Techno-Legal Aspects of Forensic Engineering

Expert: Prof. Sivakumar Babu, Dept of Civil Engineering, IISc, Bangalore

When a structure does need forensic Investigation? – from common man's perspective

Structures that are likely to indicate distress signs such as movements that may affect the structural performance, structures that have failed either due to manmade or natural causes need forensic investigations. This is very much required for structures funded from public money. Structures also mean our poor highways that have been the bane of Bangalore and brought down the image of Civil Engineer in public. More needs to be said about waste dumps in Bangalore that are expected to be scientifically designed landfills. Hence common man needs answers for all the above in terms of what went wrong, what are the engineering issues involved in general terms and also its legal implications. Of course the suffering by the public due to poor constructions needs to be highlighted and the lessons need to be learnt so that such mistakes are not repeated. Thus the goal of forensic studies is a sort of self introspection to understand our mistakes, rectify them, make proper codes and design and construct better facilities for the common man.

How do you decide upon what kind of investigations a structure to be subjected to?

For failed structures, back analysis needs to be done considering the likely properties and detailed failure mode analysis is required.

What are the symptoms of a Structure under deterioration? And how do you assess its condition before going for forensic investigations?

Signs of cracks in rigid structures and signs of deformations exceeding permissible limits in the case of flexible structures

Do you feel 'Regular Structural Health Check up would help in reducing the failure of structures? How?

Regular well designed maintenance strategies need to be framed to identify the signs of distress so that the health of the structures is addressed.   

What is the status of 'awareness of Forensic Investigation facility' in India?

At present, we do not have any system in India. But, we have systems vigilance departments headed by vigilance commissioner.  These organizations have procedures in some cases which most of the engineers are not aware and hence get caught in litigations.

As an Expert in your domain, were you involved in any Forensic Civil engineering Evaluation?  

I was involved in forensic analysis of a road over bridge structure of about 800m length which failed and the failure is due to design deficiencies. I was also involved in another project related to a road project which forms an important artery road of Karnataka which has failed badly and the failure is due to a number of reasons such as improper estimation of anticipated loads, design inadequacy, non- adherence to specifications in road construction etc.,