As contractors, our industry has to deal with the reality of what happens when a theoretical design meets the ground.  The ISSMGE (International Society of Soilmechanics and Geotechnical Engineering) is keen to explore the challenges of the practical issues of construction compared to the academic understanding in its upcoming ECSMGE conference 26-30 August.

To provide the practical understanding to this event, the EFFC has a number of our experts giving presentations on the state of the art of geotechnical practice. EFFC President Serge Borel shall be participating in a forum discussion on the Challenges of Underground Space in the Cities of the Future. A topic of increasing importance as planners seek to build down, rather than using undeveloped land that is needed for agriculture, leisure space or other uses.

Karsten Beckhaus shall be speaking on the EFFC-DFI Tremie Guide and what the latest research is telling us about the behaviour of concrete in the ground. Ayelen Ottaviani of our Sustainability WG shall be presenting on 10 years of the Carbon Calculator and the future of the tool.

Overall the Conference has six themes in its State of the Art lectures:

• New Development on Structural Design,
• Geohazards,
• Risk Analysis and Safety Evaluation
• Environment, Water and Energy
• Future City World Vision

There shall also be geotechnical site visits on Friday 30^th August and an extensive range of workshops including Sustainable Practices in Environmental Geotechnics and one on the Second Generation of Eurocode 7.

The EFFC is supporting the conference and we hope contractors are able to participate in order to educate the wider industry on our issues. The conference promises to inform contractors on what is driving developments in what we are required to do and what to expect in the future.

Registration is open please visit https://www.ecsmge-2024.com to sign up or find out more.