Source: https://www.fireengineering.com, July 17, 2018 By: Gregory Haval In a “Construction Concerns” article from February 21, 2018, discussed complacency and hubris and their effects on emergency incident outcomes. “Complacency” was defined as “satisfaction with a perception of a situation that is not based on reality.” “Hubris” was defined as “self-confidence beyond the level of competence,” eaning […]

Source: https://www.constructiondive.com, July 6, 2018 By: Kim Slowey Dive Brief: The Sacramento Kings’ development group, SG Downtown LLC, filed a lawsuit in Sacramento Superior Court on July 3 against Swinerton Builders, the general contractor for the team’s 16-story downtown Sacramento hotel and condo tower, alleging breach of contract. SG claims, according to The Sacramento Bee, that […]

Source: https://www.theguardian.com, July 12, 2018 The center, which opened in March, suffered previous subsoil slides. No injuries were reported A newly opened shopping mall in Mexico City has partly collapsed after structural problems apparently led the mall’s operators to evacuate the area. No casualties were reported. Videos posted on social media show a cantilevered, multi-storey section of […]

Source: https://www.beckershospitalreview.com, June 13, 2018 By: Alia Paavola A federal audit found the construction of El Paso, Texas-based William Beaumont Army Medical Center’s replacement facility was plagued with hundreds of design errors, time delays and contract changes, which put the project three years behind schedule and added $408 million in costs, according to the El Paso […]

Source: https://ca.news.yahoo.com, May 16, 2018 The City of Winnipeg is suing the construction and engineering firms that built the city’s troubled police headquarters, alleging myriad mistakes in constructing the downtown project. The city’s statement of claim was filed Wednesday at Manitoba’s Court of Queen’s Bench. The city alleges it became aware of a number of defects and deficiencies once […]

Source: https://www.oversight.gov, March 22, 2018 The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) reviewed potential mismanagement in the planning and oversight of two construction projects—a new Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) and an expanded Operating Room (OR) Suite—at the Oklahoma City VA Health Care System (OKCVAHCS). The projects were scheduled for completion in February 2015 and […]

Source: https://m.newsok.com, March 23, 2018 By: Justin Wingerter Two construction projects at the Oklahoma City VA Medical Center are $10.8 million overbudget, several years behind schedule and were once in violation of federal law due to engineering mismanagement and bitter disagreements between contractors, according to a federal report released Friday. The VA inspector general report […]

Source: https://www.constructiondive.com, April 20, 2018 By: Kim Slowey Dive Brief: Engineers tasked with finding a way to stabilize the sinking Millennium Tower in San Francisco have suggested a fix that could cost between $250 million and $500 million dollars, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The residential skyscraper cost $350 million to construct in 2008. Crews would […]

Source: https://www.constructiondive.com, April 2, 2018 By: Kim Slowey Dive Brief: The Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs issued a report that found both a contractor and VA hospital officials demonstrated “shoddy planning” and poor oversight of an $8.7 million generator project that is $17.5 million over budget, according to The Oklahoman. […]

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com, May 7, 2018 By: Andres Viglucci, Nicholas Nehamas and Jenny Staletovich A key concrete support truss in the doomed Florida International University pedestrian bridge developed worrisome cracks 10 days before the structure was lifted into place over the Tamiami Trail, photographs and an internal email unintentionally released by the school show. The documents, […]

Source: http://www.truth-out.org, April 17, 2018 By: Sue Sturgis At the same time the Trump administration is seeking to roll back regulations designed to protect people and the environment from toxic coal ash, hundreds of workers who cleaned up the nation’s largest-ever coal ash spill and claim it sickened them are still waiting for their day in court. […]

This article discusses the fundamental design difficulties of the fully automated baggage system originally planned for the New Denver Airport, and their implications for airport and airline management. Theory, industrial experience, and the reality at Denver emphasize the difficulty of achieving acceptable standards of performance when novel, complex systems are operating near capacity. United Airlines […]