A Newsletter from CROSS-UK containing reports on structural safety issues.
Note: this Newsletter was published by CROSS (Confidential Reporting on Structural Safety). Since March 2021, Confidential Reporting on Structural Safety is renamed Collaborative Reporting for Safer Structures (CROSS).
Newsletter content
Lack of lateral stability in steel frame
Concerns were raised after the steel frame of a building was found to have a lack of horizontal and vertical bracing.
Local wind effects at high level
A reporter shares their experience on the wind speeds they encountered when carrying out high level works on a city centre building.
Fall of material from bridge soffit
Several reports about materials falling from bridges have been sent by a bridge owner.
Injuries from falling scaffold tube
Two children received injuries when a scaffold tube fell from height.
Worker trapped in excavation
An operative received serious injuries when the excavation they were working in collapsed.
Alteration of calculations on constructed loft conversion
A reporter says they were pressurised to adjust structural design calculations to pass a building control check.
Inadequate balustrade testing
Concerns are raised about the adequacy of tests being carried out on balustrade systems and the reporter feels the information provided often leaves a lot to be desired.
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I am a big fan of SCOSS/CROSS. However I feel that in the Newsletters the gap between theory/expectation and reality/practice is much wider than appreciated. For example in Newsletter No 43 Report 561 it states that “owners of structures over and under roads and railways have an obligation to inspect and maintain these structures in accordance with the procedures set out by the operator of that infrastructure”. How many of the countless owners in question know anything about this? What are these procedures (excuse my ignorance)? In 580 it says “many contracts include an obligation to produce ‘as built records’. Is this true?