Author: Williams, Martin S;Waldron, Peter
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Williams, Martin S;Waldron, Peter
The Structural Engineer, Volume 72, Issue 20, 1994
Foundations near trees The discussion on construction near trees, generated by the paper in the issue of 16 August 1994 (Building near trees - the development of NHBC standards for the foundations of low-rise dwellings) has generated divergent views from members. Should we design to prevent all visible signs of ground movement in our buildings or should the cost-effectiveness of accepting minor cracking be a more prominent consideration? To what extent would the public go along with us, bearing in mind that they are the ultimate paymasters even if insurance cover spreads the costs? With the current arguments regarding the excessive cost of construction, should we do more to influence public opinion? Verulam
I feel extraordinarily privileged to have been elected as President of Institution of Structural Engineers and to have been given the honour opportunity of addressing my fellow members on a subject that I feel special importance at this stage of our history, namely that of communication. It is important because, although our Institution promotes and, indeed, achieves excellence in structural engineering among its members, I fear we, on the whole, are much less good at communications than others that several of the ills besetting our profession can be attributed to single fact. Professor P.J. Dowling
Over recent years there has been discussion of the possibility of reducing the partial safety factor for reinforcement. This paper puts the case for a reduction from the present value of 1.15 to 1.05. The case is made on three grounds: - 30 years experience with the current safety levels - comparison with structural steel design where lower factors are used - comparison of current sufety level with the recommendations of Eurocode 1. Professor A.W. Beeby