Site Testing & Monitoring Services

Ground Engineering offers an extensive range of site testing and monitoring services to complement its ground investigation capabilities. Experienced field testing and monitoring crews are available throughout the UK, providing support in a wide range of situations, including:

Earthworks contracts
Landfill construction & monitoring
Road construction
Site reclamation & remediation
Ground improvement schemes
Slope stability problems
Monitored Natural Attenuation remediation

Site testing and monitoring services include:

In-situ CBR
In-situ Plate testing
In-situ density (sand replacement, NDM, cores)
In-situ permeability and soakaway potential
In-situ DCP and mexe-probe
Monitoring of slope inclinometers
Monitoring of specialist borehole instrumentation
In-situ monitoring of ground gases and groundwater
Sampling of ground gases and groundwater

CASE STUDY

Two key projects recently undertaken by Ground Engineering demonstrate our ability to undertake this type of work. Ground Engineering are able to provide an all encompassing service which not only looks at the ground at the time of investigation, but considers all aspects of the proposed redevelopment including the economic re-use of all site won materials, to the best of their engineering performance. This is to ensure that the Client not only has the best solution from an engineering perspective but also includes other key drivers including economic and environmental considerations.

Case Study 1

Ground Engineering was awarded a geotechnical site investigation contract to look at redevelopment options at an old ironstone quarry. Post completion of the quarrying operations the site had been loosely backfilled with a combination of granular arisings and cohesive soils. In order to formulate a redevelopment strategy, it was necessary to investigate the geotechnical condition of the ground, identify the suitability of the soils for re-engineering and provide detailed information on alternative appropriate ground improvement techniques. Upon completion of the investigation works, the final report covered not only a number of alternative geotechnical solutions, but also provided a detailed earthworks testing specification in order to allow for the re-use of site won materials.

During the first phase of the redevelopment works, the site operations consisted of Dynamic Compaction to improve the loose back-fill material, followed by a comprehensive phase of earthworks on top of this to raise levels up to final formation level. Due to the severity of the weather during the works, additional measures were also undertaken on the formation of the dynamically compacted material using lime and cement modification and stabilisation to improve the engineering performance of the material.

Throughout the various phases of redevelopment, Ground Engineering worked on behalf of the client to supervise and validate the dynamic compaction, lime and cement modification and placement of engineered fill in accordance with the adopted earthworks specification for the project.

Case Study 2

Ground Engineering was awarded a geotechnical and geo-environmental site investigation contract to look at redevelopment options for a large development site adjacent to the A1. The history of the site was complex including adjacent quarrying and landfill operations as well as potentially difficult underlying geology.

From the first phase of investigation undertaken by Ground Engineering, an overall assessment of the proposed re-development of the site was completed. This included:

Assessment and suitability of site won materials for use as earthworks material for use in highways as well as engineered fill below structures in conjunction with the SHW, BS EN 13242, BS 6031 and BR 424.
Assessment and suitability of site won sand and gravel deposits for use as concrete aggregates, completed in accordance with the guidance provided by BS EN 12620.
Assessment and suitability of site won materials to be successfully treated with lime and/or cement in conjunction with SHW, HA 74/00, BS EN 13242 and Britpave Technical Data Sheet BP/16.

Assessment of implications of proposed cut and fill operation, including induced settlement of underlying soils, slope stability, highways design and potential for expansion and heave in areas of cut.

Post completion of this phase of investigation, an earthworks specification was drafted and presented within the report in order to allow for a comprehensive assessment to be made for the various development options for the site.