Engineer Manual (EM 1110-1-1804). Engineering and Design Geotechnical Investigations

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Geotechnical investigations are made to determine those geologic, seismologic, and soilsconditions that affect the safety, cost effectiveness, design, and execution of a proposed engineering project. Because insufficient geotechnical investigations, faulty interpretation of results, or failure to portray results in a clearly understandable manner may contribute to costly construction changes, postconstruction remedial work, and even failure of a structure, geotechnical investigations and subsequent reports are an essential part of all civil engineering and design projects.