8/2014 – Safe wall designs with Terrasafe

“In response to market demands, a design service called TERRASAFE, a platform that provides first-class engineering, management, and specialist technical assistance to users of any of the Terraforce products, was launched early 2011.”

After implementing a sustainable and ethical business model for 35 years, Terraforce can, together with their local and international partners, report a steady and positive business outcome. In spite of a long global recession, Terraforce has, on average, maintained continuous growth.

Bryan Newby on site in Dubai


To achieve this, Terraforce, partially made available a multitude of information for the benefit of our customers. To a certain extent this strategy did encourage some imitators and copycats, the free-riders of the industry.

These “reverse engineers” proved troublesome to some extent, but since most of them lack the commitment to and knowledge of the product, and some have been found guilty of corrupt business practices, they usually don’t persevere. An unfortunate side-effect is that they often leave disappointed customers in their wake and another dent in the reputation of the industry in general.

Wick drains installed between cut-face and engineered backfill with block facing

Wick drains installed between cut-face and backfill

Fred ball  on site in Canada

Fred ball on site in Canada


Clients that wish to receive Terraforce wall designs from Fred Laker, an engineer specialising in this field since 1997, need to provide following input regarding their requirements:

  1. Geotechnical report and/or density tests, if available.
  2. Photographs of the site.
  3. Completed Terraforce questionnaire for gravity, composite or terraced walls.
  4. Any information on previously proposed designs involving other methods.

After all requirements and technical data is processed and approved, the client will receive one or more cross section designs that can be applied to site. This approach has worked successfully for various projects, past and current, in South Africa and other countries.

As more and more clients requested provision of site supervision and professional indemnity insurance, Terrasafe added this additional service to its portfolio.  The cost for the extra assistance will naturally be higher and is based on a percentage of the Terraforce project value. Currently it will only be available for installations that can feasibly be managed from Cape Town, but in time may be extended to other centres in South Africa and overseas, in association with engineers that are based near those sites.

Terrasafe has, and currently is, specifying Terraforce products for building sites in South Africa, Namibia, Swaziland, Chad, Australia, India, Spain, Canada, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and the U.K.