Thanks, Chad, for surfacing this somewhat, initially, hidden challenge.
Perhaps it might be included among ASCE's Continuing Education Programs.
A related snippet follows.
"Conventional failure analysis ignores a growing challenge in the responsible implementation of novel technologies into engineered systems - unintended consequences, which impact the engineered system itself and other systems including social and environmental systems. In this paper, a theory for unintended consequences is developed. The paper proposes a new definition of unintended consequences as behaviors that are not intentionally designed into an engineered system yet occur even when a system is operating nominally, that is, not in a failure state as conventionally understood. It is argued that the primary cause for this difference is the bounded rationality of human designers."
"Towards a Theory for Unintended Consequences in Engineering Design" Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 July 2019
Hannah Walsh, Andy Dong, and Irem Tumer
Stay Healthy!
Cheers,
Bill
------------------------------
William M. Hayden Jr., Ph.D., P.E., CMQ/OE, F.ASCE
Buffalo, N.Y.
"It is never too late to be what you might have been." -- George Eliot 1819 - 1880
------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 10-22-2021 04:50 PM
From: Mitchell Winkler
Subject: Never List for Engineers & Job Sites
Great discussion, but at the same time a shame that we're having to have. This was an entirely avoidable incident and loss of life.
The oil and gas industry through the IOGP, its industry association, has developed a set of lifesaving rules to protect workers from injury and save lives. These rules while developed for the oil and gas industry have strong applicability to civil engineering job sites. 'Nevers' from this list of rules that apply to civil engineering job sites:
- Never override or disable safety-controls
- Never enter a confined space without proper safeguards
- Never work on energized systems
- Never work under suspended loads
- Never work at height without protective equipment
More details can be found by clicking on this link.
------------------------------
Mitch Winkler P.E., M.ASCE
Houston, TX
Original Message:
Sent: 10-22-2021 10:01 AM
From: Chad Morrison
Subject: Never List for Engineers & Job Sites
Hospitals and medical facilities typically have Never Lists. It is a list of things that should never happen within the facility. For example, if you are getting knee surgery, the facility will often ask you to mark your own knee, so that that the wrong one will never get operated on. Similarly, firearms safety has many Never rules, many were reinforced years ago in Hollywood years ago, but are being reexamined in today's headlines (warning on topic regarding accident description): Brandon Lee's family speaks out on Alec Baldwin film set tragedy that left one dead and one injured | Daily Mail Online
One example previously discuss was: Never weld structural nuts.
Welding Structural Nuts | Integrated Buildings & Structures (asce.org)
What are some examples for engineers and job sites that should be on a Never List? How do you prevent it?
------------------------------
Chad Morrison P.E., F.ASCE
Professional Engineer
Greenville RI
------------------------------