The importance of a site investigation should be understood prior to its initiation, and not considered as an unfortunate requirement, to be got around with as little associated outlay as possible. That said, costs are obviously of utmost importance, and ACSSIS Ltd has been established in order to allow the efficient and cost-effective provision of site investigation services, primarily for small to medium scale projects where margins of scale are of greatest influence. The aim is to provide what is needed, possible through reference to years of experience and a practical and flexible approach to any given situation. An appropriately planned and delivered site investigation will in most cases pay for itself, through the minimisation of unnecessary development costs and avoidance of delays and expenditure associated with unforseen ground conditions. Your consulting engineers will, in any case, require data upon which to base their structural designs, and ground investigation will also likely be required by the relevant regulators.
You may have been asked to provide a 'Phase 1' survey or 'Desk Study' in order to comply with planning conditions, or as a requirement of a lending institution. This forms the initial stage of the conventional process of site assessment, and is a suitable step for any development as it provides a basis for decision making and the appropriate allocation of resources. It will also highlight any particular areas of concern without the proportionately greater expense of direct investigation and geotechnical/geoenvironmental testing. In the longer term the procurement of this phase of investigation (as with appropriate following stages) will exhibit to future purchasers of the site (or parts of it), a reliable and professional approach to the development process.
