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Significant, and tragic, failures involving structures continue to occur: fires in apartment blocks in Milan, London and Taiwan, and structural collapses in Florida and Nigeria being recent examples. This paper gives emphasis to the need for engineers to consider risk management at a fundamental level.

This report highlights the importance of verifying technical data provided by the manufacturer or supplier of proprietary products.

This report highlights the risks associated with the use of temporary barriers to control access to unsafe workplaces. It discusses the issues when scaffolding is used as a barrier, and that this should only be considered for use as a short-term temporary barrier.

This report argues that to achieve the objective of good quality construction that satisfies the design intent there is no substitute for the practice of regular site inspections being conducted by the original design engineer. It questions whether there has been too much reliance on the process of quality assurance systems to the detriment of the quality of the end product.

This report highlights that water ingress into buildings continues to be a problem and discusses the role of the structural engineer when dealing with waterproofing of exposed concrete slabs. It shows how this can be achieved by careful design and detailing of the reinforced concrete structure and by close collaboration of all parties involved.

This report highlights the risk of failure if grouted joints between load-bearing prefabricated concrete members are not designed and installed correctly.

This report highlights the importance of correctly designed fixings and anchoring systems for cladding panels to buildings to minimize the risk of failure.

This report draws attention to the requirement for internal partitions to be designed for horizontal loads from wind and seismic effects in accordance with Section B of the Australian National Construction Code (NCC).