Ed Smienk

Introduction

Geotechnical engineering and underground construction have been my passion for many years. Each construction task, each site and environment and foundation requires custom design and execution. I have never a dull day. My strength is managing design teams and advising on complex and integral underground construction projects in the built environment with optimal control of sustainability, costs and risks. I find the optimal link between theory and practice by active participation in knowledge platforms and committees and by supervising the execution of works.

On the personal front, I am married and have two sons who have lived on their own for a while now. We and our tomcat live in the eastern part of the country. My main hobbies are sports, hiking and biking in the mountains and traveling.

I started my career as a geotechnical specialist at Fugro Netherlands in Leidschendam and in this position also worked for shorter periods at Grontmij and Geomet. By now I have enjoyed working at ABT for more than 30 years.

What I do at ABT

I work as a senior consultant on geotechnical engineering and subsurface construction at ABT. In addition, I coach young colleagues. I also participate in national committees and knowledge platforms and author publications and articles.

You can contact me when it comes to projects with complex foundations and/or (deep) construction pits. Both technically and procedurally they are what I am good at. They include major works such as the development of the new terminal at Schiphol Airport. But small jobs may also provide geotechnical puzzles that I am eager to solve. One of them was the underground museum DOMunder under Domplein in Utrecht. I also regularly conduct claims investigations and second opinions.