Learning from confidential reporting

Cross (confidential reporting on structural safety) is a UK scheme that collects, analyses and publishes personal reports about failures and the safety of structures so that engineers can learn from the experiences of others. Names of authors are confidential and identifying features from event descriptions are removed. When a trend is detected, action is taken to influence changes in culture and, when possible, in standards or legislation. Reported subjects have covered design, construction, use, demolition and regulation issues associated with buildings, specialist structures and bridges. Examples are given on fixings, temporary stage structures, snow load collapses, tall asymmetric structures, and false and misleading documentation. Data from identified trends have been passed to code committees, government departments, institutions or others who have influence on best practice. The information is also on a database on the site www.structural-safety.org.