Section 11: Review during and after construction

64 General
COMMENTARY ON CLAUSE 64
There is an inherent difficulty in forecasting ground conditions from ground investigations
carried out before the works are started because, no matter how intensive the
investigation and whatever methods are used, only a small proportion of the ground is
examined. It is also the case that for many investigations the exact locations of the
proposed structures have not been determined and so the ground conditions relevant to
the individual structures is not always known.
The ground exposed during construction and the behaviour of structures during and
after construction should be monitored to verify that the predictions made during
design remain valid.

65 Purpose of review
Review during construction should be carried out to determine, in the light of the
conditions newly revealed, to what extent conclusions drawn from the ground
investigation are required to be revised, if at all. For maximum benefit, this review
should be directed by the geotechnical adviser (see Clause 6).
Where additional and/or different information is revealed during construction, the
design and construction should be reviewed and the design or the construction
procedures might need to be amended as a result of the review.
NOTE In certain cases it might be appropriate to initiate a site procedure in the early
stages of the contract, so that correct and agreed records are kept during the duration of
the contract by both the designer and the contractor.
The information collected during construction should be used to:
a) check the adequacy of the design;
b) check the safety of the works during construction and to assess the
adequacy of temporary works;
c) check the findings of the ground investigation and to provide feedback so that
these findings can be reassessed;
d) check assumptions about ground conditions related to construction
methods, which might include groundwater;
e) check the suitability of instrument installations;
f) enable the best use to be made of excavated materials;
g) reassess the choice of construction plant and equipment; and
h) provide agreed information about ground and groundwater conditions in the
event of dispute.
The results of the investigation which is carried out after construction should be used
to verify that the structure is behaving in accordance with the predictions made by the
designer.

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66 Information required
66.1 Soil and rock
Accurate engineering descriptions of all strata encountered below ground level should
be made in accordance with Section 6. The soil and rock profile revealed on site
should be recorded and compared with that anticipated from the ground investigation.
The descriptions should be made by a geotechnical engineer or engineering geologist
competent in geotechnics.
NOTE It might be advantageous to arrange for the site to be inspected by the
organization that carried out the ground investigations, particularly if conditions appear
to differ significantly from those described in the ground investigation.

66.2 Groundwater
Accurate information about the groundwater should be obtained during construction
and compared with information recorded during the investigation. The information
should include the flow and static conditions in all excavations, any seepage from
slopes, any seasonal variations, any tidal variations in excavations or tunnels near the
sea or estuaries, suspect or known artesian conditions, the effect of weather
conditions on groundwater, and any unforeseen seepage under or from water-
retaining structures. The effect of groundwater lowering should also be recorded in
observation holes to determine the extent of the cone of depression. The effect of
groundwater lowering should also be recorded in observation holes to determine the
extent of the cone of depression and changes to ground level for sensitive structures
as required.

67 Monitoring
COMMENTARY ON CLAUSE 67
Instruments and subsequent observations used during and after construction can include
measurement of pore pressure, seepage, earth pressure, settlement or heave and lateral
movements.
Monitoring by means of inspection or instrumentation should be carried out wherever
appropriate; this might require the installation of appropriate instruments additional to
those that were installed as part of the pre-construction investigations. If existing
instruments are used, their correct functioning should be verified and this might
require fresh calibrations. Readings of the instrumentation can be usefully continued
after construction in order to observe the performance of the project. This is
particularly necessary in the case of earth dams for maintaining a safe structure
under varying conditions, and in other cases for gaining valuable data for future
design.
NOTE Monitoring might be necessary to check that construction works can proceed safely
or on large or critical structures such as earth dams, embankments on soft ground, large
buildings with underground construction, deep excavations or tunnels.
Monitoring should be carried out in accordance with
BS EN 1997-1:2004+A1:2013, 2.7 and the following should be identified:
who makes observations and where, and who reads which instruments and
when;

the party that receives the observations;

the review to be carried out, checking against the acceptable limits of

behaviour; and

the contingency actions to be adopted if the monitoring reveals

unacceptable performance.

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 These requirements should be set out in the monitoring and maintenance
report that is included within the safety file and passed to the client.

68 Reporting
The findings of all construction and post-construction investigations
should be incorporated into or appended to the GIR and GDR as
appropriate.