Managing risk and achieving reliable geotechnical designs using Eurocode 7 - Risk and Reliability in Geotechnical Engineering - page 394

• EN 1536 Bored piles
• EN 1537 Ground anchors
• EN 1538 Diaphragm walls
g. Adequate inspection and maintenance : Eurocode 7 states in §2.8(4)P that the
Geotechnical Design Report shall include a plan of supervision and monitoring, as
appropriate, and that items requiring checking during construction or maintenance
afterwards shall be clearly identified and, when the required checks have been car-
ried out during construction, they shall be included in an addendum to the Report.
Supervision, monitoring, and maintenance are particularly important for ensuring
the safety and reliability of geotechnical structures and hence, there are many refer-
ences throughout Eurocode 7 to supervision, monitoring, and maintenance, including
a whole section, Section 4, with general requirements for the supervision of construc-
tion, monitoring, and maintenance, and subsections in other parts of Eurocode 7 with
specific requirements for
• Supervision in the case of pile foundations
• Supervision, monitoring, and maintenance in the case of anchors
• Monitoring in the case of overall stability
• Supervision and monitoring in the case of embankments
10.3.3 Design assumptions for reliable designs
Since achieving reliable geotechnical designs depends on the appropriate implementation of
the measures elaborated in the previous section, the provisions in Eurocode 7 are based on
a number of important assumptions regarding the competencies of those carrying out the
work, the materials used and the use of the structure. It is assumed that
• Data required for design are collected, recorded, and interpreted by appropriately
qualified and experienced personnel.
• Structures are designed by appropriately qualiied and experienced personnel.
• Construction is carried out according to the relevant standards by personnel having
the appropriate skill and experience.
• There is adequate continuity and communication between the personnel involved in
data collection, design, and construction.
• Adequate supervision and maintenance are provided.
• Construction materials and products are used as speciied in Eurocode 7 or other rel-
evant specifications.
• The structure will be used for the purpose deined in the design.
To provide a framework to verify the assumptions that different aspects of the geotechni-
cal work have been carried out by appropriately qualified personnel, some European coun-
tries have established systems for assessing and certifying the technical competencies of
those involved in the design and execution of geotechnical structures. For example, in the
United Kingdom, a Register of Geotechnical Engineering Professionals (RoGEP) was estab-
lished in June 2011. The aim of RoGEP is to provide external stakeholders, including clients
and other professionals, with a means to identify individuals who are suitably qualified and
competent in ground engineering. To prevent uncertainty as to whether or not the assump-
tions listed above have been complied with in a geotechnical design, Eurocode 7 states in
§1.3(3) that compliance with them should be documented, for example, in the Geotechnical
Design Report.