Inadequate Design Management Compared with Unprecedented Technical Issues as Causes for Engineering Failure
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 29, Issue 1
Abstract
This paper stems from research in the University of Alabama’s Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering. Engineering design failures fall into two broad categories, those that occur because of a hitherto unknown or unprecedented technical cause, and those that occur because of a known cause that was overlooked during the design process. The latter can be considered a failure of design management, and the purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast inadequate design management to unprecedented technical issues as a cause for engineering failures. Failures that occur to improper maintenance or abuse are not the scope of this paper. Two approaches were taken, namely: (1) evaluation of current and historical engineering failures for instances of inadequate design management and/or unprecedented technical issues; and (2) review of filed claims data for design errors and omissions to determine whether inadequate design management is a substantial issue. This research may provide useful information in understanding how both categories limit the success of the design process.
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Acknowledgments
The research/information used in Appendix I for this paper came from notable civil and forensic engineers such as: Kenneth Carper, Gerald Leonards, George Sowers, Norbert Delatte, Matthys Levy, Mario Salvordori, and others. Their evaluations of these failure case studies provided a solid foundation from which to evaluate the failures from both a management and a technical perspective. Certainly not all evaluations agree, and new findings are often made available, but although differing interpretations of failures may affect the details of the current study, they are unlikely to change the general conclusion that the best opportunity to reduce future failures may be through better management of the design process.
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Published In
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 29 • Issue 1 • February 2015
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 5, 2013
Accepted: May 30, 2013
Published online: Jun 3, 2013
Discussion open until: Nov 20, 2014
Published in print: Feb 1, 2015
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