Having lectured to Part 3 preparation classes for a number of years at Westminster College and the Polytechnic of Central London, my main theme to these classes has been to read the ‘Notes to candidates’ and ‘A reminder from your examiners’. B.W.J. Boys
‘George, one of the precast cladding units has just fallen apart when the contractor tried to lift it into place. Do you think you could pop down to site and have a quick look at it for me?’ J.J. Ward
The prestressed channel section is a further development of structural masonry by the authors’ practice and stems from earlier innovations. The concept originated from a variation in fin walls’ which are basically a series of connected T-sections. On one contract, in order to provide floor to roof glazing, it was necessary to eliminate alternate panel sections between the fins. The remaining section was treated as connected L-beams (see Fig 1). It was realised, with hindsight, that it would have been better designed as channel sections. G. Shaw, W.G. Curtin, C.L. Priestly and G.J. Othick
The Institution has a responsibility to promote excellence in structural engineering and quality in construction. In choosing to join the Instiitution, the members subscribe to these ideals and assist in implementing policies to maintain and enhance the effectiveness of professional membership. Excellence in design involves more than the application of Codes of Practice and calculation procedures. The ability to deal with these formal aspects of design must be combined with an ability to understand, guide and interpret a client’s requirements to provide a structure of the appropriate quality. Recognition and production of quality through design is implicit to the work of the chartered structural engineer. Peter Campbell and John W. Dougill
Valley Parade (Fig 1) was excavated from a steep hillside in 1886 by Manningham Rugby Club. With the formation of the Football League 2 years later, soccer became a craze. By 1903 the club had changed its name and affiliations and was elected to the League. The ground was an open site until 1908 when City won promotion to the First Division. R. Corrigan
Most engineers will by now have noticed a substantial bandwagon rolling in their direction, marked ‘quality assurance’. The cognoscenti call it ‘QA’, and there are QA contractors, QA managers, and QA registered firms. The British Standards Institution, at the Government’s behest, is promoting the idea heavily, producing a British Standard on the subject (BS5750) and running a Quality Assurance Services Department, which assesses and registers firms on the basis of their QA and encourages major clients to give work to registered firms. A.N. Beal