Safety information search results

A reporter was called upon to review a design for the removal of a loadbearing wall during the refurbishment of a residence. A builder was already on site but had stopped work since they considered the engineering design to be unsatisfactory and the structural designer was not responding to their queries. The reporter found that the structural design being followed was far from competent.

This report concerns external insulation on buildings being inadequately applied and fixed, with poor control of the workmanship standards, leading to potential safety concerns and damage to the property.

This report concerns aluminium coping sheets that blew off the parapet of a block of flats under construction. The reporter says a fierce wind blew off several sheets which fell to the ground about 9m below. A building and a car were damaged but thankfully no one was hurt, although the potential for personal injury or death was significant.

This report concerns designs for simple steel beams submitted to building control bodies under Part A of the Building Regulations. The reporter, a checking engineer for a building control body, was not able to accept the effective length and restraints assumed in a number of submitted designs. Most originated from individuals who used proprietary structural design computer packages without, i...

A reporter describes a problem that arose during the construction stage of a project when a steel frame supporting pipe and cable racks was loaded before the frame baseplates were grouted.

This report relates to the design of a low rise modular building and the requirement, or otherwise, for positive fixings between the superstructure and the substructure.

This report concerns the bending and rebending of starter bars on site during the construction of a multi storey tower. The reporter considered that such a practice could compromise the structure under extreme load conditions.

This report demonstrates the importance of following the correct process for project procurement, including preparing a detailed design and project specification, and certificating compliance with the relevant building codes. It also covers the potential consequences when shortcuts are taken.