Amitai Gazit, calcalist.co.il.

What is the likelihood of buildings undergoing a reinforcement process under the National Plan for Strengthening of Earthquake Buildings (TAMA 38) to hold up in the event of an earthquake? Speaking recently, Chief Architect of the Ministry of Construction and Housing Vered Solomon Maman said during a "round table" conducted by the Planning Administration On the subject of TAMA 38, the chance is not high. This is also the position of other experts who participated in the meeting, the details of which reached the "Calcalist".

"Knowledge that exists in Israel when it comes to strengthening existing structures against undeveloped earthquakes, the next government should take this into account," said Solomon Maman. She says the reasons are that the reinforcement methods used in projects have not been tested, and the professionals involved in the craft are not adequately skilled.

"In order to develop structures to strengthen buildings, and to make sure that the methods used by construction companies today are protecting, experiments and elaborate labs should be conducted, as was done in Japan," said Solomon Maman, adding: "Students studying civil engineering, who come today will be the engineers who sign the reinforcement programs, "We don't learn how to strengthen existing earthquake structures. They gain knowledge about new ones, but not existing ones. Knowledge translates into other facilities."

Solomon Maman said this at a roundtable discussion on the future of Tama 38, planned by the Planning Administration on September 11, and details of which are first disclosed here. The hearing took place against the backdrop of the Planning Administration's recent stance that the plan is not expected to expire in May 2020, With the intention of formulating a new policy that will take its place, senior representatives from the bodies involved in TAMA 38 participated in the discussion, including planning director Dalit Zilber, representatives of the Ministry of Construction and Housing, the Association of Engineers, architects, city engineers, municipal authorities and the Association of Land Builders.

Solomon Maman said other experts joined the discussion. Yigal Govrin, chairman of the Engineers' Union, said in our discussion, "In our estimation, two-thirds of the apartments strengthened to date are not in the best situation as a solution to the earthquake problem. After consulting a variety of experts, our feeling is not good. We would like to propose to reduce TAMA 38/1 (a path of thickening and strengthening - AG), but there will always be individual buildings that need to be strengthened. "

The state ignored the quality of the work

TAMA 38 was born to provide an economic incentive for the private market to strengthen and renovate buildings. In the case of thickening and strengthening of an existing building, the plan allows for an additional 2.5 storeys to be added on the roof, which the contractor can sell in the private market. The addition is of course conditional on building strengthening, adding platforms and upgrading infrastructure. Of the building. In the 15 years since the plan was approved, it has been revised several times, and an amendment to the amendment has added building rights and incentives to entrepreneurs - but it now becomes clear that the state has failed to consider the quality and efficiency of the reinforcements.

The Planning Administration tends to reduce the use of condensation and reinforcement method, preferring a method of demolition and rebuilding, where the risk and uncertainty component is much lower, but for those involved in the field it is clear that the reinforcement method cannot be completely dispensed with. This is especially true for the periphery where the price of apartments is low, demand is low, so demolition and construction of a new building has no financial incentive. In these cases, the only option available to tenants is to strengthen the existing building.

According to data from the Urban Renewal Authority operating under the Ministry of Construction and Housing, by 2018 most of the buildings that have undergone a TAMA 38 process have done so using a reinforcement and condensation method. The data show that between 2005 and 2018, building permits were strengthened and condensed for 1,725 ​​buildings with 34,834 dwellings, compared with the tracks. The demolition and rebuilding permits were issued for 1,042 buildings with 18,853 apartments.

Speaking to "Calcalist", Govrin agrees with Solomon Maman's statement: "The state created the TAMA 38 tool, kicked it into the private sector and that's where it ended. There are not many planners who know how to design this work - I have no idea who the planners have done so far and we do not know if the solutions they have provided answer the problem of strengthening an existing earthquake structure. "

Govrin explains that the challenge of strengthening an existing building is "the mixing of an old and new building: no good information on the leveling of the old building, this is information that may exist in old building permits, and it is doubtful whether they will find it" Another challenge, he says, is the building's age: Of concrete that has been in the ground for 50 years and iron has corrosion. "

Another problem is the claim that no body in the state accepts responsibility and does not oversee the calculation of building strength based on the foundations, pillars, concrete thickness and the like. This is a critical calculation that can cause a building collapse and is especially important in complex projects where floors and load are added to the old building. This is a calculation done by a licensed engineer hired by the construction company, but no government official checks the calculations.

Govrin explains: "No one checks it because there is no such requirement in the law. They are satisfied that an engineer has a licensed contractor. And the local authorities do not have the skilled personnel to check it. To check, you have to spend the calculation for an external engineer. Not to accept responsibility either. "

In recent years, the Planning Administration has set up test institutes where professionals sit to review the calculations, but it has been clarified that this will not solve the problem, because even when the test institutes are opened, they will not test old building reinforcement projects, but will only deal with new buildings.

"Strict control of the TAM 38 reinforcement methods is lacking"

The Municipal Renewal Authority said: "Investigations conducted by the Municipal Renewal Authority of Construction Engineers revealed that in the event of a high-intensity earthquake, the reinforced buildings would save lives, but may not be able to continue to be used for residential purposes. Some officials seem to have forgotten that this is the purpose of TAMA 38. However, we believe that Standard 413 (Standard for Resilience to Earthquake Structures - AG) should be updated, and strict control over the strengthening methods in TAM 38/1 should be strictly adhered to. This does not need to end the program. The Association of Engineers must work to deepen engineering knowledge in the field, use innovative methods known from other countries in the world, and conduct training so that more engineers support the design of the buildings and their conformance to the necessary standards. "

No response was received from the Ministry of Construction and Housing and the Planning Administration.