Graphical methods for hazard mapping and evaluation

Graphical techniques are presented as a practical approach to hazard assessment. These were initially developed for the evaluation of potential collapse associated with old chalk mine workings. However, the underlying methodology is free-standing and now capable of being tailored to other ground engineering situations. This places a strong emphasis on the inclusion of abstract factors, otherwise excluded from mechanistic forms of assessment by traditional methods. The ways in which such varied information can be analysed and then synthesized in an assessment are discussed. The graphical approach lends itself to both overview and audit, and is therefore relevant for project evaluation as well as geohazard assessment.