International Forensic Engineering Congresses and Conferences

The following report on the successful 6th ASCE Forensic Engineering Congress is provided by Anthony M. Dolhon, Congress Chair.

On October 31 to November 3, 2012, more than 240 engineers, architects, attorneys, educators, students, and others from around the world gathered at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in San Francisco for the 6th Congress on Forensic Engineering. The congress was sponsored by ASCE’s Technical Council on Forensic Engineering (TCFE). The TCFE appreciates the cooperation of the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE), Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), and the Structural Engineers Association of Northern California (SEAONC), as well as ASCE’s Metropolitan Section (MET), Council on Disaster Risk Management (CDRM), and Council on Critical Infrastructure (CCI). The contributions and support of sponsors and exhibitors are also appreciated in making this congress a success.

The congress provided a forum for the exchange of practices and procedures to reduce the number of failures, to disseminate information on failures, and to promote the state of the practice and the process for conducting forensic investigations and for ethical conduct. The congress featured the presentation of technical papers, panel discussions, workshops, welcoming reception, awards luncheon, keynote presentation, bookstore, Order of the Engineer Ceremony, State-of-the-Society Address, committee meetings, breakfast meetings, exhibits, and City Hall tour, and it concluded with a wine country tour and tasting. Authors presented their papers, and panelists presented workshops and panel discussions in seven concurrent tracks.

On Wednesday, October 31, 2012, the pre-congress Forensic Engineering Practice workshop was presented jointly by TCFE’s Committee on Forensic Practices and Committee on Forensic Investigations. The workshop was based on the ASCE’s “Guidelines for Forensic Engineering Practice” and the “Guidelines for Failure Investigations.” At the end of the day, the welcoming reception provided networking opportunities.

On Thursday, November 1, 2012, Anthony M. Dolhon, Congress Chair, welcomed attendees and officially opened the congress with the introduction of Gregory E. DiLoreto, P.E., F.ASCE, ASCE President 2013, who presented the State-of-the-Society Address, and Raymond “Paul” Giroux, who presented the keynote address on the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge on the occasion of its 75th anniversary. In the afternoon, attendees participated in concurrent technical sessions and were given a private tour of City Hall (The People’s Palace), which provided insight into its reconstruction.

On Friday, November 2, 2012, the Congress opened with TCFE’s semiannual committee meetings that were open to all, followed by an awards luncheon and concurrent technical sessions. On Saturday, November 3, 2012, the Congress continued with concurrent technical sessions and concluded with a private wine country tour and tasting.

Michael J. Drerup, Chairman of the Executive Committee of TCFE, provided opening remarks during the awards luncheon and presented the Past-Chair Award to Michael P. Lester and Forensic Engineering Awards to Ramashchandra N. Raikar (deceased; 2009) and Rubin M. Zallen (2010). Kenneth L. Carper, editor of the Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, presented Outstanding Paper Awards to Arthur A. Huckelbridge, Jr., and Andrew T. Metzger (2009); Kelly A. Salyards and Linda M. Hanagan (2010); David W. Mockbee and Jud R. Jones (2011); and Denis Mitchell, Jacques Marchand, Paul Croteau, and William D. Cook (2011). Carper presented Outstanding Reviewer Awards to Richard J. Deschamp (2010); Charles S. Hanskat (2011); and Carl Carpenter (2012). Biographies of the most recent awardees (2011–2012) were published in the Editor’s Note of the September/October 2012 issue of this Journal. Past award winners’ biographies were given in prior Editor’s Notes in the years the awards were announced.

The congress included TCFE’s semiannual committee meetings, as well as an international breakfast. Committee meetings were open to all congress attendees. Attendees participated in the meetings of the Executive Committee and the Committees on Education, Dissemination of Failure Information, Forensic Practices, Practices to Reduce Failures, and Forensic Investigations. The international breakfast provided a roundtable discussion on publishing in ASCE journals and introduced the newly formed TCFE Committee on International Activities.

The collection of 141 peer-reviewed technical papers is compiled into the congress proceedings, “Forensic Engineering 2012: Gateway to a Safer Tomorrow,” which is available for purchase through ASCE. This is the first CD-ROM version of TCFE’s Forensic Engineering Congress Proceedings. All papers are eligible for discussion in this journal. The papers represent a diversity of topics and interests, including the investigation, performance, and rehabilitation of bridges; building envelopes; critical infrastructure; design practices; disaster risk management; education; emerging technologies; fires; floods; flooring; geotechnical engineering; hurricanes and tornadoes; investigative methodologies; practices to reduce failures; professional practices and conduct; research and testing; residential construction; and structural engineering.

In addition to the technical papers, the congress also presented workshops and panel discussions. These provided classroom-type settings that expanded on the practices and ethics that are unique to forensic engineers. Workshops included an “Introduction to LiDAR Laser Scanning for Measurement and 3D Modeling” and “Ethical Issues for the Forensic Engineer—What Would You Do?” Panel discussions included the following topics: “Beyond the Grades: Rising to the Challenge of ASCE’s Report Card for America’s Infrastructure,” “Meet the Second Edition of the Guidelines for Forensic Engineering Practice,” “Cutting Edge Forensic Tools: Building Information Modeling (BIM) and the Building Envelope Consultant,” “2010 Gas Pipeline Explosion in San Bruno, California,” and Weak Story Wood Frame Buildings: What We Have and Haven’t Learned.”

The bookstore provided attendees with an opportunity to purchase the latest TCFE publications, including Guidelines for Forensic Engineering Practice, Second Edition (2012) and Failure Case Studies in Civil Engineering: Structures, Foundations, and Geoenvironmental, Second Edition (2012). These and other TCFE publications are available through the ASCE website.

Attendees had an opportunity to network with corporate sponsors and exhibitors. Corporate sponsors included the following: Exponent, Inc.; Pearl Insurance; Nelson Architectural Engineers, Inc.; Simpson, Gumpertz & Heger Inc.; Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc.; and ZS, LC. Exhibitors included FYFE Co. LLC (Tyfo Fibrwrap System); Leica Geosystems; Thomson Reuters, Sensors & Software; Precision 3D Scanning; Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); National Academy of Forensic Engineers (NAFE); PT&C Project Management and Construction Management; and Rimkus Consulting Group, Inc.

The dates of the congress will also be remembered for two unrelated national events: one celebratory and the other tragic. The parade to honor the World Series Champions, the San Francisco Giants, began in front of the Congress hotel on the first day of the congress. On the other side of the country, Superstorm Sandy continued to wreak havoc. Early on October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy curved north-northwest and moved ashore near Atlantic City, New Jersey, as a posttropical cyclone. It affected states along the east coast, from Florida to Maine, and west to Michigan and Wisconsin, with particularly severe damage, storm surge, and widespread power outages in New York and New Jersey. This caused major travel delays and cancellations for those attendees traveling from the east coast. Despite the weather and travel delays, the congress was the most well attended TCFE Congress on Forensic Engineering. TCFE appreciates all of those who contributed to the success of this congress.

Norbert J. Delatte, Chair of the newly formed TCFE Committee on International Activities, submitted the following report on the forensic engineering congress held in Pisa, Italy, November 15–17, 2012. Delatte was part of a delegation from ASCE/TCFE to the Congress.

A small ASCE delegation from the TCFE, consisting of Professors Norbert Delatte and Paul Bosela of Cleveland State University, attended the IF CRASC ’12 Congress in Pisa, Italy, November 15–17, 2012. This delegation represented the first formal activity of TCFE’s newly formed International Activities Committee.

IF CRASC stands for Ingegneria Forense and Convegno su Crolli, Affidabilità Strutturale, Consolidamento, which translates to Forensic Engineering and Congress on Collapses, Reliability, and Retrofit of Structures. The congress combined the second IF with the fifth CRASC.

The congress was held on the campus of the University of Pisa, which was founded in 1343. The facilities of the university are scattered throughout the historic city, and the building where the congress was held is only about 0.8 km (∼0.5 mi) from the historic Leaning Tower of Pisa. The tower is, of course, by far the most profitable failure in history in terms of annual tourist dollars generated.

Delatte and Bosela presented two technical papers, “Failures in Concrete Design and Construction” and “The 1976 Montreal Olympics: A Case Study of a Project Management Failure,” both in English. The majority of the other papers were presented in Italian, because all but two of the conference delegates were from Italy.

The papers were published in a beautifully bound 830-page hard cover volume, edited by Nicola Augenti of the University of Naples Federico II and Mauro Sassu of the University of Pisa. Approximately 90% of the manuscripts were in Italian, but many authors provided English translations of the abstracts. Even for delegates with limited Italian speaking and reading skills, the presentations were interesting and relatively easy to follow.

The civil engineering profession in Italy faces some unusual challenges. Italy is incredibly rich in heritage structures and infrastructure, but not so rich in resources to preserve those treasures. Many speakers addressed these specific challenges. Issues of risk were also addressed by a variety of speakers, with many in the context of seismic and industrial safety. Case studies from recent earthquakes were presented. Sessions also addressed legal issues in engineering.

The next IF CRASC Congress will be held in 2015 at the University of Rome, Rome, Italy. It is likely that TCFE will also send a delegation to that congress.