Discussion on Risk, Liability and QA in Construction Engineering by Dr. S. Thorburn and Dr. E.W. Mac

A considerable amount of work has recently been carried out to provide a scientific basis for the analysis of masonry arch bridges. However, thefidure modes of multiring brickwork arch bridges in particular will often be very diflerent to those corresponding to bridges containing a single ring of blocks; this is because the constituent rings will often separate, causing premature failure of the bridge. Most analysis techniques developed to date make the implicit assumption that shear failure between rings will not occur; it is demonstrated that these methods are inappropriate for the calculation of the strength of multiring brickwork arch bridges. Professor C. Melbourne and M. Gilbert

Sir Michael Latham, author of the joint government and industry report ‘Constructing the Team’ believes that participation of professional people such as structural engineers is absolutely crucial to the success of his plan for creating a modern and competitive industry.

This month's letters cover legislation for design checks, embodied carbon of modular construction approaches, and assessment of masonry buildings for earthquake resilience in New Zealand.