When a structure develops cracks, uneven settlement, or unexpected tilting, engineers often trace the root cause back to one place: the foundation. Getting Foundation Design right, for both shallow and deep systems, is what stands between a safe, long-lasting structure and a costly, sometimes dangerous, failure. This training course builds that capability from the ground up, giving participants the practical tools to design footings, piles, and integrated foundation systems with confidence.

Participants will learn how soil bearing capacity drives every foundation decision, and will practice sizing and detailing footings and piles across a range of ground and loading conditions. Beyond individual elements, the course builds the judgment needed to integrate structural foundations with the superstructure they carry, so that buildings, towers, and industrial facilities perform as one coherent system rather than a stack of separately designed parts.

The Foundation Engineering Training Course: Shallow and Deep Systems Design in Practice is delivered by Arab British Fellowship Training Academy for civil and structural engineers who plan, design, and review foundation systems on real projects.

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

• Diagnose how ground conditions and soil bearing capacity drive the choice between shallow and deep Foundation Design solutions
• Design shallow foundation elements, including isolated, combined, and strip footings, along with raft/mat foundations
• Determine pile capacity and design piles and pile caps for a range of deep foundation applications
• Check settlement and bearing capacity as part of a structured design verification process
• Integrate foundation design decisions with the superstructure to form a coherent structural foundations system
• Account for lateral loads, shear, and seismic effects in foundation design
• Apply relevant codes and standards when designing and reviewing foundation systems

Target Audience

• Structural and civil engineers responsible for foundation design
• Geotechnical engineers working alongside structural design teams
• Site engineers and construction supervisors overseeing foundation works
• Consultants and reviewers specializing in foundation design
• Engineers looking to deepen their skills in shallow and deep Foundation Design

Module 1: Why Foundations Fail, and How Design Prevents It

• How foundation problems show up as cracking, tilting, and uneven settlement in completed structures
• Linking site soil conditions directly to the choice of foundation system
• Key differences between shallow and deep foundation solutions

Module 2: Shallow Foundation Systems

• Design of isolated, combined, and strip footings
• Design of raft and mat foundations
• Determining soil bearing capacity and checking settlement

Module 3: Pile Types and Capacity Assessment

• Types of piles: cast-in-place, precast, and steel piles
• Methods for determining pile capacity
• Matching pile type to ground conditions and loading

Module 4: Pile Caps and Connection to the Superstructure

• Design of pile caps and load transfer to the columns above
• Addressing lateral loads and shear in pile and pile cap design
• Coordinating deep foundation design with the overall structural system

Module 5: Seismic and Dynamic Load Considerations

• Accounting for dynamic and seismic loads in shallow and deep foundation design
• Foundation behavior under earthquake loading
• Design measures to improve seismic performance of foundation systems

Module 6: Codes, Case Studies, and Lessons Learned

• Overview of local and international codes used in Foundation Design
• Applied case studies from real shallow and deep structural foundations projects
• Common design challenges and the lessons they offer for future projects