Improving organisational resilience to disaster events: an FM perspective

Background and aim - Improving the resilience of business organisations and critical infrastructure providers to disaster events is a major challenge facing many European organisations. Recent floods in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands and earthquakes in Iceland, Italy, Romania and Greece have demonstrated the need for organisations to adopt...

Research needs for improved dam safety risk management of internal erosion: (Abstract)

Detection of Anomalies in Diaphragm Walls

If a calamity with a retaining wall occurs, the impact on surrounding buildings and infrastructure is at least an order of magnitude more severe than without the calamity. In 2005 and 2006 major leaks in the retaining walls of underground stations in Amsterdam and Rotterdam occurred. After these cases had been thoroughly studied it was concluded...

Recent Initatives for Enhancing Landslide Risk Management in Hong Kong

Hong Kong faces a unique long-term slope safety problem due to its dense urban development in a hilly terrain combined with high seasonal rainfall. Its slope engineering practice and landslide risk management have evolved in response to experience and through continuous improvement initiatives and technology advances. The application of state-of...

Would Risk Management Have Helped?: A Case Study

To reduce the costs of unexpected geotechnical events in construction projects in Sweden, the Swedish Geotechnical Society has adopted a general methodology for risk management. In this paper, we exemplify how the proposed risk management philosophy could have been applied on a sheet-pile wall, which failed in 1992 in Stockholm because the...

Risk Evolution during the Design of the Adaptation of a Railway Bridge Foundation

During a design process the risk profile of a project continuously evolves. Often a project progresses through a diamond shaped risk envelope. The initial concept is simple, but during the engineering process several risks are defined and mitigated, making the design increasingly complex. With additional investigations and calculations, some of...

Risk Assessment and Mitigating Measures Regarding Pile Installation at EBS Biohub Jetty

During the design phase of the reconstruction of the existing mooring facility “EBS Biohub” at the port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, a high risk profile was recognized in the proximity of four new dolphins next to the existing jetty. The risk originated from the greater installation depth of the dolphins related to the limited foundation depth...

Reducing Risk on Unexploded Ordnance by Vibrations in the Rotterdam Subsoil

During World War II the city of Rotterdam endured hundreds of air raids. Expectations are that a few dozens of UXOs are still to be found in the Rotterdam soil. UXOs can still go off to this day due to vibrations caused by construction activities. The vibration impact on the environment around the activities can be accurately predicted. The...

Chemical Leasing of solvents – a sustainable approach for metal cleaning

High quality solvent cleaning is indispensable for human progress especially in applications for peoples’ safety and security. Effective Risk Management enables the sustainable use of chlorinated solvents. SAFECHEM has implemented innovative business models like Chemical Leasing which enable industry to maintain the required surface cleaning...