Issue 19

Imagine a site of 104 houses, with one contractor, 53 clients, and 105 channels of finance to pay the one contractor. All residents remain in their properties while the contractor underpins foundations and provides new external walls. These are some of the problems facing the structural engineer when dealing with the problems caused by having to repair PRC (precast reinforced concrete) housing that is now deteriorating. S.M. Craddy

George was depressed. This upstanding member of the engineering community was being squeezed: on the one hand, his solicitor was advising him not to sign any of the socalled ‘deeds of warranty’ that were sitting on his desk; on the other hand, his clients were demanding his signature. His developer clients were using the usual mixture of threats, abuse and bribery to try to persuade him to sign: J.J. Ward

Trees are the greatest living things on earth, and as such the spreading oaks of England and the soaring conifers of Northern Europe and North America have long been the subjects of human awe, sometimes religious awe. But it was not until last century that an effort was made to consider what might limit the size, particularly the height, to which a tree could grow. Sir Alfred Pugsley

When I joined the industry in 1955, I was training to be a civil engineer. At that time, all the courses pointed in that direction and but for the fact that I never seemed to be able to fit in a year on site, I might have joined the ICE. D.M. Brohn

The circumstances surrounding the discovery of hazardous chemical on an old industrial site are described. A recently published draft DD175, highlights the increased importance of considering the possibility that certain sites may be contaminated. The paper describes discovery of the waste occurred some time after the site investigation had been completed, and how this situation arose as an unintended consequence of decisions made during the course of the project. Several lessons are drawn regarding the need to explicitly consider contamination, the open-ended nature of site investigation, the trade-off between the cost of an investigation and reduction in risk, and the need for engineers to be aware that, in all projects involving the collaboration of professionals, the efficient exchange of information is essential if problems are to be avoided. N.F. Pidgeon, D.I. Blockley and B.A. Turner

Simple connections form a major part of many steel framed building structures. This paper reviews a fabrication company’s current design philosophy with regard to a number of the more commonly used connections. Elements of the design procedure outside the scope of present publications are identified and the important factors discussed. A.H. Pillinger