Genoa Bridge Tragedy: Who’s responsibility is it?

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The Genoa Bridge Tragedy. The question of responsibility.

 

The Genoa Bridge Tragedy: On 14 August 2018, a viaduct – a major motorway, constructed in the 1960s in the north of Italy, collapsed, killing 43 people. Cars, trucks and people dropped suddenly, crashing to the ground 150 metres below. Sounds surreal in this day and age. But it did happen.

Once the initial shock subsided and emergency efforts completed, the attention turned to questioning – just how did this happen?

A “cable-stayed bridge”, the design featured two pretensioned concrete cables used on both sides of the pillar.  According to an article on Archinect.com, the design, “subject to corrosion, it may have made the bridge, which required constant maintenance as an essential traffic hub, vulnerable to collapse.”

An engineer who worked for the company that constructed the bridge claims that the bridge’s supporting piles weren’t built with anti-seismic materials and did not have the capacity to support the weight of heavy traffic.

As reported on News.com, the engineer that designed the bridge “warned four decades ago that it would require constant maintenance to remove rust given the effects of corrosion from sea air and pollution.”

The power of hindsight

Again, hindsight rears its ugly head with a raft of finger-pointing and mismanagement claims. Ultimately a formal investigation into the Genoa Bridge Collapse will look at a range of possible causes including materials used, wear and tear, heavy traffic, structural flaws, poor maintenance budgets and other problems. It raises an important topic for conversation and action.

The considerations for design components of structures spans well beyond the initial construction and ready for use stage. It shows the importance of understanding lifetime usage, maintenance and ease of access, the sustainability and resilience of materials to the elements, and long-term maintenance budgets.

And, ultimately asks the question. “Who’s responsibility is safe design?”

 

Do you know your responsibilities under safe design legislation?

For more information about the principles of safe design, responsibility for safe design, and safe design in practice, contact us.

Precast concrete panel collapse

Structure and Process Design. Why are we getting it wrong?

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Construction incident causes death of two workers

What can we learn about structure design and the safe design process?

In October 2016, two workers employed in a $25 million development at Eagle Farm Racetrack in Brisbane, were killed when an 11 tonne concrete panel fell over and crushed them.

The large concrete drainage structure, consisting of four individual concrete panels (the walls), were progressively being lifted into place with a crane when two panels fell forward, one after the other.

The men narrowly avoided the first panel falling, however they were subsequently crushed by the second panel, causing their deaths.

Structure Design and the Safe Design process. Why are we getting it wrong?

When we see incidents like this one in Queensland which resulted in the two workers being crushed to death, it makes you wonder. How, in this day and age, does this happen?

We can not help thinking about all the possible design solutions that could have been adopted to prevent the two workers being exposed to the precast panels collapsing. It raises the question – did the designer have time to think about this, to consult, to plan and to talk to people with experience? What control measures could have been put in place to mitigate the construction risks?

WorkCover Qld* proposes the following control measures

WorkCover Qld proposed the following in their Safety Alert – Concrete Wall Panels:

“Control measures to prevent such collapse are to be applied before workers enter the pit.

Concrete wall panels should not be erected unless the following has been carried out:    

  • Each wall panel is provided with a minimum of two braces that are attached to the face [1] of the panel and anchored to the ground with engineer designed footings.
  • Each panel is provided with an effective way to restrain the bottom of the panel when it is installed.
  • The panel restraint system, including brace footing details, is to be designed and certified by a suitably qualified professional engineer (in Queensland the engineer is required to be a Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland). The engineering certification must be on site.
  • Workers involved hold the appropriate high risk work licence:
  • A comprehensive safe work procedure (i.e. safe work method statement) is to be developed by the panel erector and verified by the principal contractor. Responsibilities of every worker (including the rigger) should be specified in the procedure. 
  • The procedure should include detailed diagrams that include the relative position of the mobile crane to the panels, the sequence of panel installation, and details on the panel restraint system. 
  • Prior to work commencing a pre-start meeting should take place to ensure all workers are familiar with the procedure.”

Safety in Design

This very sad, but serious incident is what Safety in Design (SiD) is all about. Eliminating hazards through good design. We all need to learn from these tragic events.

Contact us for more information.

 

This is an updated article from a previous Safety Alert notice from October 2016.

*Source: Injury Prevention Safety – Alerts at worksafe.qld.gov.au, first published 12 October 2016, updated 17 July 2018.

Structure and Process Design…Why are we getting it wrong?

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When we see incidents like this one in QLD which resulted in two workers being crushed to death, and it makes you wonder, how in this day and age, does this happen? We can not help thinking about all the possible design solutions that could have been adopted to prevent the two workers being exposed to the precast panels collapsing. You wonder if the designer had time to think about this, to consult, to plan and to talk to people with experience?

This is what safety in design is about…Eliminating hazards through good design.

We all need to learn from these tragic events.

Share this alert in the hope that next time we will get it right.

WorkCover QLD Safety alert – Fatal incident