Foundation world is a vibrant industry

Plenty of challenges and developments 

An awful lot is happening in the world of foundation engineering. According to Jaap Estié, director of the NVAF, it is a lively industry with many challenges and developments. And he is happy to share them. Reason enough for GWW Magazine to talk to the enthusiastic director. 

Foundation contractors all work in the unknown. After all, they are going into the ground. "You can look at a lot in advance through soil mechanics and geohydrological research, but not everything can be predicted. It's still mostly working on assumptions and estimates," Jaap acknowledges. "However, we increasingly see a trend of trying to put those risks on foundation contractors, because we are supposed to know everything. Of course we are specialists, but we can't assess all the risks and thus take responsibility for them. Fortunately this is well safeguarded in the general terms and conditions of the NVAF and also well regulated in the UAV and UAV-gc contracts, but certainly now that the market is a bit more competitive and the supply of work is a bit thinner, clients sometimes try to place the ground risks on the foundation contractor. We must guard against that trend continuing."

Split

Projects are increasingly being put out to tender sustainably, Jaap notices. "There are more requirements for the materials we process and the machines we use to do the work, preferably emission-free. This brings challenges, because it has to be feasible and affordable. Obtaining sufficient construction power is already a challenge in some places, and it must be possible to earn enough to finance the more expensive emission-free machines. That's the split we're in at the moment." Electric equipment also creates a challenge in the maintenance workshop, according to Jaap. "A maintenance workshop of a Tesla is very different from that of a foundation machine. It entails different risks, for that matter, also on the construction site itself. Important to take that into account."

Subject Booklet

NVAF is an active association, with delegates from member companies active in a variety of project groups. "For example, we recently set up a new project group to translate the effects of the Quality Assurance Act into concrete tools for our industry," Jaap explains. "We are also dealing with the change in the law with regard to foundations. Foundations are a construction act and not a remediation act. However, there are authorities that look at it differently and that sometimes causes discussions. Furthermore, we are constantly working on our safety guidelines. We are currently revising the Safe Foundations Manual to reflect the latest developments, which include electrification. The Trade Booklet describes how to work safely, healthily and environmentally responsible in the foundation sector. The fourth version will be published later this year." 

BTC and CSRD

Another file on the table at the NVAF is that of foundation repair. "In that area there is an enormous task in the Netherlands," Jaap believes. "With yet another project group, we are looking at how we can tackle that properly, combining and sharing knowledge and expertise. So that we don't have all kinds of requirements and questions coming at us that may be theoretically correct, but are not easy to implement in practice." NVAF is also revising the Construction Site Certificate (BTC) guideline, as part of the Construction Site Walkability Guideline. For this, they are working closely with international knowledge institutes. "Furthermore, a project group has been set up to give direction to the CSRD, a European guideline for sustainability reporting. This directive requires companies to report on their sustainability through various sustainability criteria. Larger companies are already required to do this, but it is also going to affect smaller companies. It may still seem like a distant concept, but in practice it is much closer," Jaap emphasizes. 

The Foundation Trade School started again this year, and soon another round of training is already scheduled. "Last year we successfully trained trainees, enriching their knowledge and skills. We urge companies to sign up their staff for one of the three training courses."