Structural
Diagnoses
Our clientele includes project owners, expert firms, court specialists, public and private institutional clients, real estate corporations, property managers, and individuals who require structural diagnosis for existing buildings. This could be to determine the cause of flaws or damage, or as part of a building rehabilitation, elevation, or transformation project.
The diagnostic mission’s goal is to analyze the state and characteristics of the existing structure, identify the origins of defects, and recommend solutions for repair/reinforcement, safety measures, and structural issues.
Diagnostic and Structural Evaluation of Existing Structures and Buildings
We do visual diagnostics and technical assessments of the stability of all types of existing structures (wood, metal, reinforced concrete, masonry) when abnormalities such as fractures, rusted reinforcements, and floor drooping are observed.
In the framework of building restoration, we execute evaluation campaigns that include invasive testing, sampling, or material extractions, as well as Ground Penetrating Radar (Géoradar) or crack meter (Ferroscan). Concrete, steel, wood, and masonry samples are delivered to the laboratory for material verification.
Following our testing, and at the request of the client, our engineers execute loadbearing calculations to determine the structural capability of the floors, recommending reinforcement or repair approaches as needed. We also perform structural reinforcement studies and provide structural designs, written specifications, Detailed Preliminary Project Budget (DPGF), and estimates.
Finally, we carry out a project management mission to restore and rehabilitate existing structures.
Expertise in current legal
or decennial structures
Expert
Our specialists work on all types of damaged structures, whether they are facing legal challenges or have been ruined for many decades. We deal with damage caused by factors, including aging, visible cracks, rusted steel, and disorders classified as decade-long concerns such as structural cracking, differential settling, and non-acceptable deformations. We also provide assistance for fire-related damage, explosion-related collapses, and climate related difficulties such as droughts, floods, and storms.
As consultant experts or part-experts with construction, we provide technical support as part of Damage Work assessments, IRD expertise, and legal expertise as consulting experts or part-experts. Our services include structural investigations and audits, disorder diagnosis, and the implementation of preventive and security measures.
Subsequently, we are equipped to conduct preliminary and execution studies for repair works, which may involve underpinning, structural reinforcement, and treatment of the structures.
Expertise in existing structures
and buildings in danger
Danger
We have acquired the ability to intervene in all types of buildings, including those that are in danger of collapse. During the 2018 Rue d’Aubagne collapses in Marseille, our team was part of the city of Marseille’s crisis unit.
During the victim rescue phase, we mobilized a team of engineers who supervised the structural diagnostics of all the structures affected by the security perimeter built in the neighborhood surrounding Rue d’Aubagne.
These operations were carried out in collaboration with the municipality, the DDTM, the Marine Firefighters, the city of Marseille’s services, an architect (Didier Roche – Archipôle), a geotechnical engineering firm (Geotec), a control office (Apave), and national bodies such as CEREMA and CSTB.
The rapid interventions on a large number of dangerous buildings enabled us to create strong diagnostic procedures in collaboration with CSTB, which are now used on a global scale by our engineering teams. We have since relied on these strategies, which our engineers on-site employ on a daily basis.
Since 2018, we have been performing structural diagnostics on existing buildings, either through public contracts (cities, metropolitan areas, departmental councils, public institutions, and so on) or through collaboration with owners, real estate businesses, and private sector players.
Structural assessment for condominium managers and property administrators
Properties
We provide structural engineering consulting services to condominium management firms and property administrators throughout France, notably in areas where we have regional offices. Our property management and administration clients have specific needs, including the need for quick response and the capacity to successfully connect with a variety of stakeholders, such as the condominium board and individual property owners.
To meet these specific requirements, we’ve built a specialized service staffed by people who are directly proficient in the difficulties of condominium management. This allows us to provide the best possible assistance to all parties concerned.
We conduct visual diagnostics of both shared and private areas in order to discover structural issues and create relevant solutions. We then assist the condominium in scheduling these repairs, assisting them in budgeting and managing expenditures.
Furthermore, we do more extensive investigations, as well as plan and supervise repair work for various types of condominium complexes.
Our tools for detecting
and Identifying
Tools
We have our own teams and equipment to conduct investigations, surveys, sampling, and analysis of existing structures.
We have a variety of non-destructive control equipment, such as GroundPenetrating Radar (georadar) and crack meter(ferroscan), to carry out our objectives. These tools can locate reinforcing bars (spacing, cover, and number of steel layers), metal and plastic pipelines, pre-stressed cables, voids, and abnormalities, and measure concrete thickness. Corrosion meters, acoustic scanning equipment, and ultrasonic thickness measurement tools are also used.
We employ our own material resources tailored to each situation during sample and survey campaigns, including HILTI battery-powered hammer drills (TE30, TE50, TE60, and TE805), HILTI DD120 and DD150 core drills, HILTI reciprocating saws, HILTI angle grinders, and more.
We can operate on various types of sites and structures, including occupied sites (occupied offices, hospitals, shopping centers, and homes, for example). In this area, we use dust protection methods (vacuum and polyene protective sas) and specific intervention methodologies to keep occupants as comfortable as feasible.
We have CACES-certified personnel to use lifting platforms in difficult-to-reach places.
We also have particular certifications that allow us to work in the industry or in electrical substations, such as with our clients ENEDIS or RTE.
Our clients
We thank our clients: public and private owners, developers, insurers, architects, property administrators, construction companies, engineering firms, and individuals…
