Session 2 presentations from #ISWC23
Many of our members who attended the 2023 International Structural Waterproofing Conference may recall session 2 had many of the audience members 'flapping their arms' as part of an activation exercise - which certainly had everyone on their feet and engaged! If you missed the event, Ben Hickman (both Board & PCA member) presents a brief round-up of the presentations from this session which are now available to watch on-demand! Keep scrolling down to read what Ben has to say, or to watch the recordings, click on the button below.
Watch the recordings >>
A session chair's view...
As chair of the second session of the day, I thought I would begin with an activation exercise, which went some way in demonstrating the challenges of multi-tasking and helped us recognise this truly was an ‘international’ conference, with delegates from as far afield as Canada, Germany, and Nigeria!
Leak Detection in Structural Waterproofing - Jonas Küster, Texplor
Jonas Küster of Texplor travelled from Germany and spoke about locating leaks in buried structures. This presentation shared Texplor’s technology which enables the detection of leaks and identifies their location even in buried structures. Jonas shared several interesting case studies using this technology, from a number of Texplor projects.
The existence of this capability potentially changes which waterproofing designs are acceptable in line with BS 8102:2022, as the requirement for ‘repairability’ may now be satisfied, where before, the inability to locate leaks would render some waterproofing strategies non-compliant.
BIM Process for Real Projects - Paul Swaddle, NBS
Next up we welcomed Paul Swaddle from NBS, who shared some fascinating content on what architects look for from waterproofing suppliers. The presentation looked at what the NBS can offer and presented a view on Building Information Modelling (BIM). A helpful take home was on the mindset of architects, as demonstrated by a comprehensive survey conducted by BIM. The findings clearly suggest the importance of suppliers providing digital objects for their products.
Specifying & utilising low carbon steel in underground structures - David Baxter, ArcelorMittal
Last, but by no means least, we heard from David Baxter of ArcelorMittal, who spoke on sheet piling and the sustainability value of steel sheet piles highlighting the potential for recycling and even ‘green steel’! Several case studies were shared which showed the embodied carbon associated with steel sheet piles when compared with concrete basement structures.
Some takeaway thoughts...
As I said at the start, this truly was an international conference and demonstrates just how much this event has grown globally. The PCA conferences highlight year on year just how much PCA members are at the forefront of industry and this event was no exception.
The theme of sustainability is a big one and will not go away any time soon. Whilst not directly the subject of session 2 it was there within embodied carbon, long term repair and maintenance of basements and in digital records. I wonder what each of us could do to shift the industry to increase sustainability? Could you specify sheet piles instead of concrete liner walls? Could you use BIM to leave a genuinely useful waterproofing document in the O&M manual of your next basement? Could you repair the existing waterproofing rather than replace using specialist technology? I personally took lots away from this event and look forward to the next one...
View the presentations for yourself
Well, you have read what Ben has to say about these presentations...but what do you think? To access the presentations, visit our dedicated webpage which currently features session 1 & 2 videos, together with highlights and pictures captured on the day…
View the presentations >>