Question

please read the article in online 'Understanding the Tragic Hyatt Regency Walkway Collapse' and explain what should we learn from the tragedy. Should be more than 300 words.

please just explain about what we should learn from this incident.

Answer 1

According to me following points are taken out mechanical engineer

1) The initial project engineer and senior designer, who were familiar with the background of the design, left the structural engineering firm early in the design process. Their departure impeded the communication of the original design intent to those who completed the design.

2) Similarly, the fabricator transferred incomplete shop drawings to an outside detailing firm for completion, further impairing the flow of information. The outside detailer assumed the connection had been designed because it was shown on the shop drawings and not flagged for design check, as no loads were provided in the initially drafted sketch.

3) The project manager conditionally approved a change request from the fabricator to use a double rod configuration in lieu of a single continuous rod (Figure 3). This essentially doubled the load on the rod-to-box-beam connection at the fourth-floor walkway. The structural engineering manager requested it be submitted as a formal change request, delaying the final review until a later date. The fabricator did not formally submit the change from one continuous to two offset rods as requested by the structural engineer.

4) The structural engineer’s technician reviewed the shop drawings and questioned the yield stress of the steel hanger rod. The project manager did not give the question his full attention but responded from memory. If the question had drawn the structural engineer’s focus, the deficiencies in the design might have been noticed.