It comes from the built environment.\u00a0 Exactly where\u00a0in the environment and how problems can develop – and owners experience damage – is seen below in\u00a0the answer to this question.\u00a0 A simple, high-school-level multiplication\u00a0at the end of\u00a0this short\u00a0blog –\u00a0but first, a few easily\u00a0understood comments on what’s involved in engineering..<\/p>\n
“Engineering at its best<\/strong> addresses the concerns and accommodates the\u00a0interests of the parties involved\u00a0at\u00a0each\u00a0stage\u00a0in the life cycle of an engineered facility.<\/p>\n The goal of the engineering effort can be seen as satisfying the concerns of people at each of these stages, or at least dissatisfying them as little as possible.”\u00a0 (Ref. 1)<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n I added<\/strong> Seeing a Need<\/em> to\u00a0this well thought-out list in Ref. 1 because you can’t conceptualize meeting a need until you recognize you’ve got one.<\/p>\n I added Investigating<\/em> because it’s an important stage, particularly<\/p>\n And I added Inspecting<\/em>\u00a0because it’s important\u00a0to ensuring the facility is\u00a0constructed according to the design, for the agreed cost.<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n “Forensic engineering<\/strong> can be defined as applying engineering principles, knowledge and experience to problems and failures where legal liability may be decided in a legal forum.\u00a0 However, much of the work of forensic engineering leads to the resolution of a problem without formal legal proceedings.” (after Ref. 1)<\/p>\n “Failure<\/strong> can be defined as an unacceptable difference between an actual condition and the\u00a0intended or reasonably anticipated condition of\u00a0an engineered facility.\u00a0 Failure may not involve a complete or even partial collapse.\u00a0 It may involve a less catastrophic deficiency or\u00a0performance problem such as unacceptable: (after Ref. 1)<\/p>\n One writer identified\u00a0209 ways a building can fail – and that was just in the part of the building above the ground surface.\u00a0(Ref. 2)\u00a0 A building can also fail in numerous ways below\u00a0ground.\u00a0 In fact, the part of the structure below ground – foundation, basement, utility pipes, drainage systems – is in many ways the most complex part to design and construct.\u00a0 Not the most glamorous part, just\u00a0the most\u00a0complex.\u00a0 Another writer identified\u00a0numerous ways\u00a0that a building’s basement\u00a0and foundations can cause problems.\u00a0(Ref. 3)<\/p>\n Contractors will tell you they\u00a0are\u00a0glad when they get out of the ground and start erecting the upper part of\u00a0a structure.<\/p>\n A building is just one of the many 100s of different structures\u00a0with their\u00a0component parts that comprise the built environment – think about that, 1 of many 100s.\u00a0 Look around next time you’re outside and count just the ones you see.<\/p>\n When can a structure fail in it’s life cycle –\u00a0in the process from it’s inception and birth to it’s decommissioning at the end of it’s useful life?\u00a0\u00a0At any of\u00a0the 12 stages in the list above.<\/p>\n To\u00a0answer the question, Where does civil litigation come<\/strong> from? \u00a0<\/strong>Count the places:<\/p>\n At it’s simplest, allowing\u00a0two wronged parties at each stage,\u00a0almost a\u00a0quarter of a million ways that civil litigation can develop – 240,000.<\/p>\n I’m sure a similar calculation could be done for personal injury accidents in the built environment.\u00a0 For example, the numerous slip, trip and fall accidents – likely more than the\u00a0traffic accidents in the Atlantic provinces\u00a0in 2016.<\/p>\n References<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It comes from the built environment.\u00a0 Exactly where\u00a0in the environment and how problems can develop – and owners experience damage – is seen below in\u00a0the answer to this question.\u00a0 A simple, high-school-level multiplication\u00a0at the end of\u00a0this short\u00a0blog –\u00a0but first, a … Continue reading \n
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