Construction World February 2023

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING

Gauteng Piling on site.

If the building industry does not stop cutting corners to save costs, its already tarnished reputation could suffer further damage, cautions Nico Maas, Chairman of Gauteng Piling. COST-CUTTINGISADDINGTO BUILDINGSECTOR’SWOES, WARNSPILINGEXPERT

M aas, who founded Gauteng Piling in 1996 and is a former Master Builders SA as well as MBA North president, says the piling industry, for one, has become a victim of this ‘penny wise-pound foolish’ attitude as it encounters growing apathy and ignorance regarding the need for proper geotechnical investigations to ensure durable – and cost effective - foundations. A member of MBA North,

building, including its foundations, on detailed geotechnical investigations. These tests - conducted by geotechnical engineers or engineering geologists - provide invaluable information regarding the physical properties of soil and rock on a site, and determines whether a structure will need normal, piled, or raft foundations.

Gauteng Piling has in the past 26 years completed over 1 850 piling contracts for the construction of hundreds of houses as well as major commercial and industrial structures, notably 500 piles the company provided – following geotechnical soil tests - for the construction of the massive Mall of Africa in Midrand in 2016. Maas says structural engineers should base the design of a

These tests - conducted by geotechnical engineers or engineering geologists - provide invaluable information regarding the physical properties of soil and rock on a site.

26 CONSTRUCTION WORLD FEBRUARY 2023