Edward E. Lockley

Bio: Edward E. Lockley is an academic researcher from New York Institute of Technology. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 55 citations.

Documenting and Analyzing Construction Failures

Abstract: A research project was conducted to explore construction failure investigation techniques and processes to determine whether they were adequate and to develop failure investigation guidelines. Data was collected on failures and failure investigation techniques from surveying 115 members of the engineering and construction industry. Construction failure case studies were created using docu- mentation provided by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, state offices of safety and health, and forensic engineers. The construction failure case studies were analyzed to determine how these organizations conduct their investigations and to develop guidelines that can be used for construction failure investigations. This article provides: ~1! description of the methods used for the research; ~2! results obtained from the industry survey; ~3! summary of the results of an investigation into case studies on construction failures; ~4! analysis of the results; ~5! discussion on construction failure investigative techniques; ~6! guidelines developed during the research project for investigating and documenting failures; and ~7! recommended format for reporting the findings of failure investigations.

Design Error Classification, Causation, and Prevention in Construction Engineering

Abstract: Construction and engineering practitioners have found it increasingly difficult to learn from their mistakes, particularly with regard to the prevention, identification and/or containment of design errors. Yet, design errors have been the root cause of numerous catastrophic accidents that have resulted in the death and injury of workers and members of the public. This paper examines and classifies the nature of error and design error causation in construction and engineering projects. A review of the normative literature revealed that design errors are caused by an array of factors that can work interdependently. A generic framework is developed that classifies design error according to people, the organization, and project is presented. The paper suggests that people, over and above organizational and project management strategies, have the greatest propensity to reduce errors through the process of situated learning and knowing. This is because the working environment provided by an organization and the processes used to deliver construction and engineering projects influence the nature and ability of people to undertake tasks. Consequently, there is no single but rather a multitude of strategies that need to be adopted in congruence to reduce design errors so that safety and project performance are ameliorated.