Fukushima Dai-Ichi: When Culture Trumps Engineering Judgment and the Scientific Method
In recent articles1, MDC Systems® has examined the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant explosion and meltdown disaster. Recently a Japanese investigative report2 has provided new insight into the cultural conditions which precipitated the disaster and contributed to the expanse and breadth of the effects of the continuing radiation contamination. While it is well-known that a tsunami generated from a powerful undersea earthquake initiated the incident, what has been difficult to understand is how a modern society with very sophisticated engineering and management skills ignored established nuclear industry standards and practices (Design Basis Events) and safety guidance (Station Blackout) norms and failed to anticipate the events that occurred leading to the nuclear plant meltdown conditions.
What Corporate Counsel Needs to Know About Buying and Renovating Properties With Asbestos: Practical Strategies
Originally printed in The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, April 1999
When legislation passed Congress 15 years ago, requiring schools to be inspected for asbestos, a new industry was born. Surveying the nation’s schools was a big task, performed in the public eye. This article looks at the evolution of trends and public perception relating to asbestos abatement in management, abatement methods, pricing, competition, health risk, legal liability, and court precedent.
Marcellus Shale: Future Energy Source or Fracking Mess?
Written by Don Keer, PE, MDCSystems® Consulting Engineer The Marcellus Shale natural gas deposit is currently the focus of intense exploration and development that could provide energy for the entire U.S. for the next 100 years. As with any development of an energy...
The Internet of Things : Managing Risk & Reward
A hot topic in the industry today is the “Internet of Things” (IoT). The IoT is the use of “smart” devices, transmitters and systems to facilitate the real time transmission of information, control of equipment and optimized operation of systems; often including or via some Internet-based communication network. The objective is to make the information available anywhere, easily and in real time to improve decision making and operations. Information is collected by the devices and transmitted via a wireless network to a centralized and/or cloud-based “head end” and control commands are sent back via the same system. The IoT has been enabled by advances in the miniaturization of computer processing power, the development of interoperable communications and processing platforms and the growing ubiquity of high-speed, wireless, broadband networks. That’s the stuff that puts your email on your smartphone.
Understanding and Surviving Project Complexity
The article Complexity is Often the Culprit in Cost Overruns and Delays was published last year in the MDCAdvisor® (March, 2014) and garnered much feedback. In today’s article we will revisit the Complexity and Systems Thinking topics and foster additional discussion of how and why project failures are driven by complexity. Complexity often arises to frustrate even the best efforts of Architects, Engineers and Contractors working to complete projects on time and budget.
Hurricane Sandy – Another Storm, Same Recovery Challenges
In my personal experience, gasoline lines (fuel shortages) and communications problems have been predictable after effects of major storms for fifty years. My first storm recovery effort was Hurricane Agnes in 1972. At the time I was a student at Penn State University (recently released from four years of active duty) and a Captain in the Pennsylvania National Guard based out of Lewistown, PA. During the storm we performed rescue and evacuation work in and around Lewistown and then food distribution and fuel delivery to local municipalities on the I – 80 corridor from Altoona to Scranton. Many roads were destroyed in Central Pennsylvania and many bridges were missing resulting in isolation for many communities.
Standard of Care Engineering: What You Should Know
There are few issues in construction disputes that are more complex than standard of care claims. Architects, engineers, and construction administrators alike have a professional and ethical responsibility to protect public safety. A licensed architect works with a structural engineer, who develops specifications for a project on paper, and those plans should be of sound design and illustrative of a professional level of expertise.
Complexity: A Transient Condition Precedent to Project Failure
Robert C. McCue, P.E.
MDC Systems®
Consulting Engineer
MDCSystems® has been providing Forensic Project Management (FPM®) services for over forty years for industrial, transportation and institutional capital projects. Using this extensive knowledge base, MDC®, develops and conducts seminars for the public and private sectors on many topics including the topic of Complexity and Systems Thinking.
Contractor’s Conduct Negates Pay-If-Paid Clause
Under “pay-if-paid” clauses a subcontractor is not entitled to payment if the owner fails to pay the general contractor, regardless of whether the subcontractor was at fault. General contractors use these clauses to assign to their subcontractors the risk of owner nonpayment.
Design Risk-How to Design a Brave New World
A journey of one thousand miles begins with the first step. However, any journey carries with it some element of risk and possible pitfalls along the way. To better your chances of reaching your desired destination, it is important that the first step be a step in the right direction. Design is often the first major step in executing any project. As that ‘first step’, design is a key component of a project’s overall risk potential. Following is a discussion of some risk elements in the design process.