Structural unsafety revealed by failure databases

After several major structural incidents in the Netherlands, such as the collapse of five balconies in Maastricht in 2001 resulting in two fatalities, various initiatives have been started to improve structural safety. Research studies were initiated on the characteristics, causes and consequences of structural incidents. In this paper the results of three of these research studies are compared. Each study uses different data sources: a confidential reporting system called ABC registration, Dutch arbitration awards on functional and structural failures and a study of structural incidents mentioned in a newspaper for the building industry, called Cobouw. A comparison of the results shows variations due to the type of sources used. However, general patterns have been derived from the three studies. The cause of structural failure on average was approximately 35% in the design phase, approximately 30% in the construction phase and approximately 10% in the use and maintenance phase. This paper shows that contrasting and combining results of different sources has improved the overview of structural incidents and has provided an insight into trends.