Lessons to be learnt series 2021

Lessons to be learnt | Session 1 | Engineering failures

To open our series, Glen Koorey and Gordon Hughes discussed some key points on learning from failures. What is failure? Why should we investigate failures? Why did these mistakes occur? Also touching on the aspects of failure with in-depth breakdowns and examples and much more.

Lessons to be learnt | Session 2 | Cave Creek platform collapse

The Cave Creek disaster occurred on 28 April 1995 when a scenic viewing platform in Paparoa National Park, New Zealand collapsed, resulting in the deaths of 14 people. Gordon presents the facts of the tragedy and looks at some of the technical factors and the human factors behind the tragedy.

Gordon Hughes is a senior structural engineer based in Auckland. He was a SESOC committee member for many years and has been instrumental in setting up the Special Interest Group for Engineering General Practitioners Group. He is passionate about continuing learning and improving practice.

Lessons to be learnt | Session 3 | Transportation Engineering Failures

The Transportation Group presented for our third session of the series, looking at road safety and how we currently measure that (eg objectives of fewer deaths/injuries/crashes), the potential issues with what we measure vs other possible objectives (eg health, environment, economic “efficiency”), and the associated “systemic” industry processes/constraints we have for making safety improvements happen (or not).

Lessons to be learnt | Session 4 | Temporary Works Failures

Session 4, presented by Brendan Attewell - Chartered Civil Engineer (CPEng CMEngNZ CEng MICE), is based on lessons learnt from a recent temporary works failure in New Zealand. He discussed how the review of internal procedures against international best practice has resulted in better controls on these high risk activities, the root cause of common temporary works failures, how the NZ construction and engineering community has come together to try to address these failures (establishment of the Temporary Works forum) with the development of NZ Good Practice, as well as how further initiatives that are led by the TWF and NZSSE are helping to drive safer workplaces.

Lessons to be learnt | Session 5 | Engineering Disasters: How they happen

Failures can happen for many reasons. In the latest webinar of the series, Brian Leyland (DistFEngNZ, FIMechE) discusses the impact of hubris on engineering failures such as the Whaeo Dam, the Boeing 737 Max and the Columbia Space shuttle disasters.

Lessons to be learnt | Session 6 | Brian Benson & David Menendez

Failures can happen for many reasons. In the latest webinar of the series, David Menendez and Brian Benson will discuss lessons to be learnt - Oroville dam incident.

Lessons to be learnt | Session 7 | Safety in design

In this webinar of the series, Chris Watson will explore safety in design. He will discuss "The Pathology of a Common Workplace Hazard" and refer to the example: Slippery-When-Wet Entrance. In his presentation, he will touch on multiple areas such as 'Plan, Do, Check, Act', how Architects listen, the lesson learned, hazard elimination tools and give hazard examples.

Lessons to be learnt | Session 8 | Informing our response to the climate change crisis

Members of the Sustainability Society committee discuss some key lessons learnt across a number of sectors and the shifts that need to be made to address the climate crisis.

Lessons to be learnt | Session 9 | Brian Benson & David Menendez

In this Lessons Learnt webinar, members of the Te Tira Hangarau, IT Engineers committee will discuss some key lessons learnt from the MiQ Booking Software System.

Lessons to be learnt | Special session

Presented by Charles Clifton on the causes of the collapse of WTC1, WTC2 and WTC7 in the World Trade Center complex on 11 September 2001 and the collapse sequences involved.