance;
• The analyses should be performed immediately after the readings, to provide adequate timing concerning the field works;
• The plan of instrumentation should inform how and where the instruments will be installed (e.g., location and depth), the recommended reading frequencies and how the measures will be taken, the warning values and the decisions associated with such values. It should also inform how often analyses reports should be presented;
• The instruments must be located by coordinates and altimetry. The instrumentation should be installed, whenever possible, close to places where previous site investigations have been performed.
