Design and Construction of Earthworks

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Apply soil mechanics principles to earthwork design, construction, and performance assessment
• Interpret geotechnical reports, specifications, and standards related to earthworks
• Evaluate soil, groundwater, seepage, settlement, and slope stability conditions that affect project risk
• Select appropriate construction methods, equipment, and procedures for earthwork applications
• Apply practical quality control, dewatering, excavation, and stabilization strategies to support safe and efficient project execution

Description

Designing and constructing earthworks requires balancing technical, environmental, and construction considerations that are often interconnected. Soil conditions, groundwater behaviour, excavation requirements, and stability concerns must all be evaluated to ensure safe, effective, and constructible project outcomes.

This course strengthens your ability to apply soil mechanics principles to real-world earthwork projects. You will explore how soil characterization, compaction, seepage, settlement, shear strength, subsurface exploration, lateral earth pressures, and retaining systems influence project outcomes and construction decisions.

Through technical instruction and applied examples, you will develop a more structured approach to evaluating site conditions, managing geotechnical risk, and selecting appropriate construction, dewatering, excavation, and stabilization strategies.

Who Should Attend

This course is designed for:

• Geotechnical engineers, civil engineers, and municipal engineers involved in earthwork design or construction
• Engineering technologists, technicians, geologists, and land surveyors working with soil, excavation, or site development projects
• Contractors, construction managers, site supervisors, owners, and developers responsible for earthwork planning or execution
• Environmental engineers, environmental scientists, consultants, and urban planners involved in projects affected by soil, groundwater, slope, or excavation conditions
• Early-career through experienced technical professionals seeking to strengthen their practical understanding of earthworks

Day I

• Index properties of soil and soil characterization
• Soil compaction
• Design and control of compacted earthworks
• Water in soil, seepage analysis
• Stress in soil, change in stress, and seepage effect on stress
• SEEP/W seepage analysis examples
• Settlement analysis
• Dewatering techniques for fine-grained soils

Day II

• Shear strength of soils
• Subsurface exploration
• Slope stability analysis
• SLOPE/W examples
• Slope stabilizations

Day III

• Lateral earth pressures
• Retaining walls: gravity and cantilever walls
• Geosynthetic walls
• Deep excavation in soils
• Sheet piles and braced cuts