May/June 2021 - 55

FRANK HAEHNIG, PRESIDENT
REGIONAL REPORT
DFI Europe
C o n s t r u c t i o n
remains active
t h r o u g h o u t
Europe despite
the virus. However, a lot of new rules
and regulations exist, along with greater
understanding of the importance of
keeping a distance, and an even greater
f o c u s o n h e a l t h , s a f e t y a n d
environmental topics. Everything is
more complicated, costly and timec
on s umi ng , bu t t he s p i r i t o f
construction teams is excellent from
what I have seen. In the European deep
foundations industry, we may be
suffering in many areas, but we have
also been finding good solutions
alongside authorities and clients to
create the best situation for every
stakeholder. For example, within DFI
Europe, we now have even better
attended board meetings, as more board
members are attending virtually.
That said, members are missing the
very important social component of our
meetings, and reaching out to potential
members and extending networks is
more difficult. But we are working on
new ways to build industry connections.
This is especially true for the DFI
Student Chapter headed by Paolo Marzano,
Ph.D., at the Sapienza University of
Rome, as many European lectures occur
online. We try to connect regularly with
student chapter members and keep
them updated, thanks to Paolo.
DFI Europe has set up another Pile
Load Testing Seminar in The Hague,
which is another milestone. We look
forward to welcoming you at this event
in person or online.
I would also like to mention that
members have remained actively
engaged in the chapter, and extend a
sincere Thank You for their time and
engagement with DFI, as we also
understand the importance and
necessity of keeping in touch.
Stay healthy and connected.
UN Sustainable Development Goals of chapter interest
Sustainability Working Group
With reference to the 17 Sustainable
Development Goals (SDG) defined by the
United Nations (UN), DFI Europe has a
Sustainability Working Group that
focuses primarily on eight of the goals
that it has the most potential to influence
through our shared expertise. For
these eight the focus of DFI Europe is on
implementation of SDGs in education
and reduction of emissions and our
carbon footprint by reducing the use of
aggregates and nitrogen deposition
during design and execution. The chapter's
survey is ongoing on National
Strategies and Regulations in Europe
with regard to emission and CO2
footprint reduction, state-of-the-art
technology and design solutions to
achieve these results. The final UN goal
is collaborating to accomplish all previous
goals. Similarly, that's why our
working group is connected to the DFI
Sustainability Committee in the U.S.,
and European (EFFC) and Dutch (NVAF)
sustainability working groups. Furthermore,
the DFI Europe Sustainability
Working Group welcomed Eelco van der
Velde of Bauer Netherlands as a new
member. Contact office@dfi-europe.org
to become a member.
Static load testing campaign in Rotterdam (credit,
Port of Rotterdam)
Pile Load Testing
Seminar 2021
DFI Europe is organizing a one-day
seminar on October 21, 2021, about
static, rapid and dynamic pile load
testing in collaboration with the Royal
Institution of Engineers (KIVI) in the
Netherlands. Contributions are from,
among others, the Port of Rotterdam;
Belgian Building Research Institute;
Delft University of Technology;
Professor Christian Moormann at the
University of Stuttgart, Germany; and
DEEP FOUNDATIONS * MAY/JUNE 2021 * 55
May/June 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May/June 2021
