I just checked my email inbox, and there’s a note from the ASCE about some sort of press release. Unsure of how they decided to send this information to me, and at the same time somewhat flattered, I’ll post it out on the ‘net. Only because that’s what they seem to want. From the inbox:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 20, 2008
Implementing Lessons Learned from ‘Big Dig’ Tragedy
National Civil Engineering Society Proposes Changes Based on Lessons Learned from NTSB Findings
A section of Boston’s Interstate 90 connector tunnel’s suspended concrete ceiling became detached from the tunnel roof and fell onto a vehicle July 10, 2006, killing one person. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined the probable cause of the ceiling collapse was the use of an epoxy anchor adhesive that was not capable of sustaining long-term loads.
In an effort to address the NTSB’s findings and help educate the profession on lessons learned, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) formed the Task Committee to the NTSB Initiative to review the final investigation report and develop recommendations. After nearly a year of review, the task committee’s report, which was released today, acknowledged the role of specifications as “essential for complete understanding of the work to be performed by the builder.” Engineering judgments, decisions and practices affect the safety, health and welfare of the general public. Specifications are the vehicle through which these decisions and practices are incorporated in construction. Specifications also help determine the compliance of the design with codes and ordinances.
“The safety, health and welfare of the general public is dependent upon engineering judgments, decisions and practices incorporated into structures, machines, products, processes and devices,” according to the task committee report. “Specifications are the vehicle through which these decisions and practices are incorporated in construction.”
The task committee’s report identified four challenges to providing accurate specifications:
Technology outpacing knowledge;
The use of “Sole Source” and “or Equal” proprietary specifications;
Prescriptive vs. performance goals in specification writing; and
Lack of an appropriate forum for the development of construction product criteria in the transportation sector.
To overcome these challenges, the task committee recommended that, as part of their continuing education, design professionals should stay informed regarding new materials and construction products through proactive research and interaction with suppliers, trade and technical associations. They also recommended that, whether drafted on a sole-source or “or equal” basis, specifications reflect the unique requirements of the project using all available resources for the establishment of relevant properties and performance. It was also noted that specifications should include a reasonable level of jobsite quality control mechanisms including inspection and testing and evaluation criteria be better coordinated in order to provide consistent guidance to design professionals in the development of effective specifications. And finally, it was recommended that ASCE conduct and publish a “best practices” review of evaluation, qualification and training processes used outside the United States for the regulation and use of proprietary construction products.
Members of the Task Committee on Response to the NTSB Initiative were:
David Nash, committee chair, president, BE&K Government Group, Inc. and chairman, Jordan-BE&K Federal Group, LLC;
Gene Balter, chief operating officer, HDR Construction Control Operation;
Marco Legaluppi, executive vice president, WBCM;
Rayford W. Jenkins, Jr., senior project engineer, Whitman Requardt and Associates, LLP;
Jim Roskie, chief engineer, Construction, Weeks Marine, Inc.;
David Rothenberg, senior project manager, Clark Foundations, LLC; and
John F. Silva, director, Codes & Standards, Hilti North America.
Go to http://content.asce.org/bigdig2007/bigdig07.html for more details about the Task Committee on Response to the NTSB recommendations.
Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 146,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America’s oldest national engineering society. For more information, visit www.asce.org.
So, if you’re still with me – I decided to go ahead and do a little research on the issue. Here’s an original 2006 article from USA Today. And here’s a bit of an editorial from the Boston Globe that blames it on the lack of an independent “owner’s engineer”. While I’m always curious where the problem occured, you don’t have to blame anyone to know that the anchors were inadequate and should not have been selected for this particular application. That’s why I like the Highway Accident Report posted by the ASCE, which gives recommendations to the various parties involved. It also tells me why I received this email:
To the American Society of Civil Engineers:
- Use the circumstances of the July 10, 2006, accident in Boston, Massachusetts to emphasize to your members through your publications, Web site, and conferences, as appropriate, the need to assess the creep characteristics of adhesive anchors before those anchors are used in sustained tensile-load applications. (H-07-XX)
