Quality Evaluations for the Office Works and Laboratory Tests Related to Site Investigation Studies in Jordan

Abstract

This research aims at conducting evaluations for the quality of the office works and laboratory tests concerning site investigation studies for construction projects in Jordan.The applied methodology for this research comprises four phases. The first phase was focused on identifying factors, methods, and literature review of the international standards in implementing site investigations. The second phase was concentrated on designing a questionnaire regarding opinions in performing site investigations in Jordan (in accordance with the international standards), and then distributing it to several engineers and experts who work at site investigation offices. The next phase was the analysis of the collected data that resulted from the distributed questionnaire using SPSS Software. Whereas, the last phase of the methodology was focused on developing for guidelines and preparing for conclusions.Based on the analysis of the received data related to the distributed questionnaire, the results indicated that various factors may affect the quality of the office works and laboratory tests related to the intended investigations. In general, it was concluded that the most important factor of these was the lack of commitment with the requirements of the Jordanian Code of Site Investigation, in addition to the lack of commitment to carryout laboratory tests based on the latest standards (specifications). Also, site investigation reports were almost free of containing detailed descriptions of geological profiles that derived from boreholes. Furthermore, these reports contain very limited information regarding the existence of water table or other sources of ground water.

Keywords: Site Investigations, SPSS Software, Questionnaire, Laboratory Tests, Quality Evaluations.