Page 29 - Forensic Structural Engineering Handbook

1.10 DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES

architect or the structural engineer does not take exception to the above during the bid period,
then the architect/engineer (A/E) must abide by the above or take the risk of receiving a delay
claim from the contractor.]
There have been many discussions regarding the party who is legally responsible for the
design and detailing of steel connections during the review/approval process of the shop draw-
ings since the Hyatt Regency walkway collapse in Kansas City, Missouri in 1981. The gener-
ally accepted version is that the structural engineer of record (SER) is responsible for the entire
structure and its component parts unless the designer specifically provides sufficient informa-
tion (i.e., forces; including reactions and moments) on the contract documents and instructs the
contractor (detailer) to assume the responsibility for the design of certain designated connections
and/or members. Further, the SER would be prudent to stipulate that items not so designed by
the SER be designed by a professional structural engineer registered in the state where the pro-
ject is constructed and engineering calculations be submitted for the SER’s review.
Table 1.4 is a checklist prepared by CASE and can be used by forensic engineers in their inves-
tigation.Figure1.1 illustrates a typical shop drawing review stamp used by various structural engi-
neering consultants upon the recommendation of insurance carriers. Figure 1.2 is a sample of a
stamp used by a consultant in order to designate responsibility that is assigned to the contractor
regarding “the means and methods of construction,” which generally includes the following:
Underpinning of existing adjacent structures
Design of formwork for concrete construction

FIGURE 1.1 Typical shop drawing review stamp.