School of PE Blog

Geotechnical investigation is an important component of civil engineering. The investigation pertaining to geotechnical aspects helps you in understanding the surface conditions and subsurface conditions. This kind of investigation is relevant in the planning phase of buildings and projects for public purposes. Inappropriate procedures and technical investigations can lead to faulty designs, construction delays, cost escalations and sometimes even major environmental risks.

Despite differences in the use of various geotechnical tools among geotechnical experts from various countries, there are set international standards on the minimum number of tests and types of laboratory tests that are required before beginning a construction project. Geotechnical investigation methods and standards are also important in PE exam preparation.

In general, we know that compromising the required investigation procedure can increase the risk of structural vulnerability. Therefore, performing relevant investigations are necessary to reduce the risks. These optimum geotechnical investigation procedures should be followed for minimizing the risks and improving the overall structural durability. It becomes an engineer's responsibility to acquire the required skills and techniques for promoting the best engineering practices to meet the growing needs of society and the environment. The civil engineers and their technical skills ensure better neighborhoods, good public facilities and safe transportation infrastructure.

Geotechnical engineering is an important and useful discipline for the Professional Engineering exam in civil engineering. This discipline demands knowledge, skills, appropriate equipment and experienced personnel. The above mentioned parameters are necessary to fulfill the requirements of geotechnical engineering aspects for the best design, economical construction and strong, durable, environmentally and energy friendly structures that could persist over generations.

The involvement of an enormous amount of resources for adopting the geo-technological advances is one of the major impediments in the construction industry. However, the conceptualization and implementation of suitable geotechnical applications in designing and constructing major projects of public utility like dams in seismic zones, high-rise apartments in loose soils, nuclear power stations and similar projects demanding 100% disaster-free facilities may prevent various social, economic, environmental and population hazards.

The civil engineering discipline has a great potential to improve the safety, quality and sustainability of different projects pertaining to human development by balancing both economic and environmental conservation. Rapid urbanization in both developed and developing economies across the world compounded with a shortage of quality procedures and standards demand more professional civil engineers with a PE exam certification than ever before.