This paper describes the development of a Decision Support System (DSS) for the assistance of bridge engineers in the preliminary design and costing of bridge foundations. Past experience in innovative system development has shown the area of foundation design to be complex, and hence it is a domain in which a DSS could play a useful role. Current practices and potential improvements in bridge foundation design and costing are being identified through a process of Knowledge Acquisition (KA) using both literature and industrial liaison. The findings of the KA are discussed in the paper. The results to date have mainly indicated that bridge engineers essentially require a knowledge of four sub domains to complete the preliminary design and costing of bridge foundations. The sub domains cover geotechnical, structural, construction and costing knowledge. They have a high degree of inter-dependency, which must be recognised if designs are to be economical and efficient.

A prototype architecture has been proposed to support these areas, providing increased availability of information in the sub domains and an enhanced understanding of the apparent inter-dependency. This architecture is described here.

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