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AGS Guide: The Selection of Geotechnical Soil Laboratory Testing There is often little or no advice as to the type of testing appropriate for the characterisation of soils or for the derivation of design parameters for the various types of geotechnical analyses. Guidance on the quantity of tests which should be carried out is also lacking. Most ground investigation contractors or laboratories have experienced examples of bills of quantity which list vast numbers of wholly inappropriate tests, often with equal quantities of very expensive and very cheap tests listed. Whereas experienced geotechnical engineers or engineering geologists have in the course of their careers developed their own idea on the type and quantity of tests to schedule for particular problems, there is little written guidance available for those in the early stages of their career. Whilst this guide will be a source of reference for experienced specialists, it is intended primarily to provide guidance for the younger less experienced geotechnical engineer or engineering geologist. Where the Guide does not give particularly detailed information, extensive use of references is made to enable the reader to find appropriate sources of advice. Although guidance to good practice is presented, the document
is not intended as a substitute for engineering judgement nor to preclude the
current recommendation by the Site Investigation Steering Group (Thomas Telford
1993), strongly endorsed by the AGS, that ground investigations should be
carried out under the direction and control of suitably qualified and
experienced Geotechnical Advisers.
The Guide concentrates on the use of soil laboratory testing to assist in the classification of soils and the selection of geotechnical parameters in UK practice. The Guide costs GB Pounds 58 for AGS Members, and can be ordered on-line. Membership and Publicity The AGS was recently representing its members at the CIVIL's 98 exhibition in Birmingham. A steady flow of visitors visited the stand and a number of publications were sold. During the exhibition Rodney Hutchison on behalf of the AGS presented the AGS format to a well attended seminar. At the same time as CIVIL's 98, the AGS had two poster presentations at the Consoil 98 conference in Edinburgh. The Good Practice Guidelines are now being printed and will soon be available to members. Loss Prevention The initial set of position papers are now ready for publication. However it is suggested that they are circulated in draft form to the wider range of members to assess their usefulness. The WG is currently also considering whether to focus on other issues relevant to risk such as quality and best practice. These areas have overlap with other WG's and a degree of collaboration is deemed necessary. Business Practice The AGS Code of Conduct for Site Investigation will be distributed to Members at the beginning of September and Managing Directors will be asked to sign on behalf of their company to indicate the Company's willingness to adhere to the Code. The WG is currently considering how to publicise the existence of the code and what enforcement measures may be necessary. Contaminated Land Together with the Loss Prevention WG, this working group is considering the new terms and conditions which are being issued with information from the Environment Agency. A joint CIRIA-AGS survey is under discussion in order to explore problems and issues relating to the disposal of waste and this will be followed up with a seminar with participation from both Customs & Excise and the Environment Agency. An AGS Guidance document for combined geotechnical and geoenvironmental site investigations has been prepared in preliminary draft. Initial discussions have been held with CIWEM and SCI to hold a seminar to discuss the draft of DDI75 expected in the Autumn. The WG have responded with their comments to the DETR concerning the CLR Report II "Model Procedures for the management of contaminated Land". The main concerns were,
Data Transfer Work is proceeding on finalising the 3rd Edition. It is hoped to be able to include the BGS stratigraphic lexicon into the format. Interest in the AGS format is spreading and an invitation to present a paper in South Africa in 1999 has been received. AGS Authorised Representatives What is an Authorised Representative? Every AGS Member has someone within the organisation who is appointed to act as that company's primary point of contact with the AGS. This person is the Authorised Representative (A-Rep). What does the Authorised Representative do? The A-Rep is the mouthpiece of the AGS - and our eyes and
ears.
Are YOU an Authorised Representative? If this letter was addressed to you - and you are based at the Company's head office, or main geotechnical office - then very likely. The Role of the A-Rep is crucial to the proper functioning of the Association. Check with the Administrator if you are in any doubt. The AGS relies on YOU. The AGS is pleased to welcome the following new Members:-
Know a company active in ground engineering or contaminated land that isn't an AGS Member? Why not ask us to send them details of Membership? AGS Chairman meets Nick Raynsford Jan Hellings, representing AGS and CIC was a member of the construction industry delegation at a recent briefing of the Construction Minister Nick Raynsford, on the subject of Sustainable Development. His presentation follows:- We are pleased with the Government's commitment to encourage development on `brownfield' land. This really ties in well with the principle of sustainability. There has been impressive progress in techniques not only for assessing potential contaminated land and its risk, but also in treating or `remediating' the contamination. There are, however, regulatory constraints which hinder the assessment and remediation of sites. The first of these is a lack of implementation of `Section 57' guidelines of the 1995 Environment Act and associated technical matters (eg the `CLEA' model). These deal with the assessment of contaminated land. We understand that budgetary constraints are holding up implementation of the guidelines. In my view, implementation would significantly improve confidence in the redevelopment of brownfield land. Two further regulatory constraints to sustainable development of brownfield land relate to land filling of contaminated soil. If it is assumed that the process of land filling is not sustainable, then remediation of contaminated soil should be encouraged and the landfill tax does help in this regard. However exempting contaminated soil which is found on a development site from the tax, means that much of this will continue to go to landfill, although it is recognised that such an exemption does encourage development on brownfield sites. Finally, there is presently a problem in relation to waste regulations which discourage the treatment on-site of contaminated soil and encourages landfilling of the soil. The Environment Agency requires waste management licences for remediation schemes, which involve on-site treatment of the soil by biological methods (these are successfully used in the UK). The Agency is exacerbating two key barriers to the uptake of bio-remediation - the time it takes to treat the soil and the cost of the work. It appears that the Agency's policy varies across the country, with offices in some areas taking a stricter view than offices in others. Because the Agency can take several months to process licence applications, developers resort to off-site disposal which can proceed immediately. Quite recently, a land bio-remediation project in Kent collapsed due to the ruling by the Environment Agency that the developer would need a waste management license. The decision meant that 17,000 cubic metres of soil, instead of being rendered safe on site and redeposited in the ground was consigned to landfill. At a recent main committee meeting, BG's Seumas Munro jumped into the lion's den to give the AGS an appraisal of the current BG approach to geoenvironmental site evaluations. An interesting presentation was made and we hope to be able to reproduce the important points raised in the next newsletter. A recent experience suffered by an AGS member firm has highlighted a potential problem which may affect contractors and also consultants who are transporting samples and data either between site and office or between offices during laboratory testing. Samples are generally deemed by transport hauliers or couriers to have no commercial value, therefore should they become lost or damaged whilst in their hands it is unlikely that you will receive adequate compensation should the unthinkable occur. Not only is there the problem of repeating the work to obtain further samples/data but the knock on effect of delays to reports can be disastrous. AGS members are strongly advised to consult their insurers to check that they are adequately insured for this event. As well as the replacement cost of the samples, consequential losses may also need to be considered. The AGS is currently discussing with underwriters a potential policy which member firms might find of interest. More details will be circulated when available. Continued Professional Development (CPD) for Chartered Geologists The Geological Society has recently published its scheme for the voluntary recording, monitoring and recognition of CPD activities for Chartered Geologists. The importance of CPD is recognised by the society as a key to raising professional standards. Many other professions (e.g. engineers, chemists etc.) already have well established CPD schemes. CPD is not a new or onerous task imposed upon already pressured individuals or a new source of expenditure for financially constrained organisations. It is however, the means to enable the formal recognition of professional training and development by geologists in the industry. The scheme is voluntary. Without its take up by individual geologists and their employers, it will founder. The AGS wholeheartedly supports the introduction of the CPD scheme for geologists. If you are a geologist you are urged to commit to the scheme by completing the notification of intent form provided by the Geological Society. If you are an employer, the AGS asks that you encourage and support your geological staff in their continuing professional development. What some people have to say about CPD. "As James Hutton always told me "Training will help you go with the B of bang". L Christie "A tantrum and lack of professionalism stopped me and England from continuing development". D Beckham "Continuing Professional Development is the key to the future just as much as the present is the key to the past" Charles Lyell. Contractual advice and information is available for AGS Members from Stephen Francis at Dibb Lupton and Alsop - Tel: 0345 262 728 |
