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Fides Expertise, a construction damage assessment and consulting firm has years of experience in inspecting, monitoring and reporting risks and damages in various construction, demolition and GWW projects. Speaking is Fred Pannekoek, director of the company. "The basis of monitoring lies mainly in the prevention of nuisance and damage. Through monitoring, measurement data is obtained during the execution of work on projects. By risk-based monitoring, the impact of the work is constantly monitored. In this way, potentially harmful consequences can be prevented."
During the various stages of monitoring, different types of measurements are taken. "For example, the development of vibrations, noise, deformations and groundwater levels are examined," Pannekoek continued. "The measured values are compared with the intervention and stop values established in the monitoring plan during the implementation process. If intervention values are reached during implementation, they are immediately validated and, where necessary, an alternative working method is suggested. This allows you to demonstrate from the results that the work is controlled and carried out in accordance with current regulations."
Professional monitoring by an independent and expert monitoring contractor, who carries out the work in-house in accordance with current regulations, provides clarity and certainty for the client. In addition, this reduces the chance of damage to a minimum, which also means that 'side issues' such as damage to image are no longer an issue. Fides Expertise's clear working method ensures open and honest communication to the environment and other stakeholders. "We find it important to work according to clear quality standards of both the BRL and the SBR," Pannekoek continues. "This allows the client who hires us to monitor a project to know that the results meet the applicable guidelines." Because we perform all disciplines of monitoring in-house, we work with short lines of communication and can act quickly."
In addition to monitoring environmental influences during the execution of a project, Fides Expertise also performs architectural preliminary surveys prior to the work. To this end, the company has held the KOMO process certificate BRL 5024 for the execution of architectural preliminary surveys since February 2014. An important quality aspect of the BRL certification is the spot checks on site by the accredited institution (SKG-IKOB). For the preliminary inspections, a detailed check is made to ensure that all defects are actually recorded in the report. Pannekoek: "We are co-initiators of this quality improvement and were therefore closely involved in the creation of the assessment guideline. The recording requirements of the BRL 5024 were created partly in cooperation with insurers, damage experts, the water boards and the insurance platform authorities."
Another process certificate, the BRL-5023 for vibration monitoring, has been held by Fides Expertise since 2013. This gives every client the guarantee that when Fides Expertise measures vibrations, it works in accordance with the applicable 2017 SBR-A guideline. An important quality aspect of the BRL certification is the spot checks on site by the accredited institution (SKG-IKOB). Pannekoek explains that having vibration measurements performed by a certified measurement agency provides assurance that the measurements have been performed correctly in accordance with the SBR and that the measurement results -in case of procedures- will not be questioned. "We position our measurement systems in an anti-vandalism cabinet so that we can be sure that the measurements will not be influenced or disturbed by third parties," Pannekoek adds.
"We are now part of the working group working on the expansion of the BRL-5023," Pannekoek continued. The BRL-5023 is to become a complete monitoring BRL, to which will be added noise measurements, groundwater level measurements and all forms of deformation measurements." The request for expansion into a comprehensive monitoring BRL comes from the Association of Insurers. The large differences in quality between the various monitoring contractors as well as the use of incorrect measurement techniques and insufficient measurement times were at the root of this.
Ambient building monitoring always starts with a proper and comprehensive baseline measurement. Traditionally, settlement measurement (accuracy leveling) is commonly used. Measurement points are placed in the facades of a building whose height is periodically checked. The measurement frequency depends on the situation/activities. When the limit is reached, additional actions will be assessed on a situation-by-situation basis. "But," says Pannekoek, "we see an increasing demand for the use of an active monitoring system, such as the Robotical Total Station (RTS), especially in complex inner-city construction projects. We have a lot of experience in performing automated XYZ measurements with our own RTS setups.
We work with the latest measuring equipment of the Trimble brand and, in combination with the right monitoring prisms, achieve a measuring accuracy that is less than 1 mm. Automated XYZ measurements that are more accurate simply do not exist. Fides Expertise deploys the RTS systems in areas such as quay rehabilitation and inner-city sewer projects with sensitive buildings. "We also monitor load deformations of parking garage floors constructed with newly developed slab floors." The measuring equipment employs instant alerting by e-mail at three levels, namely: attention, warning and alarm. The frequency can be set variably and alarms also follow if a prism is not measured (for example, due to an obstacle).
Whatever method of monitoring is desired is always tailored to the work. From the design phase, a risk assessment is often carried out first, which is used, among other things, to work out the monitoring needs of a project. Fides Expertise's consultants can advise on monitoring or its optimization at that point, but also at a later stage in the project. "In doing so, we look critically at what is technically necessary and what can possibly be added from a tactical point of view. Of course, we already make contact with residents while carrying out the preliminary surveys to ask permission to mount the monitoring prisms, measuring bolts and the vibration meter to the house. Pannekoek concludes, "The experienced specialists of Fides Expertise combined with our optimal processes and constant expertise ensure professional monitoring that you can rely on."
