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Geotechnical Investigation and Foundation Construction

Foundations fail when the ground beneath them is misread, and remedial work costs far more than the site investigation that would have prevented it. This course connects geotechnical investigation to foundation design and construction, covering soil behaviour, site investigation methods, foundation selection and the supervision of piling, excavation and earthworks on South African ground conditions.

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What you will be able to do

  • Interpret a geotechnical report and its implications for foundation choice.
  • Recognise problem soils such as dolomite, expansive clay and collapsible sands.
  • Select appropriate shallow or deep foundation systems for given conditions.
  • Supervise piling, excavation and dewatering against the specification.
  • Apply earthworks compaction and testing requirements on site.
  • Manage geotechnical risk and record ground conditions as built.

Course outline

  1. 01Soil behaviour and classification basics
  2. 02Site investigation and sampling methods
  3. 03Reading the geotechnical report
  4. 04Problem soils in South Africa
  5. 05Shallow and deep foundation selection
  6. 06Piling and excavation supervision
  7. 07Earthworks, compaction and testing
  8. 08Geotechnical risk and records

Who should attend

Site engineers, civil and structural technicians, clerks of works, foundation subcontractors and project managers on building and civil projects.

Dates, venues and fees

DatesVenueDaysFeeCalendarRegister
28 to 30 Sep 2026Johannesburg3R13,000Closed
29 Sep to 1 Oct 2026Cape Town3R13,000Register
30 Sep to 2 Oct 2026Durban3R13,000Register
5 to 7 Oct 2026Pretoria3R13,000Register
6 to 8 Oct 2026Windhoek3US$1,500Register
7 to 9 Oct 2026Gaborone3US$1,500Register
12 to 14 Oct 2026Maseru3US$1,500Register
13 to 15 Oct 2026Mbabane3US$1,500Register
14 to 16 Oct 2026Lusaka3US$1,500Register
19 to 21 Oct 2026Harare3US$1,500Register
20 to 22 Oct 2026Lilongwe3US$1,500Register
21 to 23 Oct 2026Blantyre3US$1,500Register
26 to 28 Oct 2026Mozambique3US$1,500Register
27 to 29 Oct 2026Nairobi3US$1,500Register
28 to 30 Oct 2026Dar es Salaam3US$1,500Register
2 to 4 Nov 2026Kigali3US$1,500Register
3 to 5 Nov 2026Kampala3US$1,500Register
4 to 6 Nov 2026Accra3US$1,500Register
9 to 11 Nov 2026Lagos3US$1,500Register
10 to 12 Nov 2026Cairo3US$1,500Register
11 to 13 Nov 2026Mauritius3US$1,500Register
16 to 18 Nov 2026Dubai3US$1,500Register
17 to 19 Nov 2026Online3US$900Register

Fees are per delegate. South African venues are priced in rand; other locations and online in US dollars. Fees exclude 15% VAT where applicable. Group bookings of three or more delegates from the same organisation qualify for a reduced rate; contact us for a quotation.

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