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  • Essay / Geological survey: the first step towards...

    Geological survey is the first step towards the completion of a building and is considered the most important step because it identifies the feasibility of an area construction and determines how the foundations and preventive measures to be put in place for the building. According to Sadhi (2012), one-third of construction projects are delayed and half of excessive costs of road projects are due to inadequate geological survey or misinterpretation of data. According to Ferrer Geological Consulting (nd), geological investigation is mandatory to ensure adequate design with maximum safety and optimal economic benefit, and savings on the geological investigation budget turn out to be false economies. The geological investigation process involves carrying out a desk study and reconnaissance of the proposed site, conducting a preliminary site investigation, preparing a detailed site investigation plan, carrying out a detailed site survey and preparing a soil exploration report (Mailvaganam, 1995). After a preliminary geological investigation, the next step is to prepare a detailed geological investigation plan with the data obtained during the preliminary site investigation (Bennison, Oliver, & Moseley, 2011). According to Bennison et al. (2011), the purpose of preparing a detailed geological investigation plan is to identify the necessary site investigation techniques, as each soil type has its own test for optimal accuracy. Then, the area and depth of the terrain to be studied are identified based on the geophysical state of the area (Stump, 1991). According to Pye (2007), if a sinkhole is identified, the area of ​​geological investigation is expanded to identify whether the underlying surface consists of a large portion of limestone, which is not suitable to support heavy loads for an extended period of time due to its vulnerability to corrosion by water. After confirmation of the test method as well as the area and depth of the terrain to be studied, the cost associated with this detailed geological study is calculated and the time required to carry out the test is precisely calculated (Lerche, 1997) . With approval from management and budget, the detailed geological survey is carried out based on the pre-planning. This detailed study includes both surface geophysical exploration and underground geotechnical exploration (Gregory, 2008). According to Bujang (2003), the surface geophysical exploration is repeated to identify the deposition of the soil and rock unit and see if the result matches the data obtained during the preliminary geological investigation..