Magnum GSIGeoscientific desk study reporting
What is already known about a site before any ground is broken: its geology and hydrogeology, its history, its environmental setting and the ground risks that follow from them. Available in minutes through GeoScreen™, or as an authored desk study by a geotechnical engineer.
Why start here
The cheapest point at which to find a problem
A desk study is the first stage of ground investigation under BS 5930:2015+A1:2020. It costs a fraction of a borehole, and it decides where the boreholes should go. Sites bought, designed or priced without one tend to meet their mining legacy, their old landfill or their shrinkable clay later, when the fix is dearer.
GeoScreen™ for a rule-governed screening report in minutes; an authored BS 5930 desk study when the project needs an engineer's judgement, a walkover and a scoped investigation.
Every source is named and every limitation stated. Each rating or judgement can be traced back to the data behind it, and where the data is thin the report says so rather than guessing.
Each desk study ends with what the findings mean for the proposed development and what should happen next, so you can brief a design team or an investigation contractor straight away.
What we provide
From a screening report to a full desk study
GeoScreen™ screening reports
Automated ground risk reports for any site in England, Wales or Scotland, ordered online and delivered by email in minutes. Around 30 public datasets are queried and 11 geohazards plus the source protection zone are rated by explicit rules, with 18 figures. Tier 0 Ground Risk Snapshot from £75 + VAT; Tier 1 Ground Risk Report, with full narrative, conceptual site model and recommendations, from £150 + VAT. A single point, a site boundary or a linear route.
Authored desk study
A BS 5930 desk study prepared by a geotechnical engineer: historical maps and aerial photography, BGS geology and borehole records, previous investigations, mining and regulatory registers, flood and hydrogeological data, and a site walkover. The report gives a preliminary conceptual site model, a ground risk register and a recommended scope for intrusive investigation.
Scope to suit the project
Geotechnical, geo-environmental (Phase 1 preliminary risk assessment to BS 10175 and the Land Contamination Risk Management guidance), hydrogeological and flood-related content included or left out according to what the project needs, in our format or yours.
How it works
Start from the question, not a standard list
- GeoScreen™. Enter a postcode, draw a boundary or upload a route, pay online and the report arrives by email in minutes.
- Brief. For an authored desk study, a short call about the site, the proposed development and anything you already hold. The programme is agreed at the outset and held to.
- Research and walkover. Sources gathered and reviewed; the site walked where access allows.
- Report. Findings, a preliminary conceptual site model, a risk register and the recommended next steps, checked by a second engineer before issue.
Who it is for
Anyone deciding on a site
Developers, architects and planners at site selection and feasibility; solicitors, funders and insurers assessing ground-related liabilities; contractors pricing a scheme; and asset owners and infrastructure teams who need an independent view of ground conditions.
We work across England, Wales and Scotland, from single residential plots to industrial and infrastructure sites.
A GeoScreen™ Tier 1 report is the usual starting point. If it rates a hazard High, or the site history is complicated, an authored desk study or a scoped ground investigation follows from it.
See a sample report →Standards
What the work is carried out to
BS 5930:2015+A1:2020 Code of practice for ground investigations; BS EN 1997-1 and 1997-2 (Eurocode 7); BS 10175:2011+A2:2017 Investigation of potentially contaminated sites; and national planning policy (NPPF, Planning Policy Wales, NPF4) for planning context. All work is carried out under our ISO 9001 certified quality management system (certificate 251677); the company holds Cyber Essentials certification, and every report is checked by a second engineer before issue.
Have a site in mind?
Order a GeoScreen™ report now, or tell us about the project and we will suggest the right level of desk study.