Elliot Lake Collapse Public Inquiry
Elliot Lake Collapse Public Inquiry
(OP)
Refer to previous thread: http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=324537
The public inquiry is currently ongoing and being streamed live at http://www.elliotlakeinquiry.ca/
The structural engineer responsible for the design is on the stand right now. Should make for some interesting discussion. My apologies if this is against the rules.
The public inquiry is currently ongoing and being streamed live at http://www.elliotlakeinquiry.ca/
The structural engineer responsible for the design is on the stand right now. Should make for some interesting discussion. My apologies if this is against the rules.






RE: Elliot Lake Collapse Public Inquiry
RE: Elliot Lake Collapse Public Inquiry
RE: Elliot Lake Collapse Public Inquiry
RE: Elliot Lake Collapse Public Inquiry
BA
RE: Elliot Lake Collapse Public Inquiry
RE: Elliot Lake Collapse Public Inquiry
Dik
RE: Elliot Lake Collapse Public Inquiry
It gets more interesting, "A former manager of the Elliot Lake, Ont., mall says the owner was warned as far back as 2008 that if he didn’t make repairs to the mall roof it could collapse.
Brian England says he was with Bob Nazarian, the 66-year-old Richmond Hill businessman who owns the mall, when Nazarian was told of the consequences of not doing repair work to the mall’s roof.
“The architect plain and simply told Mr. Nazarian that if he didn’t proceed with these repairs,” said England, “that we could find that his structure was at the point of deterioration that it possibly could collapse."
Brian England is not on the list of Witnesses...
Dik
RE: Elliot Lake Collapse Public Inquiry
RE: Elliot Lake Collapse Public Inquiry
Dik
RE: Elliot Lake Collapse Public Inquiry
RE: Elliot Lake Collapse Public Inquiry
I accept that published info is not always 100% factual or reliable, but there is likely to be an awefull lot that any practicing engineer can learn from this inquiry.
RE: Elliot Lake Collapse Public Inquiry
Dik
RE: Elliot Lake Collapse Public Inquiry
Here's one about the mall's owner: http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/03/10/ellio...
I'm sure a number of people here have stories about dealing with similar owners.
Documents filed at the public inquiry into the tragedy show the former manager of the Algo Centre Mall and its adjoining hotel in Elliot Lake, Ont., quit after claiming owner Bob Nazarian pressed her to break the law.
According to the statement, Nazarian told her the city and fire department were conspiring to drive up costs related to the mall so that he would lose the facility, although why he might have thought so is not clear.
“Bob advised that he would not let that happen, so I was advised not to waste time or money following the fire department’s directions on the inspection reports,” she said.
"Nazarian, who is slated to testify in about four or five weeks, faces a contempt citation in Divisional Court on March 20 for failing to turn over documents demanded by the commission."
RE: Elliot Lake Collapse Public Inquiry
Dik
RE: Elliot Lake Collapse Public Inquiry
Warning: It is 140 pages, and takes a while to download.
http://www2.elliotlakeinquiry.ca/exhibits/mar_12_1...
RE: Elliot Lake Collapse Public Inquiry
RE: Elliot Lake Collapse Public Inquiry
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/03/21/elliot-lak...
RE: Elliot Lake Collapse Public Inquiry
Even if the sealed structural drawings do exist I have found that attorneys do not always appreciate the importance of presenting them in court or properly tracking versions. When I am doing expert testimony and someone pushes a report or a portion of an engineering report under my nose without a seal (even my own), I have occasionally objected and refused to comment. Engineers and engineering companies in many jurisdictions are required to maintain official copies for just this very purpose.
RE: Elliot Lake Collapse Public Inquiry
Dik
RE: Elliot Lake Collapse Public Inquiry
This 140 pages is Volume 1 of 3. The other two volumes are shown in the contents to be previous reports, photographs, test results, etc., and apparently haven't been released to the public.
RE: Elliot Lake Collapse Public Inquiry
8" hollowcore spanning 32' and 'design to' a superimposed load of 120 psf... (It has a 2" 'composite' topping)... moving loads, too... I've done 8" HC to 32' for 40 psf loading for apartments (not composite) and this was 'stretching' it... The upward camber when I last looked was approx 1.5"... Pretty good reason for it not working well and leaking since day 1... also doesn't appear to have much criticism of the Architectural design...
Dik
RE: Elliot Lake Collapse Public Inquiry
RE: Elliot Lake Collapse Public Inquiry
RE: Elliot Lake Collapse Public Inquiry
The engineer is alleged to have endangered a worker by providing negligent advice, the ministry said.
In an unusual move, however, it did not name the engineer.
Last June, the roof-deck garage of the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake, Ont., caved in. Two women were killed and several others injured.
A judicial inquiry is currently probing the tragedy and provincial police are also investigating.
A second charge against the engineer relates to working in a manner "that may endanger a worker," according to the ministry.
Maximum penalties on conviction are a fine of up to $25,000 and/or up to 12 months imprisonment.
The accused is scheduled to make a first appearance before the Ontario court of justice on May 16 in Elliot Lake ."
Dik
RE: Elliot Lake Collapse Public Inquiry
The engineer is alleged to have endangered a worker by providing "negligent advice," the ministry said.
The Ministry of Labour's Tom Zach told The Canadian Press the accused is Robert Wood, an engineer found guilty of professional misconduct in 2010.
Wood and colleague Gregory Saunders of M.R. Wright and Associates, based in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., inspected the mall in Elliot Lake, Ont., as recently as April 2012.
A month later -- just one month before the collapse -- they wrote to say the mall was structurally sound despite finding rust on beams."
Dik