A Revised version of BS 5930 (BS 5930: 2015, “Code of Practice for Ground Investigations”) has been published in August 2015 which replaces the previous 1999 version.

BS 5930 has underpinned ground investigation practice in the UK and abroad since its original publication in 1981. The subsequent 1999 revision was an update to reflect the ongoing evolution of investigation methods.

Since then there have been two major amendments 2007 and 2010) to incorporate the requirements of EN standards related to Eurocodes, specifically the standards associated with EN1997-2, in sampling, testing and soil and rock description.

BS 5930:2015 presents an update on the requirements for the investigation of sites in order to assess their suitability for construction and to identify the characteristics of a site that affect the design and construction of the project.

Apart from changing the title from ‘site’ to ‘ground’ investigations, readers might not see much change in the content.

However, the revised standard does update best and current practice, accommodate EN ISO standards and has been reorganised to reduce repetition.