1.1 This guide provides recommended designs and procedures for the fabrication, installation, operation, and reading of settlement platform to determine the magnitude and rate of foundation, fill settlements, or both generally under a fill or embankment load. Two types of settlement platforms are described - those be monitored by elevation surveys from an external bench mark and those that include an internal reference system supported on unyielding soil or rock beneath the compressible layer(s) of interest.

This guide does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this guide to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

This guide offers an organized collection of information or a series of options and does not recommend a specific course of action. This document cannot replace education or experience and should be used in conjunction with professional judgement. Not all aspects of this guide may be applicable in all circumstances. This ASTM standard is not intended to represent or replace the standard of care by which the adequacy of a given professional service must be judged, nor should this document be applied without consideration of a project's many unique aspects. The word "standard" in the title of this document means only that the document has been approved through the ASTM consensus process.