Civil Engineering Education through Case Studies of Failures
This article has a reply.
VIEW THE REPLYPublication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 12, Issue 2
Abstract
Teaching through failure case studies complements and integrates the traditional civil engineering topics that are introduced with the lecture-based method. This paper describes the development of a course on failures at Worcester Polytechnic Institute with particular reference to the implementation of case study instruction and structuring of the course. The topic of failures is used to assess the decision-making process that underpins the life cycle of a facility, and the variables that affect the performance of this process. The primary objective of the case study method is to enhance learning through students' active participation in case presentation and discussion. The method is effective in blending real world situations and applications of theoretical and scientific principles.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Best, R. L. (1977). Reconstruction of a tragedy: The Beverly Hills Supper Club fire. NFPA, Boston, Mass.
2.
Best, R. L., and Demers, D. P. (1982). Investigation report on the MGM Grand Hotel fire, Las Vegas, on November 21, 1980. NFPA, Boston, Mass.
3.
Bignell, V. (1977). “The Ronan Point tower block collapse.”Catastrophic failures, V. Bignell, G. Peters, and C. Pym, The Open University Press, Milton Keines, U.K., 105–126.
4.
Bignell, V. (1977). “The West Gate Bridge collapse.”Catastrophic failures, V. Bignell, G. Peters, and C. Pym, The Open University Press, Milton Keines, U.K., 127–166.
5.
Bignell, V., Peters, G., and Pym, C. (1977). Catastrophic failures. The Open University Press, Milton Keines, U.K.
6.
Boice, J. R. (1971). History and evaluation of School Construction Systems Development project, 1961–1967. Building Systems Information Clearinghouse, EFL, Menlo Park, Calif.
7.
Carper, K. L. (1989). “Learning from failures.”Forensic engineering, K. L. Carper, ed., Elesevier, New York, N.Y., 14–31.
8.
Diaz Hermidas, A., and Polallis, S. (1993). “The Cruzcampo Pavilion.”Case studies on management and technology in the design process, S. Polallis, Publikatieburo Bouwkunde, Delft, The Netherlands, 83–116.
9.
Fortune, J., and Peters, G. (1995). Learning from failure: The systems approach. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Chichester, England.
10.
Goudas, N., Guertin, R., and Tjandra, L. (1994). “Fuller lab construction case study.” Interactive qualifying project report, Worcester Polytechnic Inst., Worcester, Mass.
11.
Grigg, N. S.(1995). “Case method for teaching water-resources management.”J. Prof. Issues in Engrg. Ed. and Practice, 121(1), 30–36.
12.
Irwig, H. G., and Becker, J. M. (1984). “A collapse at the Hotel Vendome.” Dept. of Civ. Engrg., MIT, Cambridge, Mass.
13.
Lew, H. S., Carino, N. J., Fattal, S. G., and Batts, M. E. (1981). “Investigation of construction failure of Harbor Cay Condominium in Cocoa Beach, Florida.”NBSIR 81-2374, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Washington, D.C.
14.
National Bureau of Standards. (1977). “Investigation of the Skyline Plaza collapse in Fairfax County, Virginia.” U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Washington, D.C.
15.
National Bureau of Standards. (1982). “Investigation of the Kansas City Hyatt Regency walkways collapse.”NBSIR 82-2465, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Washington, D.C.
16.
Pietroforte, R. (1984). Processo edilizio in Nord America. G. Gangemi, Rome, Italy (in Italian).
17.
Polallis, S. (1993). Case studies on management and technology in the design process. Publikatieburo Bouwkunde, Delft, The Netherlands.
18.
Pym, C. (1977). “The Summerland fire disaster.”Catastrophic failures, V. Bignell, G. Peters, and C. Pym, The Open University Press, Milton Keines, U.K., 167–200.
19.
Russel, J. F., and McCullough, B. G.(1990). “Civil engineering education: Case study approach.”J. Prof. Issues in Engrg., Ed. and Practice, 116(2), 164–174.
20.
Schodek, D. L.(1975). “Operation Breakthrough: The changing image.”Industrialization Forum, 6(1), 4–13.
21.
Shepherd, R., and Frost, J. D., eds. (1995). Failures in civil engineering: Structural, foundation and geoenvironmental case studies. ASCE, Reston, Va.
22.
Silva, M. A. A. A. (1984). “The Helms pumped storage plant: A case in point of a controversial project.” Term project, Dept. of Civ. Engrg., MIT, Cambridge, Mass.
23.
Shapiro, B. P. (1984). “An introduction to cases.”No. 9-584-097, HBS.
24.
“The building collapse at 2000 Commonwealth Avenue.” (1971). Report of the Mayor's Investigating Commission, Boston, Mass.
25.
Zetlin, L. (1978). “Report of the engineering investigation concerning the causes of the collapse of the Hartford Coliseum space truss roof on January 18, 1978.” Report submitted to the City of Hartford, Conn.
26.
Zetlin, L. (1984). “Collapse of a suspended span of Interstate Route 95 highway bridge over the Mianus River, Greenwich, Connecticut, June 28, 1983.” Final report of the structural investigation, Parts 1–5.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 12 • Issue 2 • May 1998
Pages: 51 - 55
Copyright
Copyright © 1998 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: May 1, 1998
Published in print: May 1998
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.