MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

YANGON TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

Learning from Failures

Presented By: Ma Cho Wai Phyo Kyaw

Ph.D.CSE-1
INTRODUCTION
 This chapter briefly reviews the history of failure analysis as it relates to the evolution of
engineering design
 The forensic engineer can make a significant contribution to the process of learning from failures
by disseminating information to the design professions
 Professional and trade journals tend to emphasize successful projects and products
 Learning lessons from experience, including failure, continues to be important to the
advancement of the engineering professions.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT: TRIAL-AND-ERROR TRADITION
 Design codes, standards of practice, and construction and manufacturing procedures have all evolved
traditionally through a process of trial-and-error and trial-and-success
 In the past, builders based their designs on observations of performance of earlier construction.
 Failures led to a new understanding of structural behavior and to a corresponding improvement in
design
 Robert Mark, research on cathedral design and construction, a communication network existed among
the various cathedral builders in Europe
 This network allowed for dissemination of information about problems in performance so that
corrective measures could be made on the various sites simultaneously
 This exchange of information was deemed essential in a period when builders were extending the
frontiers of knowledge and experiencing behavior unpredicted by past efforts
 Failures may be expected when the frontiers of knowledge are extended as they were during the period
of Gothic cathedral construction or they are today in the exploration of outer space
CONTINUED:
 Unfortunately, many repetitive failures and accidents occur today not as the result of a lack of
technical information, but as the result of procedural errors and information transfer deficiencies
 Henry Degenkolb has written that trial-and-error is the principal source of useful information for
design when the input information is uncertain, as is the case for design of structures to resist
earthquakes
 Most of the Uniform Building Code provisions for seismic design are derived from observations of
structural behavior during historic earthquakes
 Current practices for detailing ductile reinforced concrete building frames, the brittle fractures of
moment-resistant steel frames in the 1994 Northridge, California earthquake demonstrated that
there are still many lessons to learn, despite modern analytical tools and theories
CONTINUED:

 The design of mass-produced products often includes trial-and-error as an integral part of the
design process
 Destructive or nondestructive testing of components is routinely conducted in the design of
aircraft, machine parts and so on
 The luxury of destructive testing is usually not economically possible when designing a building or
bridge
 If the design is conventional, however, the designer have the benefit of an inventory of past
structures to consult for relevant performance information
 Some structures, include offshore platforms, large civil projects, or projects exposed to unusual
environmental conditions, requires a conservative approach, because of their uniqueness, scale, or
complexity have no precedence.
 All participants should be aware that frontiers are being extended.
CONTINUED:

 James Amrhein, a designer of reinforced masonry structures:

 Structural Engineering is the art and science of molding Materials we do not fully understand; into Shapes
we cannot precisely analyze; to resist Forces we cannot accurately predict; all in such a way that the society
at large is given no reason to suspect the extent of our ignorance
 Lessons learned from failures or accidents are extremely useful in clarifying some of the
uncertainties, leading to improvements in the design process
 Communication among designers about lessons learned from failure has always been an important
component in the advancement of the engineering professions
 Lessons learned from experience are combined with mathematical theory to predict the behavior
of engineered systems with a greater degree of confidence than ever before
DEFINITION OF FAILURE

 Failure is an unacceptable difference between expected and observed performance (Leonards 1982)
 Include serviceability problems such as annoying vibrations, excessive deformations, premature
deterioration of materials and inadequate environmental control systems
 For example, in the case of buildings, the most costly recurring performance problems are
associated with building envelope performance
 The forensic engineer spends a great deal of time investigating such problems
 Dissemination of the results of these investigations can be of much economic benefit to the
designers, owners, and operators of facilities
 Performance of a structure or product must always be evaluated in reference to life expectancy
and to the degree of maintenance provided
CONTINUED:

 James Gordon provides a context for evaluating the performance of aging engineered facilities:
 The entire physical world is most properly regarded as a great energy system: an enormous marketplace in
which one form of energy is forever being traded for another form according to set rules and values.
 That which is energetically advantageous is that which will sooner or later happen.
 In one sense a structure is a advice which exists in order to delay some event which is energetically favored
 It is energetically advantageous, for instance, for a weight to fall to the ground, for strain energy to be
released and so on
 Sooner or later the weight will fall to the ground and the strain energy will be released but it is the business
of a structure to delay such events for a season for a lifetime or for thousands of years
 All structures will be broken or destroyed in the end, just as all people will die in the end
 It is the purpose of medicine and engineering to postpone these occurrences for a decent interval
 The work of forensic engineer is to investigate those projects that do not provide the expected
quality of performance for the expected period of time
CAUSES OF FAILURE

 Failure result from a variety of causes involving both technical/physical problems, and human
error/procedural factors
 The causes may be a combination of interrelated deficiencies
 This is one reason for the complexity and confusion that usually accompany failure litigation
 The underlying source of a failure is sometimes found in ignorance, incompetence, negligence, and
avarice
 Sometimes the project is exposed to environmental conditions, the effect of natural hazards,
carelessness in site selection, uses or forces unpredicted by the designer
 There is always a technical/physical explanation for a failure, but the reasons failure occurs are often
procedural
 Dissemination of information about the procedural aspects of failures can help to affirm the role of
the engineering professional and to improve standards of professional practice
 CONTINUED:
 Interdisciplinary information dissemination strategies are necessary to support the development of
improved quality assurance/quality control programs
 For the purpose of discussion, the causes of structural failure in buildings and civil structures may be
classified as follows.
1. Site Selection and Site Development Errors: Land use planning errors, insufficient or nonexistent geotechnical
studies, unnecessary exposure to natural hazards
2. Programming Deficiencies: Unclear or conflicting client expectations, lack of clear definition of scope or intent of
project
3. Design Errors: Errors in concept, lack of redundancy, failure to consider a load or combination of loads, connection
details, calculation errors, misuse of computer software, detailing problems including selection of incompatible
materials or assemblies which are not constructable, failure or consider maintenance requirements and durability,
inadequate or inconsistent specifications for materials or expected quality of work
4. Construction Errors: Nonconformance to design intent, excavation and equipment accidents, excessive construction
loads, improper sequencing, premature removal of shoring and formwork, inadequate temporary support
5. Material Deficiencies: Material inconsistencies, premature deterioration, manufacturing or fabrication defects
6. Operational Errors: Alterations to structure, change in use, negligent overloading, inadequate maintenance
CONTINUED:
 Failure of a hydroelectric project:
 Mechanical and electrical problems, operational errors, design concept deficiencies and geotechnical or structural
inadequacies
 Failures resulting from corrosion in concrete parking structures, most vulnerable constructed facilities
 Exposed to a wide range of fluctuating thermal conditions
 Vehicles deposit corrosive deicing salts used on roadways onto the parking deck surfaces
 Design details may be inadequate, for drainage, detailing around openings, crack control, joint definition,
concrete cover, geotechnical errors or foundation design problems, leading to settlement cracking
 Construction errors involving poorly executed connections or improper sealant application may have contributed
to acceleration of corrosion
 The owner or operator of the facility may bear partial responsibility because of inadequate maintenance.
 Some owners have even used corrosive deicing salts in their own snow removal operations, or covered over
deteriorated materials with new overlays
 The use of multiple forensic experts, representing various parties to a dispute, can be helpful in ensuring
that all potential contributing factors are considered
DATA COLLECTION AND INFORMATION
DISSEMINATION
 The dissemination of accurate and complete information relative to forensic investigations can
have an impact on improvements in engineering practice and products
 ASFE-Association of Soil and Foundation Engineers: numerous case studies on geotechnical and
foundation problerms
 The National Transportation Safety Board disseminates information to policy-making bodies,
including the Federal Aviation Administration(FAA), dissemination activities within other specialized
disciplines
 These projects seek ways to disseminate information to the most appropriate individuals and
organizations, in the most appropriate form, so that lessons learned from accidents and failures
can be most efficiently integrated into practice
 National Academy of Forensic Engineers (NAFE), contains opportunities to address the
interdisciplinary problems and wide range of topics representing a variety of engineering disciplines
CONTINUED

 Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, published by the American Society of Civil

Engineers(ASCE)
 Technical causes of failures and other performance problems
 A website for failure case studies to be accessible by educators
 In some fields, the collection and dissemination of failure and accident information can have an
immediate and substantial impact
 NTSB aviation accident information distribution policies-changes in procedure can be implemented almost
immediately after an accident (in Chapter 7)
 In the case of defects in manufactured products, forensic investigations can also have a direct
impact.
 Collection of failure and accident information can be used to support product recall efforts or to convince
manufacturers to make necessary modifications to mass-produced products, having a significant
immediate impact on public safety
CONTINUED:

 A building or civil structure is not a manufactured product, involves a number of engineering

disciplines and the result is a single, unique site-specific project
 There are important opportunities within the construction industry for disseminating information
about products, procedures, and assemblies
 Many repetitive and costly performance problems occur because of information transfer deficiencies
 For example: countless costly corrosion problems exist in buildings as the result of a particular
mortar additive for masonry construction
 Many users of the product were unaware of the potential problems even after litigation on similar projects
was in progress for sometime
CONTINUED:

 Another example: improperly designed and installed brick veneer/metal stud curtain wall panels
 This assembly was heavily promoted and widely used, even as costly repairs were underway in facilities that
first used the promoted system and deficient design guidelines
 Even today, some designers are unaware of problems with this façade assembly
 Clearly, the construction industry suffers from the lack of an established and coordinated
information collection and dissemination program
TRENDS LEADING TO AN INCREASE IN THE
FREQUENCY AND SEVERITY OF FAILURES
 Today’s technological society is increasingly vulnerable to the effects of failures and accidents
 Dense urban population centers have aggravated the potential effects of natural and human-
caused disasters
 Utilities and industrial facilities are vulnerable to the effects of human error or equipment failure
 For example, a construction worker once dropped a socket wrench while working on a power plant project
in Florida
 The dropped wrench started a chain reaction of events that culminated in $5 million worth of damages to
the facility and put the entire plant out of operation for 4 months
 Human error or equipment failure in the operation of a large aircraft or ocean vessel can result in the loss
of hundreds of lives in a single accident
 Industrial accident, such as the methyl isocyanate gas leak
 The concentration of hazardous wastes near population centers is the transportation of hazardous
materials through populated areas
CONTINUED:

 The tragedy at the Oklahoma City Federal Building in April 1995 killed 168 people
 This social problem is especially disheartening to those who design, build, and manufacture projects
 A forensic investigati0n 0f the damaged Oklahoma City building let t0 several technical and planning
rec0mmendati0ns that can reduce the damage in similar events in the future
 Al0ng with the increasing vulnerability t0 severe effects 0f accidents, s0me alarming trends have appeared in
the attitudes and expectati0ns 0f s0ciety with respect t0 engineered pr0ducts and facilities
 The ASCE, Technical C0uncil 0n F0rencsic Engineering 0rganized a w0rksh0p 0n Reducing Failures in
Engineered Facilities in Clearwater, Fl0rida, in January 1985
 This w0rksh0p was attended by pr0fessi0nals representing all interests in the c0nstructin industry, wide
ranging discussions regarding causes and c0sts 0f failures and accidents in the construction industry
 The general consensus that emerged from this conference was that both the frequency and severity of failures
were on the increase
 Several contributing trends were noted during the discussions and are included here
CONTINUED:
 One problem noted by many practicing professionals is the loss of control by the designer over
execution of the design
 This loss of control is the result of an undue emphasis on reduction of construction time and
construction cost
 Nontraditional “fast-track” approaches , with new opportunities for misunderstood
communications and unclear lines of responsibility
 Designers have always had to compete against the costs of time, but the unprecedented era of double-digit
inflation in the 1970s placed new pressures on design and construction schedules
 Society began to define the “best” project as the one that could be completed in the shortest time for the
least initial cost
 The “psychology of the low bid” became fully entrenched in the construction industry.
 Competitive bidding for design services and the ethical conflicts of design/build package services have
become potential contributors to escalating failure rates
CONTINUED:
 The designing and constructing complex modern buildings has necessitated the development of a
large number of engineering specialties
 Coordinating the work of these specialists has become an increasingly difficult task and communication
problems have escalated with the number of participants.
 Specialization requires a greater emphasis on coordination
 Problems are developing at the interface between the work of the various specialists
 New materials and methods are appearing at an unprecedented rate
 These materials and procedures are promoted and applied simultaneously in a variety of environmental
exposures without the benefit of long-term trial-and-error experience
 Computer can process information very rapidly, but the time for reflection by the designer may be
lost
 It can be used to relieve the designer of repetitive tasks, enabling the designer to devote more time to
quality control, including increased participation in the construction process
CONTINUED:

 The availability and proliferation of specialized software are also of concern

 The probability exists that software will be misused by unqualified designers, as an alternative to consulting
specialized professionals who are qualified to make the necessary experience-based engineering
judgements
 Expanding litigation has also contributed to the increasing frequency of failures
 One would expect that the threat of litigation would cause all participants to exercise a greater level of care
in their duties
 The uncertainty of the outcome of litigation, however, has caused many designers to see litigation as simply
a “cost of doing business”, an inevitable aspect of engineering practice
 As a result, more time is spent on writing contracts to limit liability, leaving less time to devote to
engineering, inspection and quality control
 The resulting “tighter” contracts also unfortunately may leave certain responsibilities unassigned
CONTINUED:

 In response to expanding litigation and mistrust of the outcome of litigation, many designers have
developed a reliance on insurance, has been substituted for quality in the construction industry
 Forensic engineers can make a substantial contribution toward counteracting or reversing some of
these trends
 In particular, the presentation of sound engineering arguments to effect rational legal decisions can
help to restore faith in the legal system
 Many forensic engineers are actively working within professional societies to respond to the listed
concerns
FAILURE-REDUCTION STRATEGIES

 At the present time, many projects are underway to respond to the negative effects of the
foregoing trends
 These failure-reduction strategies are supported by a broad base of individuals and professional
societies
 Projects are underway that seek to more clearly define the roles and responsibilities of the
various parties in the construction industry
 Unclear lines of responsibility have in the past contributed to many failures and accidents
 New methods of dispute settlement involving engineering failures (see chapter 12)
 Innovative approaches to insurance, which encourage cooperation rather than confrontation are
emerging
 Many of these insurance programs are coupled with loss-prevention incentives
CONTINUED:
 The computer is being used successfully to assist in the management of procedures and to cross-
check the coordination of design and production
 Also, computer methods are now used to better coordinate the collection, collation and dissemination of
performance information
 Quality assurance/quality control programs, including project peer review, enhanced
communication techniques, greater participation by the designer in the construction and
manufacturing processes and increased participation by constructors and manufacturers in the
design process are being tested and refined
 Peer review programs have been endorsed by many professional societies including ACEC, ASCE,
and ASFE
 This is more discussion than ever before in the current engineering literature about failures,
accidents and performance information-improvements in performance
CONTINUED:

 More universities are including failure case studies in the professional engineering curriculum, in an
effort to better prepare students to enter the world of engineering practice
 Forensic engineers have been very much involved in suggesting and implementing all of the
foregoing failure-reduction strategies
 Opportunities exist for an expansion of these activities in the interest of mitigating the frequency
and severity of failures
SUMMARY
 As long as structures and products are designed, built, and manufactured by humans using imperfect
materials and procedures, failures will be experienced along with successes
 The tools and theories of modern technology are available to enable the designer to do a better job than
ever before in ensuring quality in the constructed project or manufactured product
 Unfortunately, these are trends in modern society that may lead to an increase in both the frequency and
the severity of failures
 Engineering professions have recognized these trends and are developing strategies to mitigate their
effects
 It is expected that the role of the forensic engineer in contributing to improved practices will become
more visible in the future
 Data collection and information dissemination activities will expand to support the development of
effective quality assurance/quality control procedures
 The engineering community will continue to learn from experience, following the time-honored trial-
and-error tradition
Thank You for Your Attention