Italiano
Hawkins Principal Associate Yvonne Ainsworth shared her specialist geotechnical engineering knowledge at the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters (CILA) Conference with her presentation, “The Hole Story – Understanding Sinkhole Formation and Investigation”.
In her presentation, Yvonne explored how sinkholes form and why establishing their cause requires a careful understanding of both geology and human activity. She explained how natural sinkholes can develop over thousands of years as water dissolves soluble rock, while washout sinkholes may appear rapidly when large flows of water remove loose granular material. Drawing on case studies, she also highlighted the potential consequences for buildings and communities and the investigation techniques used to determine what has happened below ground.
A Chartered Civil Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Yvonne has more than 25 years’ experience in the UK and international construction industry. Her expertise covers civil, structural, and geotechnical engineering, with particular strength in piling, diaphragm walling, complex foundations, and retaining-wall projects. She combines hands-on design and construction experience with specialist knowledge of failure investigation and risk assessment, enabling her to analyse technically challenging, ground-related incidents, and explain their causes clearly.
Yvonne was joined at the conference by Hawkins colleagues Graeme Drysdale, Business Development Manager and Fellow of CILA, and Andrew Moncrieff, Principal Associate and specialist in fire investigation and forensic geology. Together, their attendance reflected Hawkins’ broad technical expertise and longstanding engagement with the loss-adjusting and insurance communities.
