Mega potential for Dutch foundation industry

There is a huge amount to do in the Netherlands in all kinds of areas, around housing construction, foundation repair, dike reinforcement and all projects related to climate adaptation. So says Jaap Estié, director of the Nederlandse Vereniging Aannemers Funderingswerken (NVAF), who is positive about the potential of the foundation sector. At the same time, he also makes some comments.

So potential is plentiful, but so are challenges. "For example, we face a number of limiting factors," Jaap rightly states. "Think of the ruling around nitrogen that casts a shadow ahead. Another challenge, of course, is the labor market. It is important not only to recruit new talent, but certainly also to retain existing skilled workers for the industry. We are doing everything we can to show the market that we are an attractive industry to work in."

CO2 calculator

The topic of sustainability also naturally touches the foundation industry. "In doing so, we look beyond materials and equipment," says Jaap. "We strive for methods that make foundations more circular and at lower CO2 emissions. A good tool for this is the CO2 calculator developed within the European Federation of Foundation Contractors (EFFC). With this tool you can calculate the CO2 impact of the different design choices of a foundation project. It is about raw materials, about what you put in the ground and what equipment is involved. So then you're not just talking about foundation machines, but especially transport. Because the foundation machine alone has only a limited impact on the total CO2 emissions of a foundation project. On average it is only a few percent, while the supply of raw materials, concrete and steel is responsible for as much as 90% of the total CO2 emissions. There is still too little awareness of this, because often the focus is mainly on the emissions of the foundation machine."

Own place in the chain

A foundation company has its very own place in the chain, according to Jaap. "It's quite specific what we do. Despite mapping the soil for our work, we often have to deal with unforeseen circumstances. Probing gives you an impression of the geotechnical situation, but in some places in the Netherlands it can be completely different 10 meters away. In addition, we sometimes encounter obstacles in the subsurface, such as an old tree, boulder or historical construction that is not registered anywhere. No project is the same, nothing is standard. That makes the work fantastically challenging on the one hand, but sometimes there could be a little more understanding from the outside world. No building without a foundation. Our work is at the foundation of everything that is built and realized in the Netherlands."

Foundation Trade School

This spring, the NVAF, in cooperation with Training Center Crescendo, is launching an updated format of the Foundation Trade School. This hands-on training program is specifically designed to train and advance employees in the foundation industry. Thanks to its modular structure, employers and employees can make targeted choices about what knowledge and skills are needed to strengthen craftsmanship and ensure safety on the construction site. "The Foundation Trade School offers a structured path that allows employees to develop from starter to specialist," says Jaap. "In doing so, we help companies not only train their employees, but also retain and further develop them. This is how we build a safer and more professional foundation industry together."