Geotechnical engineering is concerned with the engineering properties of earth materials. Geotechnical engineers perform geotechnical investigations to obtain information on the physical properties of soil and rock underlying (and sometimes adjacent to) a site to design earthworks and foundations for proposed structures and for repair of distress to earthworks and structures caused by subsurface conditions.

A geotechnical investigation will include surface exploration and subsurface exploration of a site. Sometimes, geophysical methods are used to obtain data about sites. Subsurface exploration usually involves soil sampling and laboratory testing of the soil samples retrieved.

Our site involvement commonly comprises of a JCB 3CX for a day, which is able to excavate areas around the site so that the engineer can take samples.