HOTEL

•Name: Shah Amirul Bin Badri

NEW •Matric Num: 22B09D005

WORLD •Course: BEET 

singapore
Hotel New World
• Hotel New World was established in 1971 and is located in Little India,
6 kilometers from Singapore's center.
• It collapse on 15 March 1986 in an instant around 11:20 am.
• Resulting to the entrapment of 50 people, where eventually 17 of them
were rescued while 33 of them were killed.
• It was Singapore's first major civil disaster and one of the worst disaster
in Singapore's post-war history.
Issues for •This case study is mainly focused on the responsibility and
integrity of the Professional Engineer as per clause ’2.1.1’and
discussion ‘2.1.2’ as below.
Case Study based on real incident
Many potential causes of the accident were investigated. Surviving sections of concrete were tested to ensure they were built to proper construction
standards and it was found that they were. The undergoing construction work at the same time as the underground railway – built by tunnellers who had
assisted in the rescue – was investigated, even though the excavations were more than 100 yards (91 m) from the collapsed building. It was found they did
not affect the building's stability 
These micro-cracks reduced the weight that was supported by the pillars and eventually initiated a progressive collapse. Hence, forensics had checked the
loads applied to the building to investigate the causes of the cracks. It could be either the miscalculation of load of the supporting elements during
construction process or under-design and uncontrolled weight management during the building’s operation that brought these cracks. After intensive
research, investigators discovered a horrible mistake in the original design of the building which is the structural engineer had absolutely left out the
buildings “deadload,” in other words, the weight of the building itself was doomed from the beginning. 
Nevertheless, all these additional loads were already accounted for under the live load category in the design plan.  The engineer’s calculations proved that
the extra amount of weight does not contribute much to the collapse. 

Again, the engineers checked the blueprints and original design plan of the building.  After the calculation process, the root cause behind the collapse was
finally discovered.  Throughout this investigation, it was found that the dead load of the building was not accounted for in the original design plan and
which means that the building itself had been stressed to the allowable limit from the first day and the collapse cannot be avoided. 

The source of the collapse was determined to be the fault of the engineers responsible for the structural integrity of the building as they overlooked the
importance of dead load in the construction stage which caused the under-designed columns and foundation of the building’s supporting elements to crack
easily during the addition of the huge live loads. 

The tragedy of the Hotel New World building is a type of progressive collapse. Progressive collapse occurs when a structural failure in an area continuously
spread to other areas through connective structures causing enormous destruction to a building. In this case, it is due to an over-stressed column that caused
micro-cracks in the building and subsequently downfall. 
Lesson Learnt

This incident has brought many attentions to the entire Singapore and across the world. All incident
impacts are justified based on the 4 elements, which is People, Environment, Assets and Reputation. This
incident cost a big impact to people, environment and Singapore's reputation. 
Based on the root cause analysis, this incident has several factors that led to New World Hotel collapse.
The related personnel to modify the building design. That kind of mindset should have been discarded. It
is unacceptable for one to ignore a matter that is related to the public’s safety. Instead, they should have
just performed anonymous whistle-blowing to higher management, appropriate authority or the public,
where they do not have to worry that other people will know the identity of the whistle-blower. This
action could have saved many lives.   
From the mistake that happens, the engineers in charge of the building construction have to break the
BEM code of ethics 2.1.1 and 2.1.2 which turns to causes the collapse of the building and numerous loss
of life. The engineers should check the final design of the plan, calculation and other details thoroughly
before approving the plan to prevent any unwanted tragedy. 
 • The Engineers are responsible to ensure the integrity of the
job being executed. Every discipline has their own expertise.
Each step of engineering task is based on knowledge not on
our own thoughts or assumption. Engineering is very detail
process from very beginning until post completion. By
having good and responsible engineers we can avoid or
minimize the impact of any incident if occurred. 
• The professional ethics of engineers are compulsory and

Conclusion important to learned profession. As members of this

profession, engineers are expected to exhibit the highest
standards of honesty and integrity. Engineering has a direct
and vital impact on the quality of life for all people.
Accordingly, the services provided by engineers require
honesty, impartiality, fairness, and equity, and must be
dedicated to the protection of the public health, safety, and
welfare. Engineers must perform under a standard of
professional behaviour that requires adherence to the highest
principles of ethical conduct.