Prior to commencing work on site, it is often necessary to perform ground investigations to ensure that the land is in a fit state for the proposed developments to go ahead. This can start with a desk based preliminary study in which our environmental scientists gain a profile of the site under investigation to establish its environmental setting, incorporating aspects of the site’s:
- History;
- Geology;
- Topography;
- Hydrology;
- Hydrogeology;
- Mining history; and
- Nearby landfill.
More advanced technical testing can be organised to deliver accurate specifications of the site in question, with numerous techniques used on either brownfield or greenfield land. These ‘intrusive’ investigations can provide details of chemical composition (such as standard soil classification suites or heavy metal content), geotechnical properties (such as allowable bearing capacity of soil or shear strength of foundations), geological classification or hydrological systems to provide confirmation of the land’s suitability for specific works. An investigation may include:
- Trial pit digging;
- Window sampling;
- Shear Vane testing;
- Schmidt Hammer testing;
- Cable Avoidance Tool (CAT) scanning;
- Lab analysis; and
- Drainage analysis.