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Causes of Failure: What a Forensic Engineer Looks For
By Joseph S.C. Bonadiman, Ph.D., P.E., CEO and Chairman of Joseph E. Bonadiman & Associates, Inc.
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The following article originally appeared in the industry publication Forensic Examiner, Nov/Dec 2003, Vol. 12, Numbers 11 & 12. |
Abstract
Forensic engineers must be fully aware of what to look for in any given failure or accident so that they can be completely accurate in their evaluations and conclusions. An attorney must also be able to recognize various details that experts use to formulate their opinions. It is also useful for both engineers and attorneys to have a list of items that they may want to review to help analyze a failure or accident. The attorney can also use this list to gain knowledge while he or she develops a deposition strategy and questions for interrogations. This article covers 11 principal areas having to do with causes of failure and/or accidents that may need to be evaluated for a given occurrence.
Introduction
There are always reasons for failures. This may seem like a truism; however, all possible failure areas are often not addressed in an investigation. The forensic engineer is one who uses engineering to interpret and/or establish the facts of matters through diligent investigation in a court of law. This definition can be further broadened to include investigations into technical items that are before the court. To do an investigation, a forensic engineer must address many areas that could possibly have caused a failure. If the forensic engineer misses any possible clue that led to a particular failure, then he or she would be doing a great disservice to his or her client. Cases can be lost by an expert overlooking a basic fact or item. If an overlooked item is found after a case has been settled, the engineer might find him or herself as a defendant in a malpractice suit.
The 11 major areas that can lead to failures related to constructed projects and architectural and civil designs are described in this article.
Communication
Any construction project goes through various technical disciplines in preparation for the development of plans and specifications. These interdisciplinary technical areas need to be properly coordinated and assembled into drawings. During the drawings process, close communication among various designers is necessary so that essential details are not overlooked. For example, an organization might be designing a conveyor system that will provide a method for heavy materials to be transported by conveyor belt up an incline to hoppers, so that the material in the hoppers can then flow down shoots into a batching1 operation. The materials flowing from the hopper are delivered to a distribution system in a pit adjacent to the foundations of the hoppers. One engineer may design the footing for the hoppers while another engineer designs the pit and the retaining walls for the pit adjacent to the hoppers. The footings for the hoppers might be properly designed; however, due to lack of communication and an incomplete understanding of the interaction between the footings of the hopper and the retaining walls of the pit, neither engineer allowed for the additional surcharge2 from the hoppers’ foundation. Consequently, due to that lack of communication, a failure occurs.
To most people, the importance of communication is readily understood. However, when working with complex designs with deadlines attached, sometimes there is insufficient communication and failures may happen. The expert should try to get copies of any communications and contact all involved parties to aid in his or her investigation of a failure.
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