SELA covers the whole life of an infrastructure project — from the first borehole to the final certificate. Our expertise combines laboratory testing with field investigation and engineering consultancy, so one team can answer the questions a project faces at every stage.
Expertise across the project lifecycle
| Project stage | What we do | Laboratory |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Site investigation and design input | Boreholes and Standard Penetration Tests (SPT), trial pits, dynamic probing (DCP, DPSH), ground-penetrating radar (GPR) scanning, soil classification and CBR, topographic and drone survey, flood and erosion risk mapping | Geotechnical & Soil Investigation Environmental, GIS & Urban Resilience |
| 2. Materials approval and mix design | Concrete mix design and trial mixes, cement and aggregate certification, Marshall asphalt mix design, bitumen grading, reinforcing steel certification | Building Materials Transport & Pavement |
| 3. Construction quality control | Field density and compaction control, concrete cube and cylinder testing, asphalt cores and binder content, rebar sampling, dust, noise and water monitoring during works | Geotechnical & Soil Investigation Building Materials Transport & Pavement Environmental, GIS & Urban Resilience |
| 4. Completion, condition and forensic assessment | Non-destructive testing of existing structures (rebound hammer, ultrasonic pulse velocity, cover), failure investigation, as-built verification and post-construction certification | Building Materials Transport & Pavement |
Engineering consultancy
Alongside testing, SELA’s engineers support design and planning work, drawing on our team’s experience with donor-financed projects in Liberia:
- Road survey and design — alignment, pavement and drainage design, hydrological modelling, bills of quantities and cost estimates
- Geotechnical engineering — foundation recommendations, bearing capacity, slope and embankment stability
- Urban resilience and spatial planning support — GIS databases, terrain models and flood-risk analysis for planning and infrastructure investment
- Environmental baseline and compliance data — measured evidence for ESIAs, EPA permits and lender safeguard standards
See examples in our project experience.
Sectors we serve
- Roads, bridges and transport corridors
- Public buildings, schools, hospitals and commercial construction
- Energy, hydropower and dams
- Mining and industrial sites
- Water supply, drainage and urban development
- Ports and coastal works
Who we work with
Government ministries and agencies, project implementation units of World Bank, AfDB and other donor-financed programmes, contractors, design and supervision consultants, private developers and mining companies.
Standards we work to
ASTM International, AASHTO, British and European Standards (BS EN), ISO, ACI and TRL methods, together with Liberian technical standards and the specifications set by each client or funder. Our quality system follows ISO/IEC 17025 principles, with documented procedures and full sample traceability.
Why clients choose SELA
- Onshore and faster — no shipping samples to laboratories abroad and waiting weeks for results
- Lower total cost — no international courier, re-testing or delay costs
- Traceable evidence — documented procedures and chain of custody that stand up to supervising engineers and lenders
- Local knowledge — experience with Liberia’s lateritic soils, high rainfall and local construction materials
- One partner, four disciplines — geotechnical, materials, pavement and environmental expertise under one roof
Tell us what your project needs
Send us your site location and the tests or services you need. We will reply with a scope of work, schedule and an all-inclusive quotation.