Forensic Structural Engineering Handbook

The Most Complete and Up-to-Date Resource on Forensic Structural Engineering Thoroughly revised and featuring contributions from leading experts, this definitive handbook offers comprehensive treatment of forensic structural engineering and expert witness delivery. From exploring the possible origins of errors, through investigating and analyzing failures, to working with the legal profession for assigning responsibilities, Forensic Structural Engineering Handbook, Second Edition covers every important topic in the field. The design and construction process Design and construction safety codes, standards, and regulationsStandard of care and duty to performFirst steps and legal concerns after a failureEngineering investigation of failuresOrigins and causes of failuresLoads and hazardsDesign errors, construction defects, and project miscommunicationDefects, deterioration, and durabilityMechanisms and analyses of failures in steel, concrete, masonry, timber, and temporary structures; building envelope; and structural foundationsLitigation and dispute resolutionThe expert consultant and witness

Robert Ratay is an acknowledged expert in forensic structural engineering, and has an active consulting practice in that field. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University where he has been teaching the graduate course of Forensic Structural Engineering which he created and developed some years ago, and for which the Handbook of Forensic Structural Engineering is the standard textbook. Ratay has lectured at conferences and seminars in the U.S. and abroad and published in U.S. and international journals on forensic structural engineering.