Identifying and Addressing Unsafe Conditions: Role of Practicing Engineer

Identifying and Addressing Unsafe Conditions: Role of Practicing Engineer

One challenge of our jobs as engineers is to accurately identify unsafe conditions that arise on our projects and take appropriate steps to address them. Deciding whether a condition is unsafe, or about to become unsafe, can feel like navigating a very narrow channel between not reacting quickly or decisively enough on the one hand, and overreacting and causing unnecessary alarm on the other. Making matters worse is the fact that fieldwork is sometimes assigned to more junior members of the engineering team, who may not have the experience they need to reliably detect a threat. Building regulations, such as the New York City Construction Codes, contain important provisions that help guide engineers in identifying and handling unsafe conditions; but these regulations do not, and cannot, include specific instructions for every type of unsafe condition that an engineer may face on a construction site. Knowledge, training, experience, and judgment are all needed to reliably detect and take appropriate steps to address unsafe conditions. In this panel discussion, we will hear from industry leaders—including a building official, practicing engineer, construction attorney, and insurance professional—about their experiences and views on an engineer’s role in identifying and addressing unsafe conditions.

Our distinguished panelists are:

Yegal Shamash, PE

Deputy Commissioner / Enforcement

The New York City Department of Buildings

Timothy Lynch, PE

Senior Vice President

Thornton Tomasetti

Richard Kalson, Esq.

Member

Cozen O'Connor

Kent Collier

Managing Principal

Greyling Insurance

Moderated by:

Benjamin M. Cornelius, PE, SE

Partner

LERA Consulting Structural Engineers

Host or Publisher ASCE Met Section Forensic Engineering Group