Ken Zeier |
I thought it was a very interesting case.
I am stunned that they inspectors ignored deformed members, gusset plates.
Unless someone takes responsibility blame gets shifted.
It also makes things difficult on a construction site because
players are always trying to protect themselves from liability
and the truth is not always told. Also, some team players
don't want to work hard and this can be a trap for some who aren't quick on their
feet to recognize team members who can sabotage the work by their laziness.
Jennifer Park |
Very eye-opening account of something that happened at a time when I was working as a summer intern performing bridge construction inspection for a state highway department. This event seemed personally relevant to me because of where I was at the time of the collapse. I am now much more aware of how and why this tragic event took place.
Chuck Chernoff |
Excellent material on ethics with some bridge design and inspection too go along with it. Very informative.
Nancy Schultz |
The course clearing explaine the ethical duty of the engineer, and clearly descibed how that duty was not met. It describes the engineers dilemma in a clear manner that leaves this engineer very cautious about meeting my responsibilities for checking all the details.
Todd Palmer |
I found this course to be very interesting. It's always good to be reminded of the high ethical responsibility of the professional engineer. We can never make assumptions that everyone else did their work correctly. We must always recheck. We must always question. Practically all major disasters are born out of multiple levels of failure. The fact that truss gusset plates of only 1/2 the required thickness went undetected for over 40 years is astounding! Especially in the face of plastic deformation that was noted but never really questioned.
Richard Reed |
The course was OK - in my opinion, the bridge would not have collapsed if the gusset plate had been properly designed, and all subsequent engineering was performed according to the usual level of care for this work, so that none of the other factors discussed in the course should be considered significant.
Robert Howerton |
Good Course, Reasonable Quiz
Jack David |
This was an excellent Ethics course because it illustrates that just because you followed guidelines provided by others does not relieve you from thinking about a problem and questioning issues. The real "kicker" was the photograph from 2003 showing buckling in the gusset plates 4 years before the collapse.
Matthew Wagner |
I learned a lot and really enjoyed the class
Reginald Montgomery |
Good Case Study. As a bridge engineer, I know that many times agencies will not provide the budget to rate all details, which puts companies in a conundrum financially.
Barton Harris |
A very interesting and complete case study which highlighted the importance of paying attention to detail and the responsibilities of not only the design engineer, but also all those that participate in inspecting and modifying structures during their life. This is probably the best on line short course I have taken.
Alesandra Neiman |
Good info but would have liked the photos and charts to have been more easily enlarged or made to pop out into a new window in the interactive version for easier review.
THOMAS SHINGLER |
VERY INFORMATIVE AND WELL PRESENTED.
