Stewart, MG & Melchers, RE 1989, 'Checking Models in Structural Design', Journal of Structural Engineering, vol. 115, no. 6, pp. 1309-1324.
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A large proportion of structural failures are due to human error in the design stage of a structural engineering project and many of these failures could have been averted if there had been adequate design checking Results are reported herein from surveys investigating the effectiveness of three typical design-checking processes: self-checking independent detailed design checking and overview checking Following a review of current work in this area appropriate mathematical models which examine the effects of error magnitude time and experience are proposed for each design checking process These are compared to the limited data obtained from the surveys Although preliminary the results have interesting implications for practitioners. © ASCE.
Stewart, MG & Melchers, RE 1989, 'Decision model for overview checking of engineering designs', International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 19-27.
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Overview checking occurs whenever an engineering design is reviewed by another engineer without specifically carrying out checking calculations or following through the design process in detail. Results are reported herein of a survey examining the effectiveness of overview checking. The respondents were requested to assess whether a structural design should be considered 'undersized', 'correct' or 'oversized'. Using the responses as a basis, a decision model is proposed for the effectiveness of overview checking as a function of error magnitude and of checker's experience. It is concluded that correct assessment of a design as 'safe' is not a function of experience. However, it appears that more experience is beneficial in selecting economical designs. © 1989.
Stewart, MG & Melchers, RE 1989, 'Error control in member design', Structural Safety, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 11-24.
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Available evidence suggests that design checking can significantly reduce the incidence of structural failures resulting from human errors in the design process. Since 'real-world' experimentation is not possible, it is of interest to develop a model to simulate the effects of human error on a typical design task and also to model typical checking procedures. The development and analysis of these models is described in the present paper. The design task considered is that of member design for a rafter of a steel portal frame building. It was found that checking efficiencies between 0.6 and 0.9 are most effective in increasing structural reliability and that, often, only two separate design checks are necessary to virtually eliminate the incidence of structural failure due to human error. © 1989.
Stewart, MG & Melchers, RE 1989, 'Optimization of Structural Design Checking', Journal of Structural Engineering, vol. 115, no. 10, pp. 2448-2460.
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It is generally acknowledged that design checking reduces the incidence of structural failure. Because checking is often seen as nonproductive and costs money, the optimal degree of design checking is of interest. In the present paper, a decision model is developed to determine the optimal level of design checking. It is applied to the design of a steel rafter for a portal frame building. The model incorporates the effect of either an insured or an uninsured designer. Optimization was achieved by maximizing the expected utility. Using the model, it was found that the use of thorough self-checking and overview checking only is the optimal strategy, unless the consequences of failure are expected to be catastrophic, in which case one independent “design check” is also necessary. © ASCE.
BALL, JE, OLOUGHLIN, GG & COUNCIL, AWR 1970, 'APPROPRIATE MODELS FOR URBAN STORM-SEWER SYSTEMS', WATERCOMP 89, 1ST AUSTRALASIAN CONF ON TECHNICAL COMPUTING IN THE WATER INDUSTRY ( PREPRINTS ), INST ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA, MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, pp. 131-135.
Indraratna, B, Naguleswary, S & Balasubramaniam, AS 1970, 'Application of physical and mathematical modelling in underground excavations', 30th U.S. Symposium on Rock Mechanics, USRMS 1989, pp. 301-308.
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The scope of this paper is to introduce a mathematical model based on matrix algebra in order to determine similitude quantities, which can be arranged in specific formats to simulate the field conditions and associated behaviour. The formulation of a typical mathematical model applicable to Geomechanics is demonstrated here. The examples provided are intended to facilitate comprehension and application of the proposed model in practice.
