Technical assistance:
Is it an advantage for the repair and the reinforcement of concrete structures?

The term “technical assistance” refers to a specialist technician who advises designers, construction managers, developers, contractors, project managers, or owners on specific issues throughout the repair or reinforcement process.

In other words, technical assistance consists of assisting someone in doing something they either cannot do alone, or can do alone but could be done more safely and efficiently with the advice of an expert in the field. For example, the designer may receive technical assistance with concrete pathologies, or the construction manager may receive technical assistance in controlling and monitoring the repair, or the owner may receive technical assistance in preparing technical reports for the contractor’s acceptance of modifications.
And so on, countless situations can arise.

Technical assistance in concrete structural rehabilitation works plays a crucial role in ensuring the quality and safety of the process. It is a fundamental pillar in the repair and reinforcement process to ensure quality and control potential risks. Hiring technical assistance allows for:

• Increasing construction safety and quality guarantees, reducing short-, medium-, and long-term risks.
• Reducing the possibility of construction and design errors caused by erroneous decisions that could require new repair work.
• Controlling measurements and actual work.
• Cost control, detection, and prevention of budget deviations.

Some of the main functions of technical assistance in concrete structural repair and reinforcement processes are listed below:

• Diagnosis and evaluation
• Definition of interventions
• Construction supervision
• Coordination with professionals