Page 204 - Forensic Structural Engineering Handbook

6.6 ENGINEERING RESPONSE TO FAILURES

types of agreements are not well suited for forensic work since, unlike in many design pro-
jects, it is often impossible at the outset of an investigative assignment to define the scope
and cost of the work with any precision.
Clients for structural investigations might have limited or no previous involvement in
structural failure investigations. The engineer should make every effort to inform the client
of likely steps in the process and to protect the client’s interests throughout.
While it is difficult to scope failure investigations, it is critical to have a continuing dialogue
to ensure that the client understands the importance of each task within the investigation.
Breaking down the scope into phases, with a review at the end of each phase and confirmation
of the next steps, is useful to avoid misunderstandings in complex investigations.
The engineer must balance the needs of the client against the complexity of the investi-
gation to provide significant value for the time, effort, and expense incurred. Simple prob-
lems should not be studied at the level of a doctoral thesis.
Foremost, since clients need independent engineering experts to investigate failures,
engineers must check for potential conflicts within their own organization that would pre-
vent or appear to prevent them from acting as independent experts. See Chap. 19, The
Expert Consultant and Witness, for a discussion of the ethical issues associated with foren-
sic investigations.

The Investigating Team
A professional team must be assembled with the expert knowledge needed to address the
likely issues in the investigation. The lead investigator needs experience in those issues and
will likely assemble a team to assist. In engineering offices specializing in forensics, many
members of the team will be in-house. Specialized consultants in one or more areas may
need to be retained from outside. A list of specialized consultants is given in Table 6.2.
It is necessary to work with other stakeholders to preserve evidence in a safe and sensi-
ble manner. Since investigations can be costly, and available samples for testing and

TABLE 6.2 Specialist Consultants
Aerodynamics Fatigue Petrography
Aluminum Field testing Photoelasticity
Architecture Fracture Photogrammetry
Blasting vibrations Geology Pile driving
Climatology Geotechnical Pipelines
Cold-weather construction engineering/foundations Pipes
Composite materials Glass Plasticity
Computer design Groundwater Plastic materials
Concrete materials Hydraulics Pre-stressed concrete
Construction equipment Hydrodynamics Probability theory
and methods Impact Protective coatings
Corrosion Masonry Railroads
Cost estimating Mathematics Shoring
Data systems Measurement technology Stability
Dynamics and vibration Meteorology Statistical analysis
Elasticity Nondestructive testing Steel
Electronics Ocean engineering Surveying
Engineering mechanics Offshore construction Waterproofing
Environmental Painting Welding
engineering Parking engineering Wind
Fabrication Pavements Wood