This is America, you can do what you want because there are no "construction police" that are going to arrest you if you "cheat". However, we do have a system of checks and balances. The grim reaper of the system is the lawyer that crawls out of the woodwork when someone is hurt or killed.
The injured party usually walks away with enough money to pay the doctor and hospital bills and the lawyer buys a new Mac Mansion. The contractor responsible and everyone, even if remotely, connected with the project pays a dear price.
Most contractors by nature are gamblers and look at the cost of rework or litigation, if they get caught, as a cost of doing business.
I had one contractor tell me, in front of the owner, engineer, and general contractor, "at any one time I have 10 projects running, hopefully you (me, the inspector) will only be on one of them. The bottom line is, I can afford to get caught 10% of the time. The other 90% of the time I win."
It's sick world we live in. Even when we do our honest best, it may not be enough. How many welds do we actually see being made versus the number of welds we only see when they are completed? Do we know the welder that actually made the weld was qualified? How do we know if the joint was properly prepared and cleaned before welding? How do we know if the proper electrode was used? Do we know if the electrode was properly stored? What percentage of "faulty" welds or materials are actually discovered?
The bottom line is that it is a gamble the owner is willing to take. The owner saves money by cutting back on inspection and gambles the contractor is honest and will comply with the project requirements. The contractor gambles that he will not get caught buying substandard materials or using unqualified welders for half the wages.
Was there really no one minding the store when the three astronauts burned beyond recognition in the pure oxygen atmosphere of their space capsule? Was there no one minding the store when the space shuttle blew up 30 seconds into their flight? Was there no one at the wheel when the shuttle burned during reentry because of damaged tiles? Or was there someone, an inspector or engineer that sounded the alarm, but it was decided by the "owner" to gamble with "someone else's life" to save money, time, or schedule?
There is a need for the lawyers. They will never be out of work. They bring things back into balance. Hopefully the honest contractor stays in business and the less desireable contractors are culled fom the herd.
Best regards - Al
"1 Was there really no one minding the store when the three astronauts burned beyond recognition in the pure oxygen atmosphere of their space capsule? 2 Was there no one minding the store when the space shuttle blew up 30 seconds into their flight? 3 Was there no one at the wheel when the shuttle burned during reentry because of damaged tiles? 4 Or was there someone, an inspector or engineer that sounded the alarm, but it was decided by the "owner" to gamble with "someone else's life" to save money, time, or schedule?"
1. Yes there where engineers who sounded an alarm but where poo pooed as being over zealous in concerns.
2. Yes there was an engineer who raised hell about the O rings before flight. Further; video at lift off noted the occillations and subsequent puffs of smoke from the failing O ring. At both stages it could have been stopped.
3. Flight video showed damage during lift off from ice. Numbers where run, and the gamble with those lives failed.
4. Time and schedule more and more bends the rules. Unfortunetly, it will get worse before it gets better.
And now we have the Minneapolis Bridge (I-35W) disaster!!!
Seems like it'll just keep on happening like CWI555 mentioned because, human life just is'nt worth the same these days as it was before the lawyers started to put "price tags" on us.
Respectfully,
Henry
Henry,
Not sure there ever was a before.
And the blood lust and greed in the aftermath will be no less nauseating and dispicable as any possible negligence before hand.
Heads will roll over this thing. Never mind if its the right people for the right reasons. Heads will roll.
People will be expecting some answers...and they will have answers, I just hope they will be the truthfull and correct answers.
I agree john. People deserve answers. Especially the survivors and families of those involved. And yes, the correct answers. Unfortunately, IMO, once the media casts its impatient and 'scoop mentality' gaze, the truth is seldom the priority.
Sure there was but, it was way before our time! :) Certainly way before the lawyers and pencil pushers decided that they were "mandated" to sort these matters out!!!
If the status Quo do'nt watch out, the people of this country will make these "islamic fundamentalists" look like a bunch of punks compared to the folks who will reach the point where they're done with waiting patiently for change, and decide to make change themselves... Then you'll see a blood bath for sure!!!
Hey! look what happened to the former Soviet Union!!! The same can happen here, and if one thinks it cannot, then one is very much foolish to think so!!!
Respectfully,
Henry
Henry,
I've always said, the greatest power the world has ever known is middle America. Wake em up (not such an easy thing), and empires tremble. Pizz em off and empires disappear. Extend a hand in friendship, and nothing is impossible.
PS: Ok, but I'm really not sure there was a "way before our time". At least not a way before my time. I won't speak for you. :>)
I hear ya there Jeff!
Respectfully,
Henry
Henry,
This was one time I truely wished I was wrong, but the facts speak for themself. To multinational multibillion dollar organizations and our own government, those people are just a number. They'll decry the tragedy, poor poor people, patt them on the head, the lawyers will sue, and money will be paid, and it will all go away. If Katrina, the world trade centers, this collapse, and other events like it are not enough to wake the Lion in the middle america, I fear it's died in it's sleep. It's a sad damn day when human life is measured by amounts gained in a law suit.
Regards,
Gerald
Gerald,
Not too long ago there were reports of the levies in New Orleans were lacking and needed to be upgraded, predictions that a failure could occur, then bam...the predictions became reality....now we have this bridge, which had 4' long cracks in the steel structure and report after report, year after year, noting these problems. You would think after a while somebody would wake up and smell the coffee. Ignoring problems don't always make them go away.
Apparently they need more than coffee, I think they need a good swift kick in the family jewels.
Mr. Trappold, who is the man held responsible for using the material that burned in the space capsule, would disagree with you. Oxygen enhanced fire had been considered by NASA Engineers, but value judgement was taken based on probability and alternatives. Cost was not a consideration, because it was acknowleged that given the unlikely event of a fire, the most likely source of the fire would cause the metal to burn. The metal fire alone would be lethal to the occupants. Don't believe what you read on this subject! A bolted hatchway sealed the astronauts in. If they had a cam locked hatch, they may have been able to get out. But, the rocket itself was more likely to have blown up, and material selection consideration or operable hatchway consideration would have been a moot point.
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