Whenever something big or dangerous has to be built, it takes more than the usual civil engineer to work out what it has to be done. Geotechnical consultants have to work out how the earth will react to certain forces placed on it. With a geotechnical consultant on site, the work should progress easier.
Typically, this engineer will survey the site and work out exactly what types of material are needed to complete the work. They will examine all the materials already on site, like soil and rocks etc to see how these materials will react if built upon. This is done to assess any risk to the environment and humans alike and when it is not done, disaster could easily strike those who put up structures on an unsafe site.
Once the site is assessed, the engineer can then design certain foundations which will take into account the oddities found there and this will go to making a safer structure for all concerned. Of course, where bridges or high rise buildings are being constructed, this is an absolutely vital section of the work if disasters are to be averted.
But it is not necessarily on the land that these constructions will be built. Tunnels for trains, dams and levees all bring their own particular problems so having a great engineer to work out all the stresses and strains is vital of course.
At the coast of any country, wharves and jetties have to be built to access any deliveries by sea. Not only is the land inspected, but the motion of the waves too. The sea is a particularly strong opponent when it starts to eat away at foundations and with the constant tidal movements, it can easily destroy something that was not built properly. Even offshore platforms will have to be engineered so that they do not move around in really bad conditions.
Although people have been building foundations for buildings for thousands of years, there were some notable mistakes. The Leaning Tower of Pisa for example whose foundations started to subside and gave the building that distinctly drunken look that is famous today. This building has been shored up now, thanks to modern methods, but the locals decided to leave in leaning like that to satisfy the many tourists who come each year to see it for themselves.
But it is not only the site itself that engineers are interested in. They often survey the surrounding areas too to get the feel of the land. After all, it would be no good building very firm foundations next to underground caves or places where water is seeping in. Sometimes they have to build foundations far beyond the parameters of the structure they are supposed to build so that the whole remains firm and stable.
Therefore, anyone who is planning to build something, maybe a house or warehouse for example, where none existed before, these engineers must have a hand in the planning stages. It would be unwise to proceed without them for sure.
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