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xii PREFACE

I deal with my client, with the other parties, with the other experts?” “Who are my allies,
who are my adversaries?” “What are my duties and to whom?” “What is my expected,
allowable, and ultimate behavior?” “How do I work with the lawyers?” “What are the legal
positions I need to be aware of?” “What is an affidavit, a deposition, a testimony?” “What
do I do and how do I testify at arbitration, at trial?” “How do I charge for my work?”
This book had been developed—and improved in this second edition—to answer
these and many other relevant questions.
This is not a “what happened” or “lessons learned” or “collection of failures”
book—this is a “what I need to know,” “what I need to do,” and “how I need to do it”
book.
In order for a forensic engineer to intelligently investigate the cause of a failure
and subsequently to identify the party(ies) responsible for it, he/she has to have an
understanding of not only loads, strength and stability, but also of the processes of
design and construction, and even the prevailing business practices, in order to know
where, when, how, why, and by whom a cause of failure can originate. They have to
know, of course, how to conduct the investigation appropriate to the case; and thor-
ough familiarity with the nature and consequences of loads, and of the critical charac-
teristics and vulnerabilities of structures of different types and materials are the most
basic necessity. Since nearly all structural deficiencies and failures create claims, dis-
putes, and legal entanglements, forensic engineers need to have at least some familiar-
ity with the relevant legal process, and need to know how to work effectively with
attorneys. A special feature of this book is its coverage in appropriate detail of the
range of these topics that are all necessary for the successful practice of forensic struc-
tural engineering.
New to this second edition are two chapters under “Causes of Failures”: one titled
“Design Errors, Construction Defects, and Project Miscommunication,” and another
titled “Defects, Deterioration, Durability.”
Nineteen chapters are grouped into five parts:
Part 1—The Design and Construction Process provides the background for under-
standing the design-construction process, the design and construction codes, standards
and regulations, and the designers’ standard of care.
Part 2—Engineering Response to Failures discusses the initial steps involved after
a failure, and the entire forensic investigation process.
Part 3—Causes of Failures includes normal and unusual loads and hazards, errors
and omissions in design, problems in construction, miscommunication within the pro-
ject team, and defects and deterioration of materials as they may cause failures of
structures in service. A chapter is devoted to the potential problems with temporary
structures during construction.
Part 4—Material-Specific Forensic Analyses provides guidance for the investiga-
tion of failures in steel, concrete, masonry, and timber structures, as well as in the
building envelope and in foundations.
Part 5—Professional Practice and Legal Aspects addresses what engineers should
know about the legal concerns that arise after a failure, the various forms of dispute
resolution, and the qualifications, roles and practices of the expert consultant and
expert witness.
The book is intended for use primarily by structural engineers but also by geotech-
nical, civil, and construction engineers, contractors, attorneys, insurers, and owners
and managers of constructed facilities. (Failure analysis and forensic investigation is
an intriguing and stimulating subject, and it is expected that a number of engineers
will acquire the book as a useful addition to their reference library even though they