Brazilian born André Assis was elected president of the International Tunnelling Association at the General Assembly in Milan in 2001. At 44 years old, and nearly two-thirds through his three year term, he is the youngest ever member to hold the presidential position, a fact reflected in his pro-active approach to the role.
André, who is married with two children, juggles a seemingly endless list of international tunnelling functions and conferences he attends as president, with his role as Professor of the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Brasilia, Brazil, a post he has held since 1989.
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“The travelling does sometimes get tiring, but I try to make it to as many of the conferences as possible, it’s nearly always worth it when I get there though. It’s the nature and also one of the great things about such an international industry anyway,” André commented.
Correcting misconceptions
Graduating in civil engineering at the University of Brasilia in 1980 and gaining a PhD in civil engineering at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada in 1990, André took up the ITA helm at a time when the tunnelling industry was witnessing something of a media vilification, following the high profile Alpine tunnel fires of the late 90s and early 2000s. Although these were disasters that occurred during operation of, some would say, out-dated, over-used and poorly equipped tunnels, the result was an air of mistrust of tunnels both old and new. Correcting the general public’s misconception of the safety of tunnels is a major part of André’s mission, especially at a time when the prospects for industry’s growth are on a substantial increase.
“In past years, the major issues for the tunnelling industry were to increase safety during construction and to lower construction costs, many of which have been achieved over the last decade. However, safety during operation became a serious concern after the recent motorway tunnel fires. The industry and tunnelling associations have been working hard to present technical solutions to minimise the consequences of such fires. The main challenge is to avoid jeopardising the image of tunnels to the public because of safety reasons,” André said.
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By GlobalDataEducating clients
André’s approach to the presidential role revolves very much around the concept of education, one that can be broadly split three ways. Firstly, he believes it is imperative to show the public the benefits of underground construction and to minimise fears over safety. Secondly, the industry must educate clients on the vast potential for the use of underground space. Finally, and of equal importance, the industry must educate itself by a cross-fertilisation of knowledge to ensure it moves on.
Regarding educating potential clients, André explained, “tunnel construction costs are still higher than most above-ground structures, but to help clients, the industry and notably the ITA and its 52 member nations have been working to divulge the concept of ‘global costs’, which encompass the construction costs and the long-term benefits of underground structures.”
The ITA has gone some way to promote this dissemination of information among politicians, urban planners and decision-makers, an example being the production of a booklet called ‘Why Go Underground’, an entry level informative guide aimed specifically at possible clients. A great example of ‘client educating’, André explained, has been carried out by the Sao Paulo Metro in Brazil, which has estimated that its service saves the city US$1bn every year in lost productivity, traffic jams, pollution etc. This is equivalent to the cost of building 10km of new metro tunnels a year.
“The next step,” offers André, “is to organise ourselves to disseminate this information among the decision-makers. We cannot stay in a passive position waiting for them to discover our wonderful technology and solutions, we must close the gap between our industry and them.”
The British Tunnelling Society, which has formed a Parliamentary Lobbying Committee and, in doing so, gained access to Westminster and the high-level politicians therein, is already spearheading such schemes. A similar project is underway in Colombia where the Tunnelling Association has a hands-on role in educating clients and politicians in realistic pricing of tunnelling schemes.
Finally, and possibly of most significance, André believes it is essential to help these decision-makers understand the potential minefield of funding options, ensuring that no path is left un-investigated. The ITA Open Session at the Milan General Assembly in 2001 focussed on this, and presently a position-paper is under final review with publishing expected in the second half of this year.
Promoting the use of underground space
The ITA’s main role is reflected in its mission statement, which is to promote the better use of underground space. According to André, the motto guides all of the activities within the association. Possibly the most important aspect of the ITA is the numerous working groups – a collaboration of industry experts who produce white paper reports on a myriad of tunnelling issues and technical subjects (T&TI, July 2002, p38).
A new working group, Number 20 ‘Urban Problems – Underground Solutions’, was formed during 2002 upon the request of the ITA Executive Council. The group sees the merging of two previously established groups, WG 4 (Subsurface Planning) and WG 13 (Direct and Indirect Advantages of Underground Structures). The aim of the new group is to address concerns raised over the current rapid expansion of urban populations and the inevitable pressures this will place on these cities’ existing infrastructure. These are problems that will grow proportionally with the burgeoning population and need to be addressed sooner rather than later.
All working group reports, recommendations and guidelines are published by the ITA on its website (www.ita-aites.org), Tribune newsletter or TUST quarterly scientific journal.
Improving communication
In a bid to strengthen the ITA’s internal organisation, the association has moved headquarters to a full-time central administration in Lausanne, Switzerland. It has also transformed from a volunteer based office into a professional one, employing a full-time secretary general and two full-time assistants paid for by the ITA.
“The main aim is to improve the communication between the ITA and its representative bodies and affiliate members,” Andre explained, “but the organisation of the nation representatives varies quite a lot worldwide. In many countries, professional associations are very respectable and play an important role in their societies. In others, they are poorly organised, weak and consequently do not reach their industry. Unfortunately, in general, the countries that need the ITA information the most, are those more poorly organised.”
Helping communication within the more struggling member nations has become a priority to André and the association, believing it to be vital if these nations are to take full advantage of the ITA benefits and disseminate it among their members.
“This is the best way to reach all tunnelling engineers, not just those who can attend the conferences. It will also reinforce the ITA’s position as the real international body, the one able to collect information and technology from those that have it and spread it to those who need it,” he said.
A united industry
As the conversation drew to a close, André concluded with an optimistic, though cautionary, message to the industry. “Nowadays, in every corner of the world, there is a huge demand for underground structures. Developed countries that already have a basic infrastructure now demand revitalisation of city centres and new infrastructure for more efficient, safe and economical transportation. Developing countries are favouring infrastructure for mass transportation and public utilities. There is no doubt that the tunnelling industry’s future is very promising. However, the tunnelling family (industry, professionals and associations) has to be strongly united and active to persuade decision makers that underground structures are a safe and cost effective option. Underground structures drive our industry, but much more than that, they are a means for improving the very living conditions of people around the world, and this is something our industry can be very proud of.”
