Florida bridge that collapsed was touted as 'engineering feat come to life'

Posted by $ nickursis 7 years, 8 months ago to Technology
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She noted that "at the beginning of the life" of any engineering structure "the hazards of a failure is really high and then it would start to decrease."

Gee, if people had not been killed, this would almost be funny, If it doesn't fall down, implode, explode, break up, or otherwise immolate itself, the longer it stays, the better the job we did, is not a comforting thought for any construction project. Good data, solid design and materials would lead one to have confidence in their work. Sounds like standards have slipped in the liberal day and age.... Can't wait for the "It's Trumps Fault" to start....


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  • Posted by alan 7 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    There's big bucks in class action lawsuits, because the law firms represent claims of thousands of shareholders. If the firm takes 1/3 of the winnings, such becomes quite an accumulation.

    I recollect a discussion I overheard while enrolled in my 2nd year of law school about how the students were going to use the law to rape the public. This solidified my distaste of the legal profession and I enrolled in another university's masters program in business with four minors in business disciplines I could utilize.

    Upon graduation, the university offered me the directorship of its computer center and school-wide information technology -- a position I turned down because it had a unionized staff -- which would make it very difficult to bring about change.
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  • Posted by alan 7 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    IBM rings a bell:
    When I moved to NY from the midwest to marry my sweetheart, I interviewed with several divisions of IBM, Each told me I would be working very late when it came time to prepare the monthly closing reports. I asked why, and the answer was akin to, "We had to prepare spreadsheets and tabulate the numbers."

    "Why don't you use computers to do that?" And the repetitive answer was, "We do it by hand." They never offered me a position as I did not seem interested, which was true. And they were not interested in my self-taught background in computers because they were filling an accounting position.
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  • Posted by $ allosaur 7 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Me dino was already thinking of that old saying, "You get what you pay for" before I read "one usually receives that for which he pays."
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  • Posted by $ allosaur 7 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    During the 90s, me dino received less than $10 as my share of a class action lawsuit. Doubt--no, I know--that the law firm's cut was anywhere that low.
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  • Posted by alan 7 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    LibertyBelle:
    In Orlando, the massive Interstate 4 construction project conducts its road closures during the night hours as much of the disruptive work takes place at that time.

    While difficult for drivers at night with the frequent detours or lane closures, the workers perform their duties in simulated daylight.
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  • Posted by alan 7 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Irshultis: I would parallel my analogy of "analysts" and "programmers" with your "engineers" and "constructors." The thinking and creativity of each is quite different.
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  • Posted by $ 7 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Exactly, the military should have done the same, they paid the highest rates, got the lowest quality, then paid again to fix it, and endless circle, IBM made a mint off the submarine sonar world and it was still a crappy system, interface wise.
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  • Posted by alan 7 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    To augment Allosaur's mention of lowest bidder (above) and peterchunt's mention of design engineers (below):

    First a little history. About 1980, businesses nationwide began cutting payroll costs by combining certain roles in business organizations (I call this a "movement"); Several years later it was recognized as the cause underlying unforeseen/undesirable consequences. Specifically developers and adopters of the theory (movement) did not take into consideration the need for separate micro or macro thinking each of the roles required -- because typically each of these thinking roles mutually exclude the other. Very few people could operate in both realms because their "brains were not wired that way." As part of a small vocal minority which published a few books and articles why this would not work in the long run, immediate profits won out. We "die hards" are still around, doing other things for enjoyment in pseudo-retirement.

    As a computer systems and software consultant in the last century, the lowest bidder typically caused numerous head aches for us because we needed to supervise the vendors (but we could not because the vendor contracts specifically excluded us). Our clients assumed the vendors had quality supervision, but later discovered they did not, because most vendors lacked the analytical ability to design an appropriate human software interface in a new and growing industry.

    I moved my firm in a different direction. The firm became very profitable because we had both analysts and programmers; we had to charge the highest billable rates in NYC at the time to cover anticipated but undefined issues which typically arose in highly innovative and technical engagements. This policy eliminated potential customers who could not afford quality. We eventually specialized rescuing clients from competitors who failed to deliver on their contracts. There is an old adage: "Pay for it now, or pay for it later."

    The bottom line is "one usually receives that for which he pays."

    In retrospect, it was the right move, as I retired in six years and became a SCUBA diving instructor and then an airplane pilot, flying volunteer missions which provide needy people with transportation to/from medical treatment not readily available in their locale -- the latter I continue to do right to this day. Alas, I do not have the stamina to teach others SCUBA diving.
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  • Posted by $ 7 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    They also changed the movement plan, which had a support on the very end of the part that collapsed, but moved inwards, due to some road thing or another, and then it was moved, the guy on YouTube says that was a primary cause as it put all the stress on the overhead support stringers, which was why it cracked, they were "adjusting the stringers when it collapsed, that was why the crane was there.
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  • Posted by alan 7 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    The design specs were changed before construction with a movement of seven feet of one of the supports. While it was claimed all the calculations were re-done, I question that.
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  • Posted by $ 7 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    When they were doing what they were doing, the road should have been closed, just in case, but they did not, and that was what happened. Not smart, especially when they knew something was wrong.
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  • Posted by $ 7 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Nope, it was the install, a change in plan that was not approved or designed for, and trying to make up for it, by changing the tension of the tensioner on the end, which was when it fell down.
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  • Posted by $ 7 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    It may not have been the process, but a lack of knowledge and common sense, they moved one support at install they needed on the end that collapsed, not according to plan, then they went to adjust the tensioner and boom, there was no stopping it. See the video and it all is crystal clear.
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  • Posted by $ 7 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    There were several things they could have done, but they set it up when they installed it, and then it was pretty much doomed. See the link above, there are 2 videos done b a really good, common sense guy who seems to have it nailed.
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  • Posted by $ 7 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Actually, here is a guy who explains it in pretty clear detail, what they were doing, and why it failed. In fact, they should have closed the road when doing it, due to the possibility of collapse, but everyone appears to have assumed it would work, which, of course, it didin't.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioC61...
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