Geotechnical codes and standards

This appendix describes progress with geotechnical standardisation at the time of writing – March 2013.

As discussed in the main body of this report, Eurocode 7 has been mandatory for European public works since March 2010, and is likely to become the de facto standard for the private sector, both in Europe and in other parts of the world. BS EN 1997, ‘Eurocode 7: Geotechnical design’ covers site investigation to provide parameters for use in design.

Part 1 (BS EN 1997-1) provides general rules, and impacts on site investigations in section 3, where it covers geotechnical investigations, the evaluation of geotechnical parameters, and the nature of the ground investigation report (BSI, 2004). National Annexes have been produced by each contributing EU country detailing the application of the Eurocodes for that country. These National Annexes are an integral part of the documents, as they detail what ‘shall’ be done in that country.