Been around the world: Barry Jackson

Barry Jackson has spent his entire working career in the construction materials sector.

MC Building Chemicals general manager for the Middle East, Barry Jackson, has visited more than 50 countries and lived in nine of them. Who would have thought that working in the construction chemicals industry would be so glamorous? Here, he shares the benefit of his international experience with Jamie Stewart.

You have been in and out of the Gulf since 1977. What changes have you seen during the time you have spent in this region’s market?

I have seen huge changes in the Gulf market, in terms of more attention to the quality and durability of structures, and huge changes in the construction chemicals industry, in terms of technical development. For example, the new admixtures that have come on-stream to meet the demands of the local market.

What is it about the Gulf’s environment that can shorten the working life-span of a building?
Conditions here are extreme in terms of the climate. The chloride content in the ground and in the air [can cause corrosion] when concrete dries out. Imagine taking a sponge, and putting it in a bucket of salty water. Remove it and squeeze it. The water will eventually drain out, but the salt gets left behind. It becomes moist, and the salt laden air goes into the sponge, so you are gradually building up the level of salts. These salts start the corrosion process.

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Is this phenomenon unique to the Gulf region?
No. One of the worst areas in terms of chloride concentration is the Gulf of Mexico. The very high levels of chloride in the sea water evaporate, and makes its way into the ground.

The problem occurs all over the world, but is exacerbated here in the Gulf because you have very high levels of chloride, coupled with high temperatures. As with any chemical reaction, the higher the temperature, the faster the reaction.

When you first entered the region, what was the expected service life of a concrete structure?
The design life was anything between 50 and 100 years. The reality was that stuff being built in the 70s needed repairing within less than 10 years. In the 80s they were demolishing buildings in the UAE that had been built in the 70s.

There were two reasons. One, they were deteriorating very rapidly because of the construction techniques and materials used. Two, land values were increasing and sometimes it was more cost-effective to knock a building down and put another one of higher value up, on the same plot.

How have things improved in terms of durability now?
By design, buildings should last substantially longer than those built in the 70s did. For instance, the concrete within a sewerage treatment plant has a design life of 50 years. The Roads & Transport Authority structures, especially the tunnels, have a design life of 120 years.

Having said that, there are still cases where repairs are being done before hand-over, but these are minor cosmetic repairs, rather than structural repairs. This has largely been brought about by the experience of the past, which always happens – everybody thinks they can do it quickly and cheaply, and then they realise they can’t.

A further contributing factor is the strong specifications of the consultant engineers, clients, and people like the Dubai Municipality, who are probably the leaders in putting together durable concrete specifications.

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