QUESTIONNAIR

Purpose: This questionnaire has the purpose of evaluating the existing geotechnical
investigation practice in Ethiopia. It is intended for academic uses.
Direction: -Please choose the best that describes your answer

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

1. What is the profession of the person who prepares the geotechnical investigation
program in your organization?

Geotechnical Engineer
Structural Engineer
Architect
Geologist
Our office doesnt prepare a geotechnical investigation programme. We leave that for the
geotechnical engineering firm. We only describe the scale and nature of the project and
specify the minimum number of boreholes and the minimum depth. We leave the rest to
the geotechnical engineer as he/she will be liable for what he/she proposes.

2. What are the factors that determine the selection of exploration method (test pit,
boreholes, Trench, etc.) and the design of the investigation program? Why?
Again this is left for the geotechnical engineer to determine. We believe it is wrong
for the structural engineer to dictate the type of investigation. The structural should
be responsible for what is being built from the foundation up. It is the geotechnical
engineer that should be responsible for whats taking place from the foundation
bellow.
3. Do you conduct site reconnaissance and preliminary investigation while doing the
investigation? How?
a) Yes
b) No
Site visit, site survey, consultation of municipal authorities for overhead and
underground utilities etc
4.

How do you select the machines for soil investigation purpose?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Availability in the market

Drilling Speed and drilling depth capacity
Depending on the project size (building type)
Accessibility of the site

E. Other This is left to the geotechnical engineer

5. How do you decide on the number of investigation points (like Test pits or
boreholes)?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Project Area
Shape of the project Area
Accessibility of the project area
Existing information about the site

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E. The minimum is three. We then select points depending on the size of the
foundation and at points where we feel there will be large stresses on the bearing
strata
6. What are factors affecting the decision on number of investigation points and
spacing between them (such as Test pits or Boreholes)?
This is generally left to the geotechnical engineer. However, we require boreholes
where we have large spans and critical structural elements that carry significant
loads. We also suggest that more boreholes are dug to get a good estimate of
deflection and foundation settlement for critical structures such as hospital
building, silos etc. more detailed investigations will be required for other types of
buildings like nuclear plants tunnels etc. but such structures are yet to be
constructed in Ethiopia
7. How do you decide borehole and test pit depth?
Foundation size and stressed area of soil. This is again left for the geotechnical
engineer.
8. What are the most common soil laboratory test types you conduct (for soil )
A.
B.
C.
D.

Classification
Index property
Shear strength
Compressibility tests
This is left to the geotechnical engineer

9.
A.
B.
C.
D.

How frequent the shear test is requested?

Rare
Sometimes
Frequently
Very frequently
This is left to the geotechnical engineer

10.How frequent the compressibility is requested?

A. Rare
B. Sometimes
C. Frequently
D. Very frequently
This is left to the geotechnical engineer
11.Which of the following test are most frequently conducted?
A. DC
B. UCS
C. Triaxial (UU,CD,CU)
This is left to the geotechnical engineer
12.For what type of projects do you recommend permeability tests?
When we encounter clay soils, when we design septic tanks and cesspools
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13. Do you supervise the geotechnical investigation on the site? If yes, How?

This is left to the geotechnical engineer, but the structural engineer from time to time
visits the site to get a feel for the type of soil that exists to allow for the same for
underground construction and to discuss with the geotechnical engineer if the
investigating needs to be revised.

14.
What are factors for selecting the above laboratory tests for different
projects?
This is left for the geotechnical engineer. However, as a structural engineer I
provide all the information and additional information the geotechnical engineer
needs to make the necessary choices.
15.
What type of field testing methods do you commonly use?(You may use
more than one item)

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.

Static Cone penetration and piezocone penetration tests

Standard Penetration test (SPT)
Dynamic Cone Penetration Test(DCP)
Pressure Meter Test (PMT)
Plate Load Test
Flexible dilatometer test (FDT)
Dynamic probing tests (DP)
Weight sounding test (WST)
Vane test (FVT)
Flat dilatometer test (DMT)

K. Other____________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
16. How do you decide the frequency with depth for the field test?

A. Depending on the anticipated profile of the formation

B. Depending on the depth of drilling
C. Depending on the depth of the structures below the natural ground level of the
building /Sub structure / (basement, water tankers, septic tank, etc.)
D. This is again something left to the geotechnical engineer. However, we require a

minimum of three boreholes and the depth of the boreholes is measured from the
last level of the building and not the natural ground level. The depth we usually go
for is based on the pressure bubble that is induced on the underlying strata.
17. How frequent are undisturbed soil samples taken?

A. Depending on the type of the soil profile

B. Depending on the depth of the drilling
C. Depending on the depth of the structures below the natural ground level of the
building /Sub structure / (basement, water tankers, septic tank, etc.)
D. Generally left to the geotechnical engineer

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i.
ii.
iii.

i.
ii.
iii.

18.
What are the criteria used for selecting rock samples to consider for
laboratory test?
A. State of the rock (weathering, RQD)
B. Influence depth of the superstructure load /Stress
C. Depth of the structures below the natural ground level of the building /Sub structure /
(basement, water tankers, septic tank, etc.)
D. Generally left for the geotechnical engineer

19. How frequent are disturbed samples taken?

A. Type of the soil profile

B. Influence depth of the superstructure load /Stress
C. Depth of the structures below the natural ground level of the building /Sub structure /
(basement, water tankers, septic tank, etc.)
D. Generally left for the geotechnical engineer

20. Which of the following approaches do you use to log the trial pits or
Boreholes(you may give multiple answers)
a. For Soil
Visual inspection
Laboratory test results (Atturberg, grain size and Free swell)
Total Core Recovery (TCR)
iv. Generally left for the geotechnical engineer
b. For Rock
If Rock RQD and TCR
Degree of weathering for
Rock classification(Using rock visual identification)
iv. Generally left for the geotechnical engineer
21. What type of measures will be taken if your project is located on an old damping
site?
A. Will increase the investigation depth
B. Will drill additional borehole
C. Both of the above and possible use a floating foundation or deep foundations
depending on the weight of the building and the scale of the construction
22. What type of measures will be taken if the soil profile is found to be horizontally
erratic in the project area?
A. Will increase the investigation depth
B. Will drill additional borehole
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C. Certainly increase the number of boreholes and also consider soil improvement
methods to make sure that soil is relatively consistent throughout the
foundation and building footprint

23. What type of measures will be taken if the soil profile is found to be vertically
erratic in the project area?
A. Will increase the investigation depth
B. Will drill additional borehole
C. Certainly increase the number and depth of boreholes and also consider soil
improvement methods to make sure that soil is relatively consistent throughout
the foundation and building footprint
24.
How ground water level is measures taken and what types of tests are
made?
A. GWT measurement tool
B. Chemical test
C. Field Permeability/in rocks and soil/
D.This is generally left to the geotechnical engineer. Although I am not satisfied on
the type of tests that are conducted to and the extent of the findings. I am yet
to work on a site which the geotechnical engineers report suggests that there is
a water table. I have hover worked on sites where the ground water table is
very high and the report says that there is no ground water. How the
geotechnical engineer distinguished between ground water and surface runoff
water is not clear to me also.

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.

25.
Which expert doses the ground investigation report/profession/and with
what qualification?
Civil engineer(BSc.)
Geologist (BSc.)
Geotechnical Engineer (MSc. in Geoetchnics )
Geologist (MSc. in Geoetchnics )
MSc. in Engineering Geology
I believe geologists are not qualified to work as geotechnical engineers.
Engineering is the art of using materials that we dont wholly understand to serve
functions in a manner we cannot fully measure. A geologists is not aware of this
limitations that engineers have and I believe that engineering investigations on
soils should be conducted by people with knowledge of civil engineering and
certainly geotechnical engineering.

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A.
B.
C.

26.
What type of approach is used to calculate bearing capacity and settlement
calculation and any additional information we need to complete the report?
Analytical
Empirical
Presumptive
D. This is left for the geotechnical engineer.
27.
For how long does the core soil sample will be kept for further
investigation?
A. Less than a week
B. Two weeks
C. One month
D. Two Month
E. Three Month and more
F. This is left for the geotechnical engineer

28. Have you ever done a supplementary investigation during construction?(Yes, No)
If Yes, How Often?
A. Rare
B. Sometimes
C. Frequently
D. Very Frequently
29. Do you supervise the geotechnical investigation on the site? If yes, How?
I do for the sites that I dont have confidence on the geotechnical engineer. I
supervise by monitoring the depth of bore holes, by monitoring how the samples
are extracted and arguing on how the ground water table is measured and so far I
have not got an answer that I am satisfied with.

General Note:
It is my belief that there serious malpractices in the construction sector in Ethiopia
and the standards to which we are working in the construction sector is continually
declining. More and more professionals are unwilling to be held accountable for the
work that they are doing siting not enough pay. Regardless of the amount of money
that the professional is getting paid for the service that he/she is offering, human
lives depend on the recommendations that the engineer makes and the work that
he /she does. It is therefore mandatory for the engineer to be work responsibly and
accept any liability for the work executed. In line with this principle our practice,
specific responsibilities left for each engineer and sets only the minimum
requirements that have to be met for any type of soil investigation. It is left for the
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geotechnical engineer to fill in the gaps and suggest more tests and more boreholes
and more boring depths if the geotechnical engineer sees fit. We will accept more
investigation requests but not less than the minimum our practice has set. This
way, the structural engineer will be held accountable for his/her and the
geotechnical engineer will be held accountable for the he/she has done.

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