Page 325 - Forensic Structural Engineering Handbook

10.14 CAUSES OF FAILURES

Institute (ACI), the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), and the National
Forest Products Association (NFPA), all of which make some reference to temporary
structures.
The IBC, as its predecessor model codes, also adopts by reference many of the American
Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards as the recognized test procedures to
ensure construction quality. ASTM Standards in Building Codes is a compilation of these
standards. ASCE’s consensus standards, developed under the rules of the American National
Standards Institute (ANSI), find their way into the model codes as well.
State, city, and other local building codes (or ordinances), such as the Massachusetts State
Building Code and the New York City Building Code, include certain requirements for tem-
porary structures. The 2008 New York City Building Code Title 27, Chapter 1, Subchapter 19,
Safety of Public and Property During Construction Operations, (http://www.nyc.gov/html/
dob/downloads/bldgs_code/bc27s19.pdf) addresses temporary structures such as those for
protection of adjoining areas, excavation, erection, demolition, repair and alteration opera-
tions; and specific types such as concrete formwork and shoring, scaffolds, runways, and
platforms. In addition to site safety requirements this Subchapter also addresses minimum
design loads and minimum member sizes for some of the temporary structures.

Industry-Recommended Practices, Guidelines, and Manuals
Sources of selected information related to the design, erection, and construction of tempo-
rary structures are the publications produced by various industry groups. These include the
American Institute of Steel Construction (AISI), the American Concrete Institute (ACI),
the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the
Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI), the American Institute of Timber Construction
(AITC), the Truss Plate Institute (TPI), the Scaffolding Industry Association (SIA), and the
Scaffolding, Shoring, and Forming Institute (SSFI). Private industry groups, such as the
U.S. Steel Corporation, also produce related publications. In addition, there are federal
organizations, such as the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Department of
Commerce, the Army and Navy, and state and city agencies, such as California’s CAL-
TRANS and the New York City Transit Authority, that publish some noteworthy manuals.
Some of the more helpful structure-specific or material-specific publications are the AISC
Code of Standard Practice, the AASHTO Standard Specification for Highway Bridges, the
ACI 347 Guide to Formwork for Concrete, the ACI Publication SP-4 Formwork for
Concrete, the AISC Erection Bracing of Low-Rise Structural Steel Frames, the PCI Design
Handbook, the PCI Recommended Practice for Erection of Precast Concrete, the AITC
Timber Construction Manual, the TPI Commentary and Recommendations for Handling and
Erecting Wood Trusses, the SIA Directory and Handbook for scaffolding, the Steel Sheet
Piling Design Manual by U.S. Steel Corporation, the California Falsework Manual by CAL-
TRANS, the NYC Transit Authority Field Design Manual, and the FHWA Construction
Handbook for Bridge Temporary Works.
ASCE’s Manual of Professional Practice: Quality in the Constructed Project, a Guideline
for Owners, Designers and Constructors, published in 1988 (but for some reason never
“caught on”), while including some very useful guidelines for the responsibilities of design
professionals, makes some rather inconsequential references to temporary works.

Construction Standards and Regulations for Site and Worker Safety
U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regu-
lations and several American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards are aimed at