Geologists' vs Geotechnical Engineers: Why Clear Roles Matter for Slope and Structural Safety

BEM's recent Public Awareness Statement (Reference items 1 and 2) expressed concerns among various agencies and members of the public regarding the distinct roles of geotechnical engineers and geologists, especially in relation to slope stability, retaining structures, and building safety.

Full article here : BEM Official Website

This is a longstanding issue, not only in Malaysia but globally. Ahmed Elmouchi noted that geologists are trained to interpret the origin, history, and structure of earth materials, including rock types, faults, folds, depositional environments, and weathering. In contrast, geotechnical engineers utilise mechanics and analysis to design safe and constructible systems within these materials, such as foundations, slopes, tunnels, and retaining systems (reference item 3)

He also said that:-

On most projects, you don’t need a wall between geology and geotechnical engineering; you need coordination.

Additionally, Hamad Al Ismaili noted that there is a lot of overlap between the two fields. Without design, a geological model is lacking, and without geologic context, a geotechnical model may be deceptive. Together, they link the map and the calculations, ensuring that the building you erect will not be challenged, at least not significantly (Reference item 4).

Over ten years ago, this issue was brought to Malaysia's attention. According to a paper by S. S. Liew (Reference item 4), geologists can offer technical advice on potential geological hazards and initial mitigation measures for project planning because they have a solid understanding of the past and present geological processes of the earth materials at the project site. Nonetheless, the engineering geologist continues to play a crucial role in providing geological input during the design and implementation phases. This is especially true for large-scale linear projects, such as utilities, roads, tunnels, and dams.

While geotechnical engineers are well-versed in the integration of different civil engineering disciplines and contractual knowledge, they have also received extensive training in ground behaviour. Therefore, the geotechnical engineer will be responsible for the final engineering decision and detailed design.

In the paper, S.S. Liew also discussed two case studies from Malaysia that showed how geologists and geotechnical engineers collaborated on a project.

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Case 1 – Slope Strengthening Design

In a project where a vertical cut was 12m high, earth materials of varying weathering grades were encountered. Initial stage, geologist carried out desk study, field inspection and preliminary geological mapping . The geological mappin provide input information such as kinematic assessment (potential failure mechanism of rock masses), then geotechnical engineer planned for Subsurface Investigation (SI) for acquiring necessary engineering parameters for engineering design.

After the analysis and design stage, it was decided that the soil nail technique was most suitable for the sub-vertical soil surface.

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Case 2 – Forensic Investigation of Rock Mass Stability

After a collapse of a cut slope, a series of investigation was planned and carried out by both Geologist and Geotechnical Engineer, the geologist provided input on the lithology identification using petrography and aerial photograph interpretation, identification of geological structures from aerial photograph, and site verification, grade of weathering based on site inspection, and kinematic assessment from the geological mapping of discontinuities on exposed surfaces.

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Board of Geologist and BEM.

The Board of Geologist Malaysia (BoG) was in charge of overseeing geologists in Malaysia. The Geologists Act 2008, Act 689 Laws of Malaysia, established the Board in November 2014. The Board's responsibilities include regulating geological practice, registering geologists, and handling related issues. Professional geologists will be referred to as P. Geol.

In the other hand, Board of Engineers (BEM) oversees the registration of geotechnical engineers, which hold the title of Professional Engineer and have the title of Ir. before their name.

To further complicate matters, BEM also has the classification of Geological Engineer (in addition to Geotechnical Engineer), and according to their directory, they have 1 PEPC as geological engineer, while there are 18 PEPCs as geotechnical engineer.

I believe that more clarification is needed regarding the differences in the scope of work between engineering geologists (BEM) and geologists (BoG), as we have already addressed the geotechnical and geologist scopes.

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References

1.       Board of Engineers Malaysia (1^st December 2025). Public Awareness Statement: Distinct Roles of Geotechnical Engineers and Geologists in Ensuring Slope and Structural Safety; https://www.facebook.com/BEMEngineers/posts/pfbid02ewVf8m7woyvsT5Vjb5z6qzakaBT1Rtn63yfF4rxQusknJtXjnvuDn8k6p918uL9Xl

2.       Board of Engineers Malaysia Website (n.d.), Distinct Roles of Geotechnical Engineers and Geologists in Ensuring Slope and Structural Safety, https://bem.org.my/Landing/publicpage ?fbclid=IwY2xjawOeKqJleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFTQm44enhENVlHclVXSURvc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHkDElN7HjwuIL6N_NYeQ78xTnao1VzSeV66nRb1RIoVmHMsVlfCgLtHsYVu6_aem_U3bPr9FXJ8peFAk1Ux92IA

3.       Ahmed Elmouchi, Ph.D, Peng, 7^th August 2025, Geotechnical Engineers and Geologist : 2 Disciplines, One Ground, The Geotechnicals.com, https://www.thegeotechnicals.com/blog/519bd3e5-686b-470e-a291-e09e96877b2a

4.       Hamed Al Ismaili, 7^th August 2023, Geological Engineering vs Geotechnical Engineering, Hamed-geo.com,https://hamed-geo.com/geological-engineering-vs-geotechnical-engineering/

5.       S.S. Liew, Mutual Complementary Poles of Engineering Geologists and Geotechnical Engineers in Value Adding to Civil Engineering Projects In Malaysia – 2 Case Studies, GSM-IEM Forum : The Roles of Engineering Geology & Geotechnical Engineering in Construction Works,. Department of Geology, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 21^st October 2004. https://gnpgroup.com.my/ wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2004-11.pdf