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What is Structural Auditing? Necessity, Methods, interpretation, Skill & Science involved.
(Part- 1. - Residential and commercial Buildings)

What is Structural Auditing?

Necessity, Methods, Interpretation, Skill & Science involved.
(Part 1. - Residential and Commercial Buildings)

Author:- Vivek Abhyankar - Fellow member IEI, BMC Licensed SE Mumbai, graduate member of ICE, ASCE,
AISC, ISSE, ACI, IIBE, INSDAG, IGS; visiting Professor.
Abstract:- Often the structures which are either old or constructed inappropriately (in terms of design or materials or
workmanship) start showing signs of dilapidation (cracks, leakages, vibrations, sinking, spalling, falling of elements, etc.) after
some time. As time progresses these signs may grow in proportion and act as a visual alarm bell to the eyes of sensitive users /
professionals. This is a time when you must go for Structural Audit (SA) to quantify the extent of damage, followed by a maintenance
/ repair / retrofitting cycle (as needed); not only so, but cycles of routine structural audits of structures (building / bridges / dams
/ tunnels / monuments etc.) are recommended at certain frequency (ranging from every year to once in a five year or so, depending
on the importance of the structure and condition of it). Structural audits are necessary and not to be considered as a burden or an
expenditure by owners/tenants; at the same time Structural Audit to be performed through a seasoned professional, with an
elaborate report mentioning in detail, the ‘action points’ / ‘executable recommendations’ / ‘budgetary work estimate’ etc.;
sometimes the purpose of structural audit is pre-decided / pre-fixed by the owners and they try to compel the auditor to frame the
recommendations as per their own desires for hidden agendas. This is ethically incorrect practice and shall be avoided (especially
by the budding professionals). Now, how to perform the SA? who should do it, what cautions are needed? What is NDT? how to
write a report and how much is a validity of SA report, what should be the fees, scope (exclusions-inclusions), special cases etc.
are the questions which are addressed in depth in the present paper. In second part of the paper the audit of infrastructure works
(bridges, culverts, underpasses, metros, ROBs etc. is planned to be covered and in third part (which will last part) the views on SA
for monumental or heritage structures is planned to be covered.

Key words:- structural audit SA cycle, personal protection equipment PPE, none destructive testing NDT, stress
mapping, dilapidation, FRP (fiber reinformed polymer), epoxy grouting, Schmidt Rebound Hammer, rapid visual
screening RVS technique, Structural health monitoring (SHM), SA report, budgetary estimate, structural / none-
structural components.

Background:- I did my first structural audit (SA) way back in year 1999 during starting phases of my professional
career, this was for a residential society building in Mumbai where I live. It was a great pleasure and learning for me
to perform this audit; I had consulted several senior professionals for this task. The faith and encouragement shown
by the society secretary and chairman was astonishing. After seeing the in-depth report of my audit one of the senior
reputed structural engineering consultants from Mumbai Shri. S. G. Dharmadhikari ji encouraged me to do more work
in this line; he gave me a couple of tips to improve my approach towards this subject and his co-professionals Shri.
Gokhale and Shri. Prabhudesai who were into structural-retrofitting business gave me a few tips regarding
construction. By that time, I was already a member of Indian Society
of Structural Engineers (ISSE) and had started attending several
seminars and workshops on the subject of ‘Structural Audits’ and Technical
‘Repairs and Retrofitting’ (referred onward as RR); workshops
arranged by ACI Maharashtra Chapter in association with M/s
Sunanda chemicals, ISSE, IEI were very much informative for me.
Some of the lectures by experts (Shri C M Dordi, Shri. S K Majrekar,
Shri A P Remedios, Shri S N Manohar, Shri R L Nene, professors Financial Social
from IIT-Kanpoor) were educating. Subsequently, in 2005 I
performed a SA for one famous school in Jogeshwari-East (a western
suburb of Mumbai city), it was altogether a new experience for me to
audit an academic structure (this structure belongs to local political
leader, so the work pressure was more). Later I did a few more audits, Statutory
sporadically. I could understand that apart from the ‘technical aspects’
of civil / structural engineering and construction there are two more

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strong aspects to SA – namely ‘social / emotional’ and ‘financial’. In recent years as many municipal corporations
and government bodies have set up certain rules and regulations for SA there is fourth dimension added to the subject
is statutory or legal. Thus (i) technical (ii) social, (iii) commercial and (iv) statutory (legal) aspects, are the four
prominently known aspects till date and same are covered in this paper, with more emphasis on ‘technical’ aspects.
But let us remember that as the time progresses ahead the complexity of structural auditing will keep increasing and
may lead to many more domains, dimensions added in future; in present paper some the cases studies which are
referred emphasize this point!

Technical aspects of SA:- Technical aspects cover primarily the engineering and technology and the mathematical
application to SA. But in true sense before Technical Aspects what come is the social and commercial aspect.

• Social Aspects:- The truths and the myths about SA in common people; the
emotional and cultural values associated with the structures; the hidden agendas of
the owners or sometimes even the tenants; adjacent huts or slums or religious places;
lobbying or preferencing etc. can be classified in the social aspects.

• Commercial Aspects:- The society budget, sinking fund, ownership of the plot and
main structure, repair grant from government (in case of public buildings),
redevelopment plans, extra FSI available, SRA schemes etc. fall within the
commercial aspects of SA.

• Statutory / legal aspects:- the society by-laws, local municipal corporation rules
etc. fall under statutory / legal aspects.

In the present paper focus is kept on the technical aspects.

Steps to be followed for any Structural Audit:- Whenever any client approaches a structural consultant for
performing structural audit of his building then the consultant should collect the following information in advance.
A. Data Collection & Interaction with the owners:-

1. Complete address of structure, year of construction, documents like OC,

CC, NOC, RERA etc. in place.
2. Available drawings / floor plans etc. (if drawings are not available then
proportionate hand sketches with dimensions must be prepared before /
during audit which consumes some time and energy; same need to be
reproduced to the scale using CAD software in the final report).
3. Ownership status – Govt. / Pvt. / disputed / shared ownership etc. and the
managing committee.
4. General background of the structure; previous records of audits and repairs
(if any).
5. Purpose of the audit – routine / for repairs / or for redevelopment.
6. Accessibility to the structure and various parts of it (like terrace, basement, parking, lofts, refuge areas,
balconies, all four sides of the building), material used (stone, brick, wood, concrete, steel), brief details
of adjoining structures (buildings / shops / roads / nala / well / hill / valley / seashores / level difference
in ground).
7. Emergency / Urgency of the audits.
8. Desired scope / extent of SA requested by the owner.

B. Competitive Offer:-

1. Usually, the financial offer is based on the number of tenements (flats) and the extra report with
recommendations, additional NDT services if necessary. As on date, more or less the rates are
standardized in various metro cities.

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2. Additional charges are applied if additional nondestructive testing is required (many a times owners
come with confusions or pre-reservations in mind about SA, the auditor should not get trapped in those
preconceived notions as it may affect the quality of inputs and outputs of SA. However, after
understanding the confusion in client’s mind is possible auditor should try to advice / mentor / convince
the clients about the correct opinion towards SA without much confrontation. Often the clients insist for
doing NDT / or not doing it; structural auditor should take own judicial decision about requirements of
NDT / partial DT etc. as per the circumstances and requirements of respective assignment).

(in today’s time irony is people invest lakhs of rupees on brand new cars or electronic devices, gadgets, home
interiors etc. to make it comfortable, but often neglect on the structural audit of own abode! But slowly the
awareness in increasing within the society, hope this paper will help towards increasing the awareness. Yet
another irony is about ‘half over-education through social media’, people acquire nominal knowledge just
by watching videos or social media posts or friends and tend to act on it)

C. Performing Actual Audit for a Structure:-

1. Once the owner accepts the financial offer and given written consent / appointment note or a work order,
then the audit can be started at the earliest. Before starting audit the structural engineer should have a detail
study of all the floor plans and other information acquired mentioned at the beginning. In general conditions,
a clear sunny day is most preferable than cloudy or a rainy day.

2. On the date of the audit the structural engineer and his associate should carry following things with them at
the site:-

MANDATORY TOOLS:-

a. All building Plans.

b. Writing pad / graph papers / pocketbook, pens,
and a calculator.
c. High resolution Camera. Good quality Torch.
5m Measuring tape. Magnetic needle to decide
North direction. (Modern smart mobile phones
has all these facilities, together in various
apps).
d. If possible, carry a plumb bob / level tube; now
a day’s laser beam tools are also popularly used
by site engineers.
e. Crack Filler gauges. Light Tapping hammer
with rubber head.

TOOLS AS PER NEED:-

f. NDT setup – Schmidt rebound hammer or

any other equivalent brand, crack progress
monitoring glass & glue tape etc. may be
resorted as per the need and contract
agreement with the client; entry pass / gate
pass (if applicable).
g. In big works / industrial plants where fumes
are generated etc. – a PPE kit consisting of goggles, glows, helmet, safety shoes, reflective jacket,
safety belts and earplugs (if required) etc. is required.
h. In advance stage SA, a rebar locator machine, core cutter etc. may be required.

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3. Before starting actual audit, the auditor may give a pep-talk to

owners / residents in presence of managing committee and if needed
and interested then all the society members for ten minutes and
request them allow them the access to all rooms and safeguard their
belongings. Each flat, each room shall be visited along with the
owner / secretary / security guard and concerned flat owner/s. The
purpose and the brief procedure and the expected outcome may be
briefed to the members to prepare their mind set.

(In today’s age common men are aware and educated about many this. The internet, social media,
friends’ interaction gives lot of information. But often half knowledge is dangerous! During pep talks
with society members some of the queries can be readily resolved in advance. But some of the members
may have a fixed mindset and difficult to change. Auditor should be wise enough to read the minds and
focus on the main problem statement!)

4. Usually, audit can be started from the top floors / terrace and moving one by one floor downwards, and
inspecting each flat, each room. While inspecting each flat the auditor must focus his/her attention only on
the Structural and none-structural members (the faiths / the beliefs / the food / the gods / the furniture / the
interiors and other aspects shall be ignored unless they are infringing or damaging the structure or its
components).

5. Politeness, wisdom, keenness for understanding structural behavior, eagerness to learn and document,
communication skills are the important skillsets and assets for a Structural Auditor. Structural auditor must
avoid any confrontation / unnecessary arguments / quarrels etc. with the owners or the occupants if arises
any.

6. Best time to start the structural audits is in early morning say 8am and finish-up before sunset say by 4pm. A
weekly off / Sunday or a bank holiday may be chosen for performing audit so that all the members are
available in their flats. If any flats are vacant, the owner / secretary should arrange for keys of these flats.
After audit is complete, 30minute discussion time be reserved with the owner to brief key observations. For
larger premises (say more than 200 flats) the audit may be split into two parts, as per say each wing per day.
Each flat may require about 5 to 10 minutes of inspection. Auditor shall be vigil and intuitive while
conducting the audit try to find out the pattern (if any) in the structural behaviors / dilapidation etc. (the same
can be more clear from ‘stress mapping technique’ explained ahead in this paper).

7. Many of the seasoned structural engineers develop their own forms / formats of the typical points to be
observed in each flat and each room viz.

a. Cracks and corrosion in the Columns / Beams / Slabs / Joints – the positions, length, and width
and if possible depth of these cracks. The seasoned auditor knows the difference between structural
and nonstructural cracks (viz. - surface cracks in paint / plasters vs. cracks in concrete due to
volumetric changes of rusting reinforcements). Sometimes reddish stains of rush are found coming
from the cracks which given clear indication. To avoid cracks on the interfaces of bricks masonry
and RCC members often chicken mesh is used.

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b. Leakages (if any) at terrace slabs / toilet sunk areas / water tanks / dampness in the plinth / sewer
and plumbing lines etc. need to be carefully observed. In some of the cases the owners cover the
roof with tarpaulin sheets.

c. Structural alterations done (if any) in rooms – any wall removed, any holes made in beams for
A/C conduits, any column removed (actually, modification in the main structural framing is a
punishable offense), window opening enlarged etc. in past so many structures like Punam chambers,
Sadaf Mazil, Lalita Park and couple of more are the examples of building collapses due to alterations
(Readers can refer to a booklet published by Gujarat Ambuja Cements knowledge center).

d. Previously repaired areas and their performance as on date shall be recorded / monitored.

e. Biological growths of fungus, white ants, shrubs and trees, honeybee nests, rats etc. (photographs
enclosed ahead show above phenomenon).

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8. Once the investigation of all interiors of structures / flats is

complete, the auditor and the owner should investigate the
exterior of structure from ground, and refuge floors / corridors
etc. This can be done by visual inspection from all the sides
of structure. If any cracks / corrosion / weeds or bushes
growth / misalignment of drainage lines / previous repairs /
ponding or leakages or waterlogging etc. shall be observed; if
any large size advertisement hoardings, mobile towers,
external staircases, elevators etc. need be observed.
Photographs along with the notes for all minute details to be
taken carefully. For small height buildings (G+4) the method
of external observation is suitable. But for taller structures
suitable extra inspection may be resorted as per requirements,
using gondola crane (zulaa) suspending from terrace. The
photographs shall be properly be numbered / indexed for the
location / spot from which each photo represents. Some of the
auditor mix up / mess up the photos, NDT results etc. which leads to complete confusion at the end.

9. During structural audits along with the owner / secretary or chairman and a security, the lead auditor may
appoint one young experienced, dynamic assistant who can help while taking measurements, running around,
accessing difficult areas, climbing up water tanks etc. (remember often in the old buildings the owner says
that the drawings are not available in such scenario the auditor shall take physical
measurements of top flats and regenerate complete line plan, with respect to which
further report and interpretations / recommendations are framed). But while doing all
this, unnecessary risk need not be taken, especially while climbing on steel towers /
masts / entering inside water tanks (if needed), lift rooms, other constrained spaces.
Care shall be taken to not get suffocated as well as wear a helmet with headlight, and
a safety rope / belt tied to waist and held outside by another person.

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10. In some of the structures there is damage noticed due to birds, rats etc. even the deep roots of trees each to
the foundations of the structures in search of water and damage the concrete and reinforcement. In certain
cases (especially hotels, pantries, kitchens, public waiting areas etc.) the owners / users throw food
remainders which attract rodents, ants, and other insects. These insects often form colonies in the footings /
dark – damp and cool areas. This shall be identified if large in proportion.

11. Marine borers and White ants / termites are another form of insects which slowly decay the wooden timber
items in structures over time. Structures near costal environments / humid climate / founded over places
where cow-dunk or organic garbage was stored previously for long time (say five years or more) which
change the pH value of the local soil and its characteristics.
Structural engineer should identify the primary construction
material – timber / stone / concrete / steel / steel composite in
advance and accordingly observe relevant points. If salty
water is used during construction, then the corrosion and
spalling of concrete is seen after a couple of years.

12. In some of the building structures additional extensions, large

cantilever projections are taken by the owners on their own or
during construction itself; in some cases, large steel balconies,
brackets, railing, stairs and Jalis are taken out cantilevering
(projecting out) from the main structure. In some cases, the
terraces are loaded with solar panels or mobile towers or in
some case large hording panels to earn to revenue to society.
In some of the commercial buildings illegal floorings up to
50cm brick bat coba / soil filling / terrace gardens / water
tanks etc. were also noticed. But all these expansions /
projections, modifications impose load on the main structure
and must be noted during the SA.

In some of the old buildings additional extra columns are built outside main building to facilitate future
expansion; these columns are connected to main building with small beams at each floor location. Often these
columns are exposed from all four sides and even not stressed to full design load till future expansion is done.
Such columns often show large cracks and corrosion. Same shall be observed carefully during audits.
Fire Exit staircase – Fire audits (scope of SA and exclusions):- A few years back there was a fire incidence in one
of the schools in a southern metro city of India and there was significant loss of life and property. Unfortunately, the
structural engineer was held ‘responsible’ for not bringing out the fire-safety lapses in the structural audit! Lot of
discussions, demonstrations and deliberations went within the structural engineering fraternities towards this. By and
large everyone in the field of structural engineering and civil consulting, resisted the interpretation by law as the ‘Fire-
Safety audit’ (fall in the domain of MEP) are totally different from the ‘Structural audits’ (which fall in the domain of
civil engineering). Readers of this paper should carefully note this and safeguard themselves against any such undue
/ imposed responsibility/s by owner or law or any other body, which are not the part of structural engineering at all!
This also would caution you to clearly state the ‘exclusions’ and ‘inclusion’ of duties of a structural auditor in the
written contract agreement signed with the owner. It is pity that in spite of so many years of history of structural
engineering in India there is no ‘unanimous / unified / single body / single opinion’ and single code books on the
subject of ‘Structural Audits’ yet exist.
Here two more incidents of structural audits of bridges are recollected, first one is from a foot over bridge in Mumbai
and another of major bridge over river in western Maharashtra coast; in both these cases inappropriate judgement took
place (based on evidence and law supports) they will be covered in part-II of this paper. The main point to highlight
is about judicial correct decision towards the SA is desirable; often media news / reporters (who hardly have any
knowhow about engineering and technology) present the incidences as per their own understanding and
interpretations. Shouting a loud and speaking fluent English on television channels wins the hearts and sympathy of
mass audience! Support from the political parties is another increasing trend in the engineering, is disheartening!

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Although there could be lapses in firefighting systems, the

structural engineer if notices them should bring it to the notice of
owner through informal communication or a supplementary note
to the main structural audit report. However, note that during SA
the auditor is expected to observe the physical loads exerted by
fire hydrants, safety ladders, any holes drilled in RCC members
to pass the ducts etc. on the main structure.
The efficiency of fire alarms and fire-fighting systems depend on
their regular maintenance; certification / recertification of the
same and ensuring the smooth functioning of safety doors / lifts /
elevators / smoke free lobbies, refuge areas, earthing systems,
safety of electrical lines and power back-up etc. does not fall in
the scope of structural audits (structural auditor is basically a civil
engineer by profession with specialization in structural
engineering with a sound understanding about geotechnical
engineering and concrete technology, concrete chemicals, other
engineering materials like bricks, stone, timber for building
construction purpose; he need not have explicit knowledge of
electrical or MEP (mechanical / electrical / plumbing) HVAC
(heat / ventilation / air conditioning) system engineering;
however the structural engineer may have basic knowhow of the
plumbing system. The owner may appoint a separate ‘Safety consultant’ in case if he wishes to audit the related scope
(MEP, HVAC).
Data collection, Analysis and Interpretation; Stress-Mapping Technique
:- As mentioned previously, during actual inspection process the data is
collected in the form of pictures of cracks, hammer test readings, records of
length-width-depth of the cracks, corrosion, spalling, fungal growth,
dampness with photos, locations, brief description etc. after the inspection is
complete the auditor should have a detail discussion with the owner for about
30min to discuss the first cut understanding and any additional details if
owner wants to share pertaining to details observed in individual flats.
Once the inspection is over, auditors return to own place and start interpreting
/ correlation of data. ‘Stress-mapping’ and ‘stress patterns’ finding is next
important step for which the auditor may draw all crack pattern on the
respective floor plans drawn on separate tracing papers (transparent sheets).
Then all the tracings of all floors of respective wings are super-imposed one
over the other, matching respective corners of the buildings, then the stress
patterns along the height of the structure get clear. Accordingly, further idea
about the global structural behavior is obtained. In structures having
longitudinal frames / bays the stress mapping can be done in vertical direction (section / elevation).
In some of the cases foundations are found to be sinking, this affects all the upper floors and indicates this in the form
of crack pattern in connected columns, beams, and walls. The cracks generated due to aging / durability (creep or
corrosion); overloading / fatigue; or seismic forces need to be differentiated correctly from the crack patterns.
Remember that incorrect assessment may take entire process to waste! In low laying buildings the waterlogging or
rise of water from plinth shows signs in the form or singing of tiles or unevenness and efflorescence / fungus growth
on walls. Also, the holes generated in ground below by rats affect the ground floors. In modern buildings builders use
termite proof solution on the compacted DRP placed over the moorum fill to protect the rats and termites to damage
the plinth.

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In some of the old structures (say 40yr

or more) where the concrete has
started experiencing the relaxations /
creep effect / corrosion etc. then the
main concrete framing may start
getting bulge. Triangular pattern
cracks over window ceils (due to creep
of lintel beams), tightness experienced
in sliding window shutters (duet to
deforming beams), losing of floor tiles
on the corers (due to uplifting of slabs) etc. are the signs of edging of RCC frame members and must be captured
correctly.
Contract Agreement Scope (exclusions-inclusions):- The structural audit is a small fee job although it has a impact
linked to a large scale work (repairs / retrofitting / redevelopment etc.). Hence the contract agreement is usually kept
brief say about two or three pages or so (especially for individual residential buildings). However as stated previously
the scope of audit, exclusions, and inclusions, it’s limitations, it’s applicability, fees, time frame, when the scope gets
ceased etc. shall be well defined in this small concise document and shall be signed by both the parties with one copy
each. In some of the repetitive or big works or in government departments there is a system if empanelment of
structural auditors. Such works are usually of large responsibility and magnitude and repetitive in nature (like several
government buildings / bridges to be audited once in every year / alternate year or so depending on the clients’
requirements and structures); the government departments generally have fixed conditions of contracts. The same
shall be read and interpretated properly with the help of a lawyer before signing off the contract to avoid complications
in future or calamities that may happen due to deployment of substandard contracting agency (L1 bidder). The auditor
should quote his fees accordingly, carefully. Just to win the new mega assignment the auditor should not under quote
the fees or neglect the contract conditions or take risks or any sort!
In large government works a part from the auditor and repair contractor the government officials do have certain roles
and responsibilities, in terms facilitating the permissions / infrastructure / introducing any terms and conditions
(especially financial) and penalties (if any) e-commerce etc. before taking any work the auditor shall get familiarized
with all such rules / regulations / procedures etc. to avoid complexities of any sort in future. In large government
departments there are several hierarchies of officials, senior as well as junior, all may not be aware of latest government
circulars etc. so auditor be careful towards complying all the rituals !
How to write a report; how much is a validity of SA report :- Writing a SA report is an art. The report should be
concise yet elaborate! The report could be divided in three – (i) Data (ii) Observations (iii) Recommendations. First
parts should start with the problem statement, purpose of the audit, brief background and the data available etc. In
second part all the observations, crack records, NDT readings, relevant photos etc. be presented. In part iii of the SA
report recommendations be presented. In recommendations if any specific brand of chemical or treatment is
mentioned, then two alternate brands also may be stated so as to have the liberty of selection with the owner/s as well
as none favors any specific product/s or treatments, although the right of selection of any product solely depends on
the owner/s. However in case owner choses all together a different product / treatment leading to paradigm shift /
departure from the recommendations of SA report then the validity of SA will get ceased off – partly or fully.
Recommendations:- Once the stress mapping is done, auditor comes to certain
conclusion about the exact extent of the damage, correlation between damage
pattern and accordingly can decide on the recommendations for – (a) No repairs
needed but only preventive maintenance cycle can keep running like plastering,
painting etc. (b) Repairs are needed (c) Retrofitting is needed or (d)
reconstruction is desirable. Remember that the recommendations shall be
purely based on the data and records and never on the owners’ insistence to
write specific things in the report!

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The retrofitting can be done by replacing damaged concrete with new polymer modified mortar / intruding new
reinforcement bars wherever needed / injection grouting of cracks / use of steel
stapples on walls / use of FRP sheet wrapped on the smoothened concrete
surface / columns jacketing with new concrete or steel plates and members etc.
individually or in combinations of different treatments. Now a day’s good
epoxy / polymers based, construction chemicals of variety of applications are
available in market. The judicial decision for selection and application of them
depends on the building owners and repair contractors but the owner may be
consulting the auditor in case of confusion which is not a part of main audit.
But based on structural audit (the length and cracks, damaged slab area in sq.
ft. expected qty of damaged concrete in columns) the auditor is expected to give
an assessment in his final report which could be slightly subjective depending
on the extend of audit, data available, variety of treatment chosen or even the
wastages generated by workers at site. This assessment enables the building
owners to invite the competitive bids for further repair works and set the budget
or collect the funds from tenants / members / users.
Use of None destructive techniques (NDT) for SA:-
Mostly the SA is based on visual inspection, but in some of the cases NDT or a
controlled DT is required to be resorted. The rebound hammer test in one the
popular techniques resorted for estimation of residual strength of the concrete.
The reliability of hammer test results entire depends on the instrument and its
skillful use as well as interpretation of readings. ‘Tell-a-Tail’ is another popular
technique followed to monitor the progress of crack with time. Other techniques
like USPV (Ultrasound Pulse Velocity test), Capo test, carbonation depth,
concrete cores etc. are resorted in rare cases. But these tests are semi-destructive
type, and the test results may take one-week time, which may prolong the final
report. Even the expertise and experience with which the NDT is performed
decides the reliability of the results. Use of indicator solution for carbonation
depth (in case of exposed deep crack / cuts in cement concrete) is also a quick
indicator but rarely required. This may require appointment of a separate
accredited testing labs (rarely required, one in ten thousand). NDT requires additional cost in SA.
Here I recollect one case study of one industrial building manufacturing cotton fabrics; this building was audited by
India’s one of the eminent academic engineering institutes in Mumbai in 1980’s. The owners wanted to mount a few
machine foundations of the existing large area floor slab, for this there was a need to assess / establish the vibration
characteristics of this floor in advance to avoid resonance. The auditing institute used the large size cotton bundles
available readily in the factory, which were lifted with the EOT cranes in factor and dropped on the floor from 2m
height. The strain gauges / sensors were installed at 5m x 5m grid below the floor to record the vibrations caused by
the falling mass. As soon as the load was dropped on the floor the whole slab started vibrating for a few fractions of
a second, same were recorded. Accordingly, suitable cushion / damping system was developed on the slab and machine
base to avoid vibrations / resonance. Hope the said factory is still functioning well !
The example discussed above is one of the rare cases and not met across in every audits. But this was mentioned just
to give and idea to budding auditors that how intense the audit could go in rare cases.
Core cutting:- In some of the reinforced concrete structures after visual inspection and if needed rebound hammer
test and carbonation test in some cases the concrete strength is required to be established with destructive tests like
compressive test on concrete cores drilled from actual structure. the structural auditor should ensure that the core is
taken from such a member location that during and after drilling the core the structure is still safe and stable. Before
drilling core, the position be carefully chosen to avoid fouling of the reinforcements or any concealed pipes or wires.
Figure ahead shows a large size vertical and horizontal core driven in concrete slab and wall.

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What is Structural Auditing? Necessity, Methods, interpretation, Skill & Science involved.
(Part- 1. - Residential and commercial Buildings)

Rebar Locator machine:- another intricate yet frequently asked tool in Rebar locator machine, it is used to trace out
the position of reinforcement bars closer to RCC surface to decide proper drilling / anchoring locations. There are
different good machine brands available in market, but bit costly and not resorted regular structures. Use of rebar
locator to be decided carefully, this may increase the time and cost of audit.
When and how to use of Software in Retrofitting:- In some of the large structures after audit is complete, before
deciding the position, magnitude / size of retrofitting detail analysis is required as per ‘existing’ and ‘proposed /
retrofitted’ configuration. Staad / Etabs / ANSYS and a like software are used to assess the adequacy of existing rebars
in beams columns etc. availability of existing RCC drawings plays a vital role towards this; also modeling the entire
structure as it is along with existing reinforcement pattern in the software is a laborious task (and results are subject
to construction being done exactly as per drawings!!). after modeling the entire structure, the complete push-over
analysis and hinge formation can be determined. Thus, readers can imagine that this is most suited for old tall buildings
(G+10) to assess their seismic adequacy as per the new codes. This is does not form a part of main structural audit, if
required by owner then be quoted accordingly.
RVS (Rapid Visual screening technique)
In past there were examples of massive earthquakes causing significant damages to thousands of buildings / structures
in different cities. Kutch – Bhuj earthquakes, Latur earthquake in India and Chile, Kobe, Nigata earthquakes and many
more across the globe have caused devastation in many structures in cities. In such case the earthquake research
institutes have a great responsibility to audit several lakhs of structures in a limited period (say one or two weeks) with
a limited number of experts, volunteers. In such case the auditors can examine the structure only from outside for half
a minute maximum! This can be done with technique called ‘Rapid Visual Screening’ or simply RVS. Federal
emergency management agency FEMA has wonderful guidelines developed on this subject (number 154-508). In
RVS survey the panel members briskly visit buildings one by one with a blank form and have to ‘tick’ options to
several questions stated in the form viz. GPS location of structure; Height of structure; plan irregularity; soft-storey;
OH water tanks; construction material used; photo of damage; no collapse / partial collapse / full collapse – etc.
(readers can refer my separate post published in structural engineers forum www.sefindia.org website as well as
https://www.fema.gov/).
Structural Health monitoring (SHM)
During SA process often the clients ask questions about SHM. In modern mega structures, like the Statue of Unity or
Mumbai cable stayed bridge or Kolkata underground metro rail etc. and a like, the performance of the structure is
captured over timescale 24x7 basis, by various means and instrumentation processes (like strain gauges, visual
indicators, alarms systems etc.) SHM is a vital tool to capture information about structural behaviors but could be
slightly costly. In regular buildings and for SA process SHM may rarely (or even not) required. There are dedicated
agencies who provide the infrastructure and instrumentation required for SHM.
Concluding remarks
It is said that ‘Practice makes man perfect’, similarly by budding structural engineers they can associate with some
seasoned consultant for first five to six years and do a regular practice of audits; then practice independently. In above
paper author has given clear idea about various ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ along with a few case studies. If followed rigorously

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 What is Structural Auditing? Necessity, Methods, interpretation, Skill & Science involved.
(Part- 1. - Residential and commercial Buildings)

and further nurtured, then readers can gain expertise in the filed of Structural Audits. But after acquiring expertise do
not forget to share the same to next generation and other fraternity members through papers / hands-on workshops /
post / books / you-tube videos / personal blogs / posts / evening lectures / podcasts / internship programs etc.
The modern media, equipment and digital devices etc. are making the subject of SA more interesting yet intricate; it
is a vast and live subject, so difficult to cover everything in merely eight to ten pages! Hope you liked whatever could
be covered above. If you have any further queries / comments / suggestions / complements about this paper or the
subject in general, then do share with us on the email ID provided at the end or with the editors.
A few References:-
1) Learning from failures – by R. N. Raikar.
2) Construction Failures – by Jacob Feld.
3) Forensic investigation – by Peter Emenos.
4) Why Buildings Stand up / Why Buildings collapse – by Mario Salvadori.
5) Guidelines on Structural Auditing – ISSE Mumbai.
6) Lecture notes - Structural Audit –lecture given by Mr. Chetan Raikar.
7) Lecture notes - Structural Audit – workshop arranged by IEI, Sunanda chemicals.
8) Lecture notes - Retrofitting – workshop arranged by IEI, IIT-Kanpoor.
9) Lecture notes - Rapid Visual Survey (RVS) technique - lecture given by Mrs. Alpa Seth at IEI.
10) IS-4326 - Code of practice for earthquake resistant design and construction of buildings.
11) IS-456 – design of plain and reinforcement concrete.
12) IS-800 – design of steel structures.
13) IS-1893 – Earthquake forces
14) IS-15988-2013 – Seismic evaluation and strengthening of existing reinforced concrete buildings – guidelines.
15) IS-13920 – ductility detailing of reinforced concrete structures.
16) FEMA Guidelines 154-508 for rapid visual screening.

About the Author

Er. Vivek G. Abhyankar – Fellow (IEI), BMC licensed SE, has more than 21 years of
professional experience in the field of structural planning and design, detailing of various
enabling and permanent works in Concrete and Steel (bridges, metros, buildings). He was
also a visiting faculty for Graduate and Post-Graduate students in Structural engineering
at VJTI, SPCE. Guide for PG and AMIE projects. Certified structural engineer of MCGM.
Life member of various national and international professional bodies and contributed to
more than 40 technical papers and 3 chapters in books and guided more than 10 MTech,
AMIE projects. (email – abhy_vivek@hotmail.com)

* * * * END OF PAPER * * * *

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