“ Assessing Materials and Structural Defects in the Workplace of Mechanical

Engineers from Central Mindanao University”

Introduction

Material failure happens. The impact of it can run the area from easily fixed with minimal
deprivation to catastrophic, depending on factors like total downtime, repair costs,
health and safety implications, and impact on production and delivery of services. There
are several common reasons equipment can break down, and understanding why the
equipment may be failing is the purpose why this study is created. To have a line of
defense against the serious consequences of unplanned downtime. Generally, materials
and structural defects refer to a shortage in the structural process either in design,
materials, or workmanship which leads to a failure in some aspect of the structure being
built, and that causes damage to a person or property like financial or otherwise. This
study will therefore help the Mechanical Engineers from Central Mindanao University to
identify the malfunctions on the materials and structures, to find possible solutions on
the existing and future problems on the site. This concept will find potential strategies in
prevention to bigger problems to machineries if not taken into action.

Need for this Study

The primary goal of this study is to reduce and eliminate adverse impacts of machinery
malfunctions to human health and its environment to support economic development
and superior quality of life. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are nearly
3 million work-related injuries each year in the United States. Approximately 5,000 of
these work-related injuries are fatal. Many work-related injuries, including ones that
significantly affect quality of life, are due to machine malfunctions. Machinery that
doesn’t work as intended may take in injuries that range from minor cuts and bruises to
disfigurements and damage to arms or legs. Multifold refined machines have influential
motors and fast moving parts.
There are two types of defects on a workplace, these are patent and latent defects.
Patent defects are those that are known or readily obvious upon inspection. They’re the
ones that a contractor, sub, or other trade should find during normal inspections. Latent
defects, on the other hand, are those that are concealed or otherwise not readily
observable. This is the most dangerous defect since it could risk damage to either
people or the property without anyone knowing except if conscientiously or thoroughly
inspected. This study will assist and recognize these two defects especially the latent
defect to avoid any kinds complications.

Background

Jes Ellacott's (2019) tackled about the 5 causes of equipment failure. These are
improper operations, failure to perform preventive maintenance, too much preventive
maintenance, failure to continuously monitor equipment and bad reliability culture. To
solve these problems, Benarroche (2019) instructed some ways on how to identify and
avoid them. He stated that, everyone on a project is responsible for minimizing
construction defects. He mentioned few ways on how to minimize structural defects and
their impact. First, review the contract terms and policy coverage which means, the
contract should clearly assign accountability and confirm that everyone is responsible
for their own work. Next is implement quality control programs. Involve all the project
participants early on and form some sort of quality assurance group. Lastly, act quickly.
If a defect is discovered, perform a walk-through.

Wenstrom (2021) supported his statement and said that there are multiple strategies
you can use to prevent equipment failure, and choosing the right one depends on the
criticality of the machine, the predictability of its failures, and the budget and monitoring
infrastructure available. He also gave some methods that is related to Benarroche's.
These are, Reactive Maintenance. This is the traditional maintenance paradigm. When
it breaks, we fix it. Diagnostic Analytics. This requires a little more digging. Preventive
Maintenance. This includes regularly inspecting machines prior to use, establishing and
sticking to a maintenance schedule, regularly replacing components before their
average lifespan is over, and anything that tries to ward off the failure before it happens.
Lastly, Predictive Maintenance. Predictive maintenance uses past machine performance
to model asset behavior. Most of the gathered informations and studies focused on the
workplace outside the country or abroad and patent or observable problems. While this
study will be focusing on the problems encountered specifically by the mechanical
engineers from Central Mindanao University and both patent and latent problems
engineers experienced on their perspective workplace.

Objective

This paper seeks to achieve its general objective of assessing materials and structural
defects in the workplace of mechanical engineers from Central Mindanao University by
focusing on the following specific objectives:

1. To determine the influence of reviewing the contract terms and policy coverage on
assessing materials and structural defects in the workplace of mechanical engineers
from Central Mindanao University;
2. To determine the influence of implementing quality control programs on
assessing materials and structural defects in the workplace of mechanical engineers
from Central Mindanao University; and
3. To evaluate the influence of quick action on assessing materials and structural
defects in the workplace of mechanical engineers from Central Mindanao University.

Research Questions
1. Does reviewing the contract terms and policy coverage influence on assessing
materials and structural defects in the workplace of mechanical engineers from Central
Mindanao University?
2. Do implementing quality control programs influence on assessing materials and
structural defects in the workplace of mechanical engineers from Central Mindanao
University?
3. Does quick action influence on assessing materials and structural defects in the
workplace of mechanical engineers from Central Mindanao University?

References

Benarroche A. (2019) Defects in Construction: How to Identify and Avoid Them: How to
Minimize Construction Defects and Their Impact.

Ellacott J. (2019) 5 causes of equipment failure and what you can do to prevent it. (pp
2-6).

Wenstrom D. (2021) Top Cause of Machine Failure and how to Prevent them:
machinemetrics.

Zhang S., Ren Z., Ding Z., Wen J., & Yan Z. (2019) Influence of Existing Defects on
Mechanical Properties of NC Lining", Advances in Materials Science and
Engineering.

Websitebuilder (2017) Common Problems with Heavy Machinery.