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Causes of Failure: What a Forensic Engineer Looks For (cont'd)
By Joseph S.C. Bonadiman, Ph.D., P.E., CEO and Chairman of Joseph E. Bonadiman & Associates, Inc.
Design Fees
At times it is possible to determine whether a design has been compromised by knowing the fees that were charged. An owner might convince the engineer or architect that he or she can do a particular design for reduced fees. The owner, for example, could explain to the engineer that he was also a contractor and was going to build the building himself, therefore, he did not really need as complete a set of plans as would be necessary if the project was going to be bid out to other contractors. The professional might accept the project, but upon realizing that the fee was less than what he or she felt was required, might speed up the design or “cut corners.” This could allow errors to creep in, producing poor construction documents and specifications. These inadequate designs will then reach the contractor, where a lack of understanding of the plans may lead to defective construction.
A second way that reduced design costs can affect the construction is when a design/build contract is awarded. In design/build, the contractor will have his or her own design team and/or hire that team for the project. Under this situation, the contractor whose main motivation is to make a profit is also in charge of the design. This situation, if not adequately controlled and plan-checked, can lead to disastrous results. In this instance a forensic engineer should have a substantial construction background to recognize any shortcut errors.
Complexity of a Project
While a simple construction project such as a storm drain line or a tilt-up concrete building might not lend itself to a high percentage of failures, a complex design such as a manufacturing facility, with all its equipment, various foundations, and need for proper positioning, can become a nightmare. The forensic engineer working in this area must quickly realize that a complex project will have multiple designers trying to interact with each other, many times with less than an inch of clearance to work with. Though such projects might not end up in court due to failures, they may end up in court as a result of cost overruns and required reconstruction, which can carry substantial expenses.
Design Inadequacies
Even when everything appears to be done in a professional manner, there is always the possibility for improper design through poor coordination by design crew leaders. Occasionally the contractor recognizes these design flaws during construction, and little or no legal liability is incurred. At other times, the design flaws can justify the contractor to ask for change orders, which will cause additional expense to the project owner. The owner, in turn, will go to the engineer or architect expecting them to be responsible for the overrun. The arguments that arise out of these design flaws often end up in court, with expert witnesses on both sides. This results in a cost that is substantially higher than the original design fee.
Improper Work Performances
Just as design professionals may make mistakes, so too will a contractor make mistakes by giving improper instructions or utilizing employees with shoddy work habits. The forensic engineer, given a project that has ended up in failure and/or with cost overruns, needs to determine the adequacy of construction personnel. In this particular area, the forensic engineer would be well served if he or she also worked/works as a contractor and intimately understands construction procedures. Workers’ usual antagonism toward design professionals during interviews is often lessened if the forensic engineer is also a contractor. This allows the workers to relate more with the construction side of the expert. Using proper terminology and associations helps the expert elicit more information from the workers as well as the contractor.
Some construction projects have tradespeople being paid for “piece work.” Piece work, as the name states, pays the workers based on the amount of work that they produce in a given time. Even though piece work can decrease the cost of the construction project, it can also lead workers to take shortcuts to increase the amount of work they accomplish and therefore, increase their pay.
While there are more examples of what to look for in improper work performances, these few examples allow the expert to get a feeling for the types of things to look for when investigating construction mistakes.
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