Failure Reduction through Construction Inspections
Publication: Forensic Engineering 2022
ABSTRACT
It is important to study construction failures in order to determine their root cause or causes so that future failures can be avoided. One such study was conducted by a subcommittee of the United States House of Representatives following a number of structural failures in the 1970s and 1980s. The subcommittee findings were released in 1984 in US Congressional House Report No. 98-621, titled Report on Structural Failures in Public Facilities. One of the factors identified as critical to preventing structural failures was inspection of construction by the structural engineer of record (SER). Given that finding, structural engineers need to be actively involved throughout the construction process, using inspections as a means to promote safety, improve the quality of the work, and reduce claims due to failures. Concerns regarding liability, construction schedule, and costs are major reasons why SERs do not perform inspections. SERs can manage those concerns, however, by understanding the relevant building code requirements regarding inspections, the benefits of inspections with respect to safety and quality of construction, the roles of the parties involved in construction projects, and the legal duties of the engineer.
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Forensic Engineering 2022
Pages: 722 - 731
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Published online: Nov 2, 2022
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