Opening address

It is gratifying to know that there are so many engineers willing to gather together from all parts of the world to exchange knowledge, experience and skills on this important aspect of foundation engineering. The conference is over-subscribed and this is very satisfying to the organisers and reflects the continuing interest and importance of these expedients in current civil engineering practice not only in this country but right throughout the world. The value of such seminars to the individual will vary from person to person, but even only one new fact, often revealed unexpectedly by a speaker, or one new experience, can increase knowledge by as much as 100%.