The NZGS and the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE) have jointly released two new geotechnical engineering guidance documents as part of the Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering Practice series. This joint guidance has been published as Building Act s175 guidance.
The two new modules are:
- Module 5: Ground improvement of soils
prone to liquefaction - Module 6: Earthquake-resistant retaining wall design
These versions are being issued for public comment. Geotechnical, civil and structural engineers are encouraged to make use of these documents and return comments to modulefeedback@nzgs.org within six months for consideration by the editorial committee. Comments are also welcome from others working in earthquake engineering.
Module 5 This module covers the design of ground improvement and supports the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission recommendations to prepare national guidelines specifying design procedures for ground improvement, so as to provide more uniformity in approach and outcomes.
Module 6 This module covers the seismic design of retaining walls of a routine nature throughout New Zealand and should be used in conjunction with established handbooks that cover other aspects of retaining wall design in all situations and soil conditions. It builds on and generalises the supplementary retaining wall guidance issued by MBIE supporting the Canterbury rebuild seismic design of retaining structures for residential sites in Greater Christchurch with accompanying worked examples.
Geotechnical engineering education programme
An education programme supporting the release of Modules 5 and 6 and the Field Guide will be developed and advertised in due course.
Find all the modules here
View the geotechnical educational programme here