fib Technical Council updates
The fib Technical Council reviewed developments across its Commissions and approved a number of important updates and new initiatives during its June 2025 meeting in Antibes.
One of the key decisions was the creation of a new Special Activity Group, SAG2 “Digitalisation and AI.” Sylvia Keßler was approved as Chair of the new SAG and will be responsible for drafting the final Terms of Reference. She will also propose the structure of the group, which is expected to include Task Groups on ethics and recommendations, large language models (LLMs), and databases. The final proposal will be presented at the next Technical Council meeting.
In Commission 1 on Concrete Structures, Alberto Meda presented recent developments and discussed the updates underway. The revised Terms of Reference for WP 1.1.7 “Performance Evaluation and Service Life Extension of Existing Bridges,” focused on the performance evaluation and service life extension of existing bridges and convened by Mehdi Khashani, were approved.
Commission 5 on Reinforcements also reported several changes. Antonio Caballero gave an overview and shared a presentation with the Council. The convener roles for two key Working Parties were updated. Eva Oller Ibars and Stijn Matthys will jointly lead the WP5.1.1 “Strengthening by FRP”, while Cristina Barris will now co-convene the WP5.1.2 “Internal FRP Reinforcement” alongside Maurizio Guadagnini.
Wit Derkowski provided an update on Commission 6 on Prefabrication. The Technical Council approved the appointments of Irene Josa and Ned Cleland as Deputy Chairs of the Commission. Additionally, Irene Josa was named Deputy Convener of Task Group 6.11 “Social Impact of Precast Concrete”.
Commission 8 on Durability also saw several updates. Deputy Chair Carmen Andrade reported on the Commission’s progress and announced new appointments. Inam Khan was confirmed as the new convener of Working Party 8.8.3 “Exposure Zones”, while Antonio Conforti will now convene Working Party 8.9.4 “Durability of steel Fiber reinforced Concrete (SFRC)”. Nisrine Makhoul was appointed Technical Secretariat for Working Party 8.11.1 “Testing of New Concrete”. The fib Working Party 8.12.1 was renamed “Internal Swelling Reactions,” with Leandro Sanchez taking over as convener and Rennan Medeiros as co-convener.
Turning to Commission 10 Model Codes, Akio Kasuga announced the future leadership of the Commission for the 2026–2027 term. Stephen Foster will serve as Chair, with Iria Doniak as Deputy Chair. Agnieszka Bigaj van Vliet also provided an update on Task Group 10.2. The revised Terms of Reference were approved, and Ehab Hamed was appointed as the new Technical Secretary. A new Working Party, 10.2.1, will focus on the development of an fib “Guideline for the Design of Structures with Alternative Binder Concretes”, with Stephen Foster as convener and Ehab Hamed as deputy convener.
