Geotechnical and
Geophysical Engineering

Our services

From preliminary geotechnical studies and ground investigations, through foundations and construction materials testing, together with an extensive range of environmental chemistry, energy and waste analysis capabilities, SOCOTEC plays a vital role in delivering projects on time, to budget, and safely.

Geotechnical Engineering

SOCOTEC provides a complete, integrated package of services, covering the whole project lifecycle from the pre-build phase through to site investigation, design, construction and the built stages. 

We investigate, test and advise on ground, geological and structural conditions. More precisely, an accurate analysis of the stratigraphy and physical-mechanical parameters of the subsurface is crucial for the project design. In order to gather these data, we provide geological and geotechnical investigations on site and deliver geognostic surveys, penetrometric tests, and sample laboratory analysis. We also perform a number of other types of tests, from load tests on foundation plates or poles, to volumetric tests, borehole installations, permeability tests, etc. Our reports may include risk analysis and potential envronmental impacts, that allow our clients to create cost effective, safe and sustainalble solutions.

In the UK specifically, SOCOTEC is the market leading provider of site investigations. Expert field operations are backed up by UKAS accredited analytical testing technical support.

Geophysical Engineering

Non-destructive geophysical surveying provides a cost effective method to determine subsurface conditions. Our teams assist our customers with all types of geophysical surveys, even in remote sites that require high logistical and organizational skills.

We follow projects from design through to testing and we are able to monitor and assess the state of preservation of your infrastructures during their life, helping you to plan and certify all types of maintenance and recovery operations. Our highly specialized experts are able to reconstruct the subsurface structure from a geological, geotechnical and environmental point of view, for the design of large infrastructure works such as dams, roads, railways, tunnels and viaducts. Our services include surveys of landslides, the modelling of underground cavities, the search for buried archaeological heritage, and the mapping of pollutants or technological networks.