Handouts 4per Page
Handouts 4per Page
Handouts 4per Page
Ian Firth
Flint & Neill, London
Minneapolis
Henan Province,
China
Karachi
Adam and Eve
China, S Africa, Kenya & France..........? by Lucas Cranach
Al Franken
“The great liability of the engineer compared to men of
other professions is that his works are out in the open We all make mistakes
where all can see them. His acts, step by step, are in
hard substance. He cannot bury his mistakes in the Engineers deal with public safety - the stakes are high
grave like the doctors. He cannot argue them into thin
air or blame the judge like the lawyers. He cannot, like The consequences of failure are unthinkable
the architects, cover his failures with trees and vines.
He cannot, like the politicians, screen his short-comings We have a duty to check and double check our work
by blaming his opponents and hope the people will
forget. The engineer simply cannot deny he did it. If Checking is designed to reduce the number and
his works do not work, he is damned.” significance of the mistakes we make
Herbert Hoover
Mistakes may occur due to ignorance, carelessness When a failure occurs and human error is a factor,
or a number of other factors. either
They may occur in design, construction, •someone didn’t check carefully enough, or
maintenance or demolition.
•someone did not act promptly upon warnings
arising from someone else’s check.
Codes &
Standards
Changed
Theory
Disaster or
The Great Fire of London, 1666 Investigation
Failure
New rules were introduced empowering the Lord Mayor, Aldermen Changed
and Common Council of London to appoint “one or more discreet Process
and intelligent person or persons in the art of building to be the
surveyors or supervisors to see the said rules and scantlings well
and truly observed” Procurement
and the surveyors and supervisors must “take the oath upon the Holy Quality Assurance
Scriptures for the true and impartial execution of their office.” Checking
Building Accredited
control certification
Milford Haven (Cleddau) Bridge Collapse , June 1970 West Gate Bridge Collapse, October 1970
Koblenz Bridge Collapse, November 1971 The Interim Design and Workmanship Rules
First recommendation of the Merrison Committee: The Merrison Committee also recommended:
“The Engineer’s permanent design should be The terms of the Engineer’s appointment must make
checked by an independent engineer both for the him “..responsible for the supervision of the works
design concept and the method of analysis of stress, ...” and must include the requirement for
and a certificate furnished to this effect and for “..examining Contractors’ proposals and details and
compliance with the criteria ....” the checking of the adequacy, stability and safety of
the proposed methods of construction and temporary
“The independent engineer should have experience works.”
and qualifications commensurate with the magnitude
and complexity of the design in question.”
Technical
“No amount of writing of design codes and writing Category Description Approval Independent Checker
Required?
of contracts can in the end be guaranteed to
0 Small, minor constructions. No Within design team.
prevent the results of stupidity, carelessness or
1 Spans < 20m and other Yes Within design team.
incompetence. relatively small
constructions.
But one can do a great deal to discourage these 2 Intermediate scale and Yes Separate team within
complexity of construction. designer’s organisation.
vices and that must be done.”
3 Span >50m and complex Yes External organisation,
structures requiring relatively fully independent of
Sir Alec Merrison, London, 13th February 1973 sophisticated analysis. designers.
1. Technical Independence
2. Commercial Independence
Technical independence
• Analysis
• Modelling
• Software
• Approach and methodology
• Expert opinion
• Certification
Independence from the designer Commercial independence
Employer’s Employer’s
Employer Employer
Agent Concessionaire Agent / Checker Concessionaire
Employer’s
Employer
Agent / Checker
Banks and
Concessionaire
Insurers
Lenders’
Design & Build
Checking
Contractor Client
Engineer
Designer Checker
Designer
Tsing Ma Bridge, Hong Kong
Tsing Ma Bridge – examples of extended checker’s brief Kap Shui Mun, Ting Kau and Tsing Ma Bridges, Hong Kong
Employer
D&B
Checker
Contractor
Designer
Concept
Review
De
Design Basis sig
n
Programme Implications Pr
Analysis oc
es
s
Development
Scheme Design
Optimisation
Detail Design
Independent
Check Construction
Typical Traditional Design & Check Programme Typical Design & Build Programme
Design Design
Submit Design Package Construction
Check and Certification Submit Design Package
Construction Check and Certification
Design
Independent analysis
Compare results
Submit Design Package
Check and Certification
• Designer and Checker are both theoretically liable. • But, in the UK, the law allows the Checker to be 100%
• Claims may be made against both parties. liable if the Designer is not able to pay!
• The share of liability is decided between the parties or • Also, the Client cannot contract out of his legal liability
by the courts. (Typically in the ratio 60:40 or 70:30) under current Health and Safety legislation.
• However: • Engineer’s duty of care differs in different countries.
• Cases of collapse or other types of failure are rare • In Germany for example a consulting engineer may carry a
when qualified independent checkers are appointed. duty to ensure “fitness for purpose” whereas in the UK it
only extends to acting with “due care and diligence”.
• There are very few recorded cases of claims against
both parties. • So, make sure you check your liability!
4.5 4.5
4.0 4.0
3.5 3.5
3.0 3.0
2.5 2.5
2.0 2.0
1.5 1.5
1.0 1.0
0.5 0.5
0.0 0.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Construction Cost (£ million) Construction Cost (£ million)
If Checker’s scope includes Economic Design Review: