Miami-Dade College parking garage collapses during construction

[TXStructural]

http://www.local10.com/news/Miami-D...apses/-/1717324/16928640/-/1bvjh/-/index.html

 

[kylesito]

Bad news.

I wonder what the outcome will be...

PE, SE
Eastern United States

"If a builder builds a house for someone, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built falls in and kills its owner, then that builder shall be put to death!"
~Code of Hammurabi

 

[msquared48]

This is exactly why I hate precast connections.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

http://mmcengineering.tripod.com

 

[ztengguy]

Not to downplay what happened, but look at the Cincinnati casino collapse...thats why I hate bolted steel connections. not a valid argument.

Usually human error, not the precast or steel or CIP

 

[kylesito]

I followed a collapse not to long ago where the contractor had set a large pile of drywall over to one side of a room but had not yet installed the cross bracing in the walls. The drywall caused an eccentric load which caused a failure in the building. Sometimes in the little details...

PE, SE
Eastern United States

"If a builder builds a house for someone, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built falls in and kills its owner, then that builder shall be put to death!"
~Code of Hammurabi

 

[dik]

...and the cost per stall is approx $13,333... not too shabby if it had have worked. and the cost of litigation $???

Dik

 

[hokie66]

These precast garages do fall often enough to know that the systems used require very careful detailing and construction which doesn't seem to be universal. I parked in one in Florida last week...won't do it again.

 

[TXStructural]

A large proportion of parking structures down here are precast. Once completed, they generally perform well enough. I looked at this contractor's website today, and they have several photos of the garage that appear to have been taken recently. The erection was nearly complete.

This just goes to show that until it is finished, it may still be vulnerable. There have been very few collapses of completed precast structures, and the numbers of failures during construction is low for the number of structures in place.

Every kind of construction has its critical phases for safety, and each presents its own set of risks. Managing those risks effectively is key to a successful project.