Use of routine geotechnical investigation reports

ABSTRACT: Routine geotechnical investigation reports are the 'first' reports that present the results of subsurface soil and groundwater conditions for design. Typically, it will take more than one year from the first geotechnical investigation report to the construction stage, during which time the report may not have been updated to address all details shown in the detail design and construction plan. Nevertheless, a geotechnical investigation report is often expected to agree with the detail design and to be sufficient for construction. This could result in a design that may not be suitable and/or a contractor's claim that the soil and groundwater conditions presented in the report are materially different from those encountered in the field, despite the clearly-written limitations of the report. Suggestions for preventing the misuse of routine geotechnical investigation reports are provided in this paper.