Ontario Commission of Inquiry Robert Wood, former president of M.R. Wright & Associates, testifies at commission of inquiry hearing into the fatal 2012 mall roof collapse. Related Links: Testimony Shows Complex Roots of Deadly Mall Collapse (subscribers only) A communication breakdown at an Ontario engineering firm contributed to flaws in an inspection that failed to detect weaknesses in a mall roof before it collapsed.The engineer who wrote a report based on a visual inspection, stating that the mall roof was sound in May only weeks before the roof slab collapsed last June 23, killing two women inside, also had a
Photo Courtesy of The Advocate Performing arts center now has nearly doubled in cost and is about four years behind its original planned completion date. Officials of Jefferson Parish, La., and contractor J. Caldarera & Co. Inc. appear to be on a path to negotiate a payment settlement to end a drawn-out dispute over completing the parish's stalled and overbudget performing-arts center, according to project sources.The agreement, under which the La Place, La.-based contractor would be paid a lump sum to complete the project, would be an alternative to declaring the firm in default.Caldarera would have a year to complete
A rainstorm, a flood, children trapped in a minivan. Rushing water sweeps a senior citizen into a sewer. The shocking nature of the deaths belie the bigger issues involving neglected urban infrastructure and the potential liability of engineering consultants.Personal injury attorneys often file lawsuits that engineering companies and engineers consider frivolous. These "shotgun" lawsuits really are attempts to intimidate the engineers into a settlement, insurance broker Jeffrey Cavignac wrote years ago, because the cost of defending against the lawsuits can easily surpass any fees earned on the project and it's cheaper to give in.How does a long-neglected piece of urban
Related Links: Pa. Turnpike Commission Grand Jury Report Despite the use of contract award procedures that in theory were objective, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission executives working with key political allies in the state's Democratic party routinely made selections of engineers and contractors based on gifts and political contributions, according to a state grand jury report released March 13.Seated in 2009, the Harrisburg grand jury over the years consulted dozens of witnesses and documents. It charged former Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission Chief Executive Joseph Brimmeier with violating the state ethics law. He was arraigned before a state judge in Harrisburg March 14 for
Related Links: Dayton Daily News Story on Sturgill's Heat Stroke Citations A Dayton, Ohio-based roofing contractor is contesting U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration citations after a 60-year-old worker died last August from complications caused by heat stroke on an 82-degree F day.The temporary employee of A.H. Sturgill Roofing Inc. had been working in direct sunlight on a commercial flat roof in Miamisburg, throwing rubber roofing material into a dump truck on the ground, according to OSHA. The employee, who was not named, had to be hospitalized Aug. 1 and died 21 days later.The two serious violations are for failing
Related Links: Questions Raised About Disassembly Process Following Fatal UT Dallas Crane Collapse OSHA statement on citations issued Federal safety officials have cited Harrison Hoist Inc., Grand Prairie, Texas, for six serious safety violations, and and proposed a penalty against the company of $29,400, in connection with a tower crane collapse during disassembly at the University of Texas at Dallas that killed two workers July 7th.The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Harrison Hoist for failing to ensure that the disassembly procedures positioned workers to minimize their exposure to danger and failing to ensure the procedures were developed by
ENR Research Related Links: Will Proposed Anti-Bullying Laws Bring a Wave of Lawsuits? What Companies Do to Fend Off Abuse Lawsuits The rooftop was getting hotter. All day it was the same with Bob, the chief of our four-man crew, who barked orders for materials: "Nails!" "Shingles!" He yelled at everyone, especially me, the low man. I was a 20-something student on a break from college, earning money for school. We were putting a roof on a suburban home on a hill overlooking Coraopolis, northwest of Pittsburgh. Bob's shouting punctuated the days."Water! Where the hell is that kid with the
Still image created from Earthcam.net webcam The plumbing and mechanical contractor on Penn State's new children's medical center in Hershey, Pa. is seeking arbitration with the general contractor. Related Links: Webcam view provided by Earthcam.net Project construction milestones For a subcontractor on a major hospital project in Hershey, Pa., BIM was a bust.The plumbing and mechanical subcontractor on the Milton S. Hershey S. Medical Center Children’s Hospital project at Pennsylvania State University in Hershey says that the building information model prepared by general contractor L.F. Driscoll Co. revealed so many design errors and clashes that the subcontractor had to spend
www.masd.k12.pa.us/ Moon Area School District is converting a high school into a middle school. Related Links: Ohio Turnpike Commission resolution on Reginella Article and lawsuit on Moon Area Middle School A Pittsburgh general contractor is feuding with Travelers Casualty and Surety Co. of America over a Pittsburgh school conversion and a road contract in Ohio, blaming the surety, a school district and a subcontractor for its troubles on the projects.Whether that’s true or the contractor is the cause of its own troubles remains for now obscured in the legal haze, only a small part of which is explained in Reginella
Related Links: Trainor Glass Default Raises Questions About Subs' Vulnerability The fallout continues from the failure of Trainor Glass, which filed for protection from its creditors in March and has affected operations of several firms. The newest development concerns a hospital in Peridot, Ariz.Recently, General Contractor McCarthy Building Cos. and Trainor’s surety, Westchester Fire Insurance Co., filed a joint motion requesting a federal bankruptcy court judge in Chicago to lift an automatic stay on the bankruptcy filing. The court granted the order on July 20, allowing the surety to complete Trainor’s glass and glazing contract on the 184,000 square foot
