A compendium of building disasters from around the world... 1

[JohnRBaker]

Engineering a Catastrophe? How Human Error Causes High-Rise Tragedies

From Milan to San Francisco, high-rise marvels keep failing disastrously.

https://interestingengineering.com/engineering-a-catastrophe-human-error-high-rise-tragedies

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-'Product Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[AusG]

Interesting compendium but I was astonished to read that "Investigators would come to determine that the cause of the collapse was sea water penetration, which had undermined the steel within the reinforced concrete used to construct the building. Another causative factor cited by investigators was that the land beneath the building was sinking, or subsiding."
None of these things have yet been determined as specific causes, and the last one had been generally seen as interesting but not determinative.

The listing of "human" as the causes of all the listed building disasters seems a bit pointless (or perhaps trying too hard to make a point).

 

[JohnRBaker]

I didn't write the headline nor any of the 'conclusions' in the various narratives. I only posted it because there has been so much interest in buildings with problems in this forum that I thought that this article would be of interest.

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-'Product Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[AusG]

And it is...I took issue with the authors, not that you posted it. See the star!

 

[JohnRBaker]

Sorry, but there's NO mechanism to learn who gave a

to someone.

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-'Product Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[FacEngrPE]

Proclaiming incorrect causes is not very helpful. Knowing that people grasp for easy solutions far faster then answers can be determined is helpful, as it points out that many of the causes (and eventual solutions) require understanding of the Human Factor.

See Shawn Brady on ORGANIZATIONAL RELIABILITY