Engineers Forum

Structural engineers said poor construction worsened the earthquake devastation in Haiti as the country does not use internationally accepted building codes

“A school collapsed following a hurricane in 2008 and one of the key issues that arose during litigation was the lack of building codes in the country”, said Arup associate director Ziggy Lubkowski.

Lubkowski, past chairman of the Society of Earthquake & Civil Engineering Dynamics (SECED) and the Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT), said it was the first time he had come across a country that used no recognisable code.

“Usually in impoverished countries such as Haiti, international building codes − be it American, English or Eurocodes − are used. There is no evidence of this in Haiti”, said Lubkowski.

The Association of Caribbean States had begun drafting a set of codes for earthquake and wind loads in the mid 2000s but there has been no evidence of implementation.

Lubkowski said the country was unprepared for earthquakes. The last big quake hit in 1877.

“Haitians are used to preparing for the annual hurricane but not an earthquake. It is totally off the radar”, said Lubkowski.

The United Nations said up to 90% of buildings in Leogane, the town closest to the quake’s epicentre had been destroyed.
Smith said seismic designs could have limited the scale of devastation.

“Although it can’t guarantee every structure will be unharmed, it can provide ductility, meaning despite what damage occurs the building in question will not collapse”, he said.

Lubkowski said Haiti could have done a better job at earthquake-proofing its buildings.

“Protecting lifelines is critical. The focus should be on designing key infrastructure, such as roads, power lines and hospitals to an acceptable standard. The relief effort is being hampered because key infrastructure like roads and ports are destroyed. The only way to bring supplies to the country is by air”, said Lubkowski.

Source:http://www.nce.co.uk/5213109.article written by Gemma Goldfingle

Two senior officials of contractors Hyundai and Gammon India have been arrested in the wake of the collapse of an under-construction bridge over the Chambal river near Kota in Rajasthan on Christmas Eve.

Several labourers were working on the bridge over the Chambal river at Dabi-Nayagaon in the state of Rajasthan, when the accident happened on 24 December. According to local police, although rescuers have recovered some 12 bodies, they fear the 30 other people still missing could be dead.

The bridge was being built by Hyundai and Gammon India in a joint venture project.

The Press Trust of India has reported that J Y Hue, chief project manager of Hyundai Engineering and construction and R Chatopadhyay, deputy project manager of Gamon India have appeared before a local court and are being held on remand for five days.

Dozens of labourers fell into the water late Thursday when the bridge on which they were working gave way over the Chambal river on the outskirts of the city of Kota in Rajasthan state.

“At least 45 people are presumed to have died in the bridge collapse,” senior police official Rajeev Dasot told the Associated Free Press, raising the estimated death toll from 17.

Two teams of naval divers were helping retrieve bodies from the deep waters and authorities were considering demolishing the remaining portion of the structure.

Neither contractors have made a statement on the accident.

India’s national highway authority and the state government have launched an inquiry into the accident.

The Press Trust of India quoted federal junior transport minister Mahadeo Singh Khandela as saying construction of the bridge was almost a year behind schedule.

Police inspector general Rajeev Dasot said that workers are engaged in clearing debris from the site near Kota, around 170 miles west of Jaipur – the state capital.

It could take another three days to clear all the debris from the site.

Source: http://www.nce.co.uk/5212362.article, 26 December, 2009

Recently we posted a news on these blogs about new 500,000 engineering related jobs in UK in 2010. Today there is news of fewer of 40,000 civil jobs in 2010. Both news have been based on research by different organizations. Which one is true and near to the facts, our readers can decide.

“40,000 jobs will be lost in civil engineering by the end of 2010, according to new research from the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA).
The UK contracting workforce hit a peak of 151,000 in the autumn of 2007, but this is now anticipated to have plummeted to around 111,000 – a 40,000 drop – by the the autumn of 2010.
This workforce figure is 9,000 fewer than in 2001, showing contractors are struggling to deal with the recession.
In the run-up to the Pre-Budget Report, which is expected on 9 December, CECA urges action to address workload, cash flow and procurement.
CECA Director Rosemary Beales said: “The sector is not special pleading. There is a workload crisis in our industry but we accept the situation with public finances will mean that extra money available for investment in infrastructure is going to be in short supply.
“However, there is more the Government could do to boost the sector and head off the run of redundancies that will reduce the workforce by 40,000 jobs in the 3 years since 2007.”
CECA say action needs to be taken in three areas:

According to the CECA research, 85% of contractors have not seen any evidence of an increase in work available from the £3bn fiscal stimulus package released a year ago.
CECA’s recent Workload Trends Survey revealed the worst figures for contractors in 13 years. It says long term budgets need to be secured and published within the next 12 months to secure spending in areas such as transport, energy and flood and sea defences should be devised and published in the next 12 months.

Particular help should be directed to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

“Workload confidence could be restored by creating long term plans for investment, based on the 5-50 year horizon of need we hope will come forward from Infrastructure UK when it is established,” said Beales.

Cashflow
Money used to bail-out the banking sector should be used to actively help businesses through the recession CECA says.
75% of respondents said that there had seen an increase in the number of payments being disputed in the last 12 months. 21% said that payment periods have increased by more than 5 days, 26% said they have increased by more than 10 days, and 18% said they have increased by up to 20 days.
“Steps to relieve cash flow problems could include ensuring public money put into banks is used to support business lending, stressing prompt payment and a promise to keep VAT at 15% for another 12 months,” she said.

Procurement
CECA say £1bn is wasted each year through the costs incurred by contractors in pre-qualifying for contracts, money ultimately met by the taxpayer.
The research suggests that contractors have more competition – tender lists rising from 5 firms before the downturn to 8 firms since the downturn, with some reporting tender lists growing by several multiples of this.
CECA say the new Chief Construction Adviser should look at ways the public sector can adopt and spread best practice procurement, cutting out the waste in pre-quals and reducing tender lists.
“Procurement currently creates much avoidable waste, ultimately paid for by the taxpayer. A review of procurement, particularly of the Pre-Qual system and the tendency to include more contractors on tender lists, is long overdue and should be an early priority of the new Chief Construction Adviser.

“The forecast fall in workforce, from a peak of 151,000 in 2007 to a 10-year low of 111,000 has got to focus minds on the plight of the UK civils sector. The Chancellor must act,” said Beales.

Source: http://www.nce.co.uk/5211691.article, 3 December, 2009 | By Ed Owen

A news has published on http://www.nce.co.uk which describes that ” 500,000 engineering and manufacturing workers will be needed in the coming eight years to satisfy demand in the transport, construction, aerospace and defence industries, according to EngineeringUK.”

If this is true and guessed right then engineers who are redundant or getting job seekers allowance should be happy that their tough time is going to end. The news in detail is as following:

“A new report highlights barriers to achieving the figure, which include an increasingly sparse pool of talent, a decline in engineering lecturers and fewer students studying for manufacturing and engineering degrees.
EngineeringUK predicts more than 350,000 skilled workers will be needed in the transport sector alone by 2017.
The construction industry will look to recruit almost 400,000, while 1,000 new apprentices and graduates will be required every year until 2025 to replace nuclear workers.
Chief executive of EngineeringUK, Paul Jackson, said: “We are calling for Government, business and education providers to work together to develop a clear road map for the UK engineering sector.
“Tax breaks and other regulatory incentives for small and medium-sized enterprises will play a significant part, but what really matters is a long-term strategy, detailing all major infrastructure projects for the foreseeable future and inspiring UK engineering with the confidence it needs to invest in new skills and technologies.
“Without the coherence and stability a clear roadmap will bring, the UK will not only miss out on the high-level manufacturing skills it needs to get the economy back on track but could also lose ground to other countries in many highly-competitive global markets.”

The record breaking Burj Dubai, which stands at over 818m tall, is to open on 4 January 2010, eclipsing all other tall towers by over 200m

Developed by Emaar Properties, the Burj Dubai has over 160 storeys, the most floors in any building anywhere in the world.

“The completion of Burj Dubai represents a new era in architectural design excellence in Dubai,” said director UK and Ireland for the Government of Dubai, Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing Ian Scott. “As the world’s tallest structure, it will attract tremendous attention from every corner of the globe, the perfect platform to promote the Middle East and for Dubai to showcase its diversity and assert its position as one of the world’s most important tourism destinations.”