As our guest, who is an Editor-in-Chief tunnel of Bauverlag BV tells us, the repair, and renovation market in Germany is growing, and over the next decade, the expenditure on infrastructure repairs will be huge. It looks like a long harvest season for this industry is coming.

If I add that our questions were answered by several experts, the organizers of the Forum, this promises to be an extremely interesting episode.

I invite you to listen to this conversation and to meet in Cologne in June 2021.

Do I need to say anything more?

Hit subscribe if you haven’t already and sit back listening. 

This is the 17th episode of the Concrete Injection Made Easy podcast.

And I’m your host, Mateusz Furs. 

1.

Please tell me about the beginnings of the Forum on Injection Technology —where did the inspiration for the event come from? 

The first Forum on Injection Technology was held in Düsseldorf in 2014. The occasion was the presentation of the new edition of the so-called “ABI leaflet” on the subject of sealing buildings by grouting, which had been revised in many parts.

The idea behind this was to explain the updates of the new edition within the framework of a program of lectures that dealt exclusively with injection technology. 

And because there was no other event with such a precisely targeted topic at the time, a number of companies from the field of waterproofing were soon interested in an accompanying trade exhibition.

What were some key milestones as the event developed over the years?

The concept was so well received by the participants that a second Forum on Injection Technology for 2016 was already announced during the event. 

With the relocation from Düsseldorf to Cologne we had the opportunity to enlarge the exhibition and extend the programme to two days – with an additional evening event on the first day, which turned out to be very popular. 

Due to the good response, it was soon clear that the Forum on Injection Technology had what it takes to become a permanent event series. At the third edition in 2018 – again in Cologne – this assessment was then confirmed: The number of exhibitors continued to rise, and the number of participants rose as well.

2. 

Can you elaborate on who the event is designed for? can you cite any testimonials from participants of previous meetings, where they share about how they benefited from taking part? Whether, for example, the knowledge gained and contacts made helped participants take their organization on the remedial injection market to new levels?

The forum is mainly aimed at building owners, planners and contractors. At the 2018 event, we produced a short film in which the participants explained in interviews what benefits the forum offers them. 

The statements can be summarised quite well: 

• Nowhere else you will find the bundled competence of the injection technology industry
• This is not only interesting for the guests but also for the exhibitors: customers, clients, planners … everyone is in Cologne on these two days,
• and this is of course also a huge advantage if you want to get in touch with experts who can give you the most diverse perspectives on injection technology… 

3. 

I am interested in the subject of issuing guarantees for injection jobs. 

Let’s say we have 2 cases: repair of a recently completed building or even one that is still under construction – sealing cracks and cold joints in an underground garage.

The second example is the reconstruction of vertical insulation in the wall of a tenement house which is about 150 years old.

The question is about the duration of the warranty period and the scope of the warranty, especially relative to the duration and scope of the initial warranty granted by the building contractor. 

The question of the liability of the injection contractor does not arise in this form in Germany, since injection technology is regarded as a generally recognised rule of technology. It is therefore governed by the legal regulations of the German Civil Code (BGB) and by the German Construction Contract Procedures (VOB).

If you work in Germany according to the BGB or the VOB, the warranty period stipulated in the laws, which is 5 years (according to the BGB) or 4 years (according to the VOB), also applies to injection measures. This is exactly the same warranty period that the building contractor must also give.

How to define the limits of an injection contractor’s liability when the condition of the overall building is unknown or is unclear or it is simply an old structure that is likely to see a need for repairs in the foreseeable future?

In any case, a planner should always determine what work the injection company has to carry out. Otherwise, the injection company may only repair the obvious damage – for example, a crack or a cavity. After that, however, there may be a redistribution of water. And the newly discovered water-bearing areas are no longer covered by the injection firm’s warranty.

Therefore, the planner must first examine the structure and, based on the results, consider the overall waterproofing of the structure – and not just the individual component. Then the waterproofing is planned in consultation with the client. The waterproofing company is thus jointly and severally liable with the planner for the success of the project.

Are there any laws and regulations in Germany and/or the EU—regions which the whole world looks at closely to benchmark best practices—that govern the duration and scope of the guarantee? Are there any standard guarantee formats in these markets that would be applicable to the above examples?

The duration and scope of the guarantee of injection works should always be determined by the planner. If such specifications do not exist on the part of the planner, the minimum requirements of the German Civil Code and the German Construction Contract Procedures apply.

4. 

Contractors often carry out remedial work without much awareness of their rights and obligations and sometimes don’t sensibly limit their liability and expose themselves to the risk of bankruptcy. What is the current legal framework for injection repairs? Are there any industry best practices that could be disseminated more widely? Perhaps a contract template/draft with provisions regulating the essence of injection repairs.

The injection technology does not require any special contractual provisions, as it is a generally recognised rule of technology. The contractor can carry out the injection work on the basis of the ABI leaflet. This set of rules states exactly how he must proceed. And the ABI leaflet is applicable worldwide.

5. 

How can Building Information Modeling (BIM) help pressure injection technology contractors in their daily work? What can applicators do to take advantage of this new modeling technology that is becoming more popular worldwide? A widespread problem nowadays is the complete lack of documentation or blueprints of buildings and the need to search for leaks on your own. The gap between the current state and BIM seems huge.

If there is a BIM plan for a building, the injection contractor can of course use it for his work – but he should also then add his own work to the BIM plan. But 90 percent of all injections are carried out on existing buildings that have not been planned in accordance with BIM.

The injection specialist can, however, take advantage of the digitalisation of application process:

in the medium term., digital recording of the data (such as the quantity of the injection material and the injection pressure) for quality assurance and documentation should become part of the daily work routine for subsequent waterproofing by way of injection technology. This applies to both large and small injection projects

6. 

What will the injection market look like in the future, according to the organizers of the forum? In episode 013 of the Concrete Injection Made Easy podcast, we heard various voices from representatives of injection packer producers, including German companies, who had interesting insights in this area. What’s your opinion?

> 7.

7. 

What are the top three biggest challenges that the injection industry faces nowadays?

The sharp rise in the need to modernise the German transport infrastructure with regard to reinforced concrete structures (for example. tunnels, bridges and overpasses) has been common knowledge for years. Many of these structures were built in the 1960s and 70s and now need to be renovated. 

According to the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 2030, 70% of the financial resources provided for the German transport infrastructure are to be used for rehabilitation. In this context, a considerable demand for injection measures can also be expected here over the entire next decade. There is certainly a similar demand for numerous underground car parks, which were also built in large numbers in the 1960s and 70s and now need to be renovated.

It can be said that the market volume in Germany for injection technology has increased in recent years and has a growing market potential in the coming years.

8. 

Finally, how can we encourage those who are still undecided to participate in the Tech Injections Forum? What would be forum’s key selling points when encouraging people from the injection repair market to participate?

The Forum on Injection Technology has developed into a real meeting place for the industry at a very early stage. The most important companies of the German-speaking market, which by the way are all internationally active, take part in the exhibition. 

The lectures are of a high professional standard. Research findings are presented, project reports that provide first-hand practical experience … And there are also special topics: Insurance cover for injection measures, for example, or lectures on tenders and building contracts …

Networking is a very important part of the forum.  During the exhibition, between the lecture blocks and at our evening event, there will be plenty of opportunity for exchange with injection technology experts. At the previous event in 2018, we had over 200 participants … so there’s no shortage of opportunities for discussion.

Wow, I’m so happy to have this conversation here on my podcast.

thank you all for your help and support in organizing this episode.

I’ll be there in Cologne. Let’s meet and share our knowledge of injection technology. 

Remember, that together we know more. If you want to meet me, it’s a great occasion to do so. 

We all hope that the pandemic situation will be solved at this time.

I just wanted to say, that I’m currently running a survey about the injection industry. Please help me understand your needs so that I could make more interesting episodes in the future.

You will find the link to the survey on this podcast episode notes.

Thanks for listening. And I hope you will tune in next time. 

+ Click to view entire transcript

– Click to collapse