ENGINEERING RISKS AND

FAILURES: LESSON LEARNED

FROM ENVIRONMENTAL
DISASTERS
- Role fo Perception and type of failure
 Defining Disasters…
1) Disasters are low-probability events with high-value consequences
Problems become disasters when risks that are not properly managed result in significant
physical damages to human life, ecosystems and materials.

2) Legal defination of disaster,

the US code 5122 defines, Major disaster as
- A major disaster is any natural catastrophe, regardless of cause, in any part of the US that causes the damage of sufficient severity to warrant
disaster assistance under the legislation to supplement the resources of states and local governments in easing the damages and hardship.

3) A disaster is any natural, accidental, or deliberate event that overwhelms the ability of
local officials and responders to address the consequences using community resources.

4) Disaster is, the negative health or economic consequences of human decisions.

A disaster can be defined as the failure of engineers,
construction managers developers , planners and other
leaders to properly account for the environmental
vulnerability.

• For instance, by avoiding building on fault lines the world could avoid earth-
quake generated desasters.

• Similarly, by building in flood plains and other hydrologically inappropriate ares

flooding would not cause disasers.

• Environmental phenomenan occur within observable range, environment

provides constaints and opportunity.
 Ecological Disaster…..
An ecological disaster can be characterized as structural or functional

• In a structural ecological disaster, an ecosystem’s components

are substantially altered or destroyed, such as fires that
destroy tree canopies, upsetting the ecosystem’s food chain.

• Functional Ecological disasters……

in which the ecosystem can no longer
perform as it did before the disaster in
terms of biological processes upsetting
delicate balances in biodiversity and
productivity.
In addition to the severity
disaster also has temporal
thresholds
• It causes long-term damages to the
ecosystems and/or human
population.

• An ecosystems that is not sufficiently

elastic will experience irreversible
long-term harm than the diverse and
elastic systems.
- For instance, an ecosystem with the only
habitat of an endangered species can have an
event deemed as a disaster even if the assault
is relatively localized.
DISASTER RISK
ASSESSMENT
The scale and complexity of a disaster affect
engineering and policy decision regarding future
disasters.
Help to identify the disaster.
Without establishing the relationship of cause-
and-effect scientifically, some precautionary can
help to reduce the human health threat.
Engineering design would be helpful by the
understanding of risk.
Engineer can assume the demanding safety
factor as well as economical issues will be
highlighted.
Identify the hazard zone and finding the suitable
place for establishing mega project (nuclear
energy, chemical industry, biological
experimental project).
As a Lewis, Risk is the function of probability
and consequences. In the medical and
environmental sciences, a consequence is called
a “hazard.
 Role of
Perception in
Risk
Management
 Certain terms are terrifying, such as cancer, central nervous
system dysfunction, toxins, and ominous-sounding chemical
names such as dioxin, PCBs, vinyl chloride, and methyl mercury.
What is the In fact, chemical names in general elicit anxieties and increase
perceived risk.
perception in
risk management
process For example, people typically find the word dihydromonoxide
alarming until they are told that it is H2O. Actual risks may be
much greater or much lesser than perceived risks

A failure could be classified as a disaster if engineers made a

miscalculation or left out some key information that led to a
disaster. Such mistakes may lead to the public perception that
the failure was disastrous even if it was less severe than a
failure perceived as less preventable or even inevitable.
 Theory: Chronic diseases such as cancer have long periods

What is the of separation between the first exposure to the causative

agent and the onset of disease symptoms – called - the

perception in latency period.

risk management For example - asbestos workers were exposed for decades
before signs of mesothelioma or lung cancer were
process - diagnosed.

Intutition Many factors, including insufficient study, underreporting

of exposures and diseases, and the properties of a toxic
agent, can also obscure links between cause and effect,
such as the relatively recent linkages between childhood
exposure to lead and neurological and developmental
diseases.
Assessment relies on science-based criteria such as
problem identification, data analysis, and risk
Risk perception is a crucial component of the public
characterization, including cost–benefit ratios. Perception
relies on thought processes and includes such criteria as
perception of a disaster.
intuition, personal experiences, and personal preferences.
Confrontation
of Science
Based and
Perception Risk
Decision
FAILURE
S
 Extraordinary natural
Inaccurate prediction

circumstances

Miscalculation
Critical path
Negligence
Type-4

Type-2
Type-3

Type-1
Type-5
• Don’t correctly estimate the risks, wrong
calculation during designing

• Fail to assure & control the quality

• Wrong calculation results wrong information

 Extraordinary natural
Inaccurate prediction

circumstances

Miscalculation
Critical path
Negligence

Type-2
Type-4

Type-3

Type-1
Type-5
• Failure due to extraordinary natural calamities

• Equipment failure can lead to

uncontrolled disaster

• Backup system can be established

• Contingency planning & design

consideration
can be the factors to be considered
 Extraordinary natural
Inaccurate prediction

circumstances
Critical path

Miscalculation
Negligence

Type-3

Type-2
Type-4

Type-1
Type-5
• Fail to predict risks in some cases.

• For instance, Holy Cross College

Football team
hepatitis outbreak in 1969.
y were not blamed.
Inaccurate prediction

Extraordinary natural
Critical path
Negligence

circumstances

Miscalculation
Type-4

Type-3
Type-5

Type-2

Type-1
• Occurrences have occurred due to own carelessness
and negligence of engineers

• Standard operating procedures(SOPs)

•
• Give emphasize
on unexpected issues(Terror attack, water poisoning etc)
 Inaccurate prediction

Extraordinary natural
Critical path

Miscalculation
circumstances
Negligence
Type-3
Type-5

Type-1
Type-4

Type-2
• Engineers predict the problems and design

• Erroneous prediction can have adverse outcome

• Proper channel of information, honest and upfront appraisal of

possible consequences
TO CONCLUDE….
• Disaster can be defined in many ways.
• Perceptions about disaster’s causes and risks can influence our understanding
and analysis of disaster.
• Once a universal understanding is developed between Engineers and Managers
about what constitutes the disasters and the type of failure leading to disasters,
we can reduce the chances of disasters.
• Transperancy, information sharing, and co-ordinations between stakeholders
are key to avoiding disasters.
• Communication among stakeholders such as engineers, managers, operators,
and the local community is vital in avoiding disasters