I mentioned in the last year how you can form an\u00a0initial hypothesis about the cause of a failure or accident with very little data – a few pictures, some knowledge of construction, etc.\u00a0(Refs 1, 2, and 3)<\/p>\n
And in 2012 how construction inspection and maintenance are weak stages in the design-construction-maintenance life-cycle of a structure.\u00a0\u00a0Less attention is paid to these stages, particularly maintenance. (Refs 4 and 5)<\/p>\n
I thought\u00a0last Friday just how accurate an initial hypothesis can be with some hard, cold data from an unexpected source.\u00a0 I was reading the National Post\u00a0about the frequency of elevator failures in Canada as found during an investigation by The Canadian Press. (Ref. 6)<\/p>\n
Give a forensic engineer information like the following – or similar data\u00a0on other problems experienced by your clients –\u00a0and he’s going to quickly tell you the likely cause of your client’s failure or accident – quickly give you a reliable, initial hypothesis:<\/p>\n
“Everyday\u00a0Canadians are\u00a0trapped in faulty\u00a0elevators.\u00a0 Countless others are inconvenienced.\u00a0 And it’s getting worse.\u00a0 More than 12\u00a0calls per day to fire fighters last year in Ontario – a total of 4,461.\u00a0 Double the number of calls\u00a0in 2001.\u00a0 It’s a crisis now, not one coming later.<\/p>\n
“Toronto led the way last year with about 2,862 rescue calls to 911.\u00a0 Montreal had 1,532 calls.\u00a0 Vancouver, 428.\u00a0 Ottawa, 314 in 2014.<\/p>\n
“Nancy Lean had a terrifying experience in 2014<\/em> <\/span>as she\u00a0rode\u00a0a noisy\u00a0elevator from the second floor to the basement at York Regional Police Headquarters in Aurora, Ontario.\u00a0 It jolted when it hit the bottom.\u00a0 She was okay but she’s nervous in elevators now.” (Ref. 6)<\/p>\n I was also lucky in September, 2014.<\/em><\/span>\u00a0 I was riding the elevator from\u00a0an upper floor in Maritime Centre, Halifax – the passport office, when it got stuck mid-floor,\u00a0high up the building.\u00a0 We called on the emergency\u00a0phone and eventually\u00a0the elevator started moving\u00a0again and we got\u00a0off.\u00a0\u00a0I wasn’t\u00a0nervous and I\u00a0still use elevators\u00a0– possibly because many are clean and\u00a0modern-looking with a nice view of the city from the upper floors.\u00a0 Some are not, however.<\/p>\n “Insiders told the National Post the real culprit is aging equipment\u00a0and structural issues, not the increase in elevators.\u00a0 Maintenance is the problem.<\/p>\n “Thirty years ago a technician serviced 35 to 45 elevators per month for $1,000 per elevator.\u00a0 Today a maintenance contract is maybe worth $600 and each technician services 100 elevators.\u00a0 Technicians are loaded up with more and more\u00a0service calls\u00a0and have\u00a0less and\u00a0less time to do proper maintenance on each.” (Ref. 6)<\/p>\n We don’t need to look far to see the results of poor maintenance in other structures.\u00a0 An 18 km stretch of Highway #2 outside Moncton, NB, where you are forced into the passing lane because the driving lane is in such poor\u00a0condition.\u00a0\u00a0 A multi-million dollar house in Halifax that has stood empty for several years while the paint peels and the steel railings rust.\u00a0 A parking garage collapses in Elliot Lake, Ontario.\u00a0 A bridge\u00a0falls down\u00a0in Cape Breton.<\/p>\n Knowing the design and construction process and getting\u00a0windfall data<\/span> like that in the National Post<\/em> makes for an easy\u00a0call by the forensic engineer on the cause of an elevator\u00a0failure – a reliable, initial hypothesis.<\/p>\n It’s important during forensic work to be alert to the availability of data from atypical engineering sources\u00a0at the\u00a0initial stage of an\u00a0investigation.<\/p>\n It’s still just initial thoughts on cause – and subject to revision, but quite reliable considering the nature and source of the data in this case.\u00a0 Reliability is important when counsel is assessing the merits of a case at the start of civil litigation, or a manager is assessing an insurance\u00a0claim.<\/p>\n Reference<\/strong><\/p>\n I mentioned in the last year how you can form an\u00a0initial hypothesis about the cause of a failure or accident with very little data – a few pictures, some knowledge of construction, etc.\u00a0(Refs 1, 2, and 3) And in 2012 … Continue reading \n