Lessons from structural failures in India

Structural design and construction involves several stages and needs both talent and co-operation of the concerned persons. Lack of expertise and mistakes in design or execution can result in failure of the structure. In developing countries, the lack of regulations related to the required qualifications and expertise of the people involved, coupled with the lack of a strong legal framework to deal with the consequences of failure, translates into frequent structural failures. In this paper, the issues leading to such failures are discussed in the Indian context. Several case studies are cited based on the author’s personal experience, and their causes for failure as well as the possible strategies to avoid them are discussed. It is pointed out that mere documentation of codes and standards is not adequate to ensure safe structures and the awareness about forensic engineering and case studies may help in improving the situation.