Analysing and predicting falsework failure in Hong Kong

Falsework is a temporary structure supporting the permanent structure while it is not self-supporting. Falsework is commonly required in concrete construction which involves a number of parties such as the design engineer, contractor, subcontractor, supplier and checking engineer. In the past, many failures occurred due to procedural inadequacy such as confusion in responsibility delineation and communication. In Hong Kong, during the last six years, at least eight major falsework collapses have been reported. Researchers studying falsework failures have devised models for analysis and prediction. However, procedural inadequacy has not been adequately considered and assessed in these models. Further, these models were mainly used to predict the likelihood of eventual failure at loading stage without evaluating the safety condition at various stages of falsework construction. The overall aim of this thesis was to develop a procedural framework that can be used to assess the proneness to failure at different stages of constructing falsework in Hong Kong, thus, warning can be given promptly. [Continues.

10_亞洲之光 — 香港古蹟燈塔遊蹤

香港開埠後不久迅速崛起成為歐美在遠東主要的貿易港口，每年在香港海域穿梭往還的中外船隻成千上萬。對於船隻來說航道安全至關重要，其中照明系統是水手賴以辦別方位，確認航道的主要港口設施。自十九世紀末，政府在香港主要的航道據點建設了多座燈塔，引領船隻進出港口，招徠貿易，締造繁榮。這些燈塔計有鶴咀燈塔(1875)、青洲燈塔(1875、1904)、哥連臣燈塔(1876)、橫瀾燈塔(1893)及燈籠洲燈塔(1912)等，現時都獲列為香港的法定古蹟。隨著科技進步，雖然燈塔的角色已不復當年，但其承載的歷史意義卻有增無減。是次講座暨考察活動將介紹各個主要燈塔的歷史故事及其對香港發展的重要性。https://commons.ln.edu.hk/jchkhlp_trips/1010/thumbnail.jp

11_亞洲之光 — 香港古蹟燈塔遊蹤

香港開埠後不久迅速崛起成為歐美在遠東主要的貿易港口，每年在香港海域穿梭往還的中外船隻成千上萬。對於船隻來說航道安全至關重要，其中照明系統是水手賴以辦別方位，確認航道的主要港口設施。自十九世紀末，政府在香港主要的航道據點建設了多座燈塔，引領船隻進出港口，招徠貿易，締造繁榮。這些燈塔計有鶴咀燈塔(1875)、青洲燈塔(1875、1904)、哥連臣燈塔(1876)、橫瀾燈塔(1893)及燈籠洲燈塔(1912)等，現時都獲列為香港的法定古蹟。隨著科技進步，雖然燈塔的角色已不復當年，但其承載的歷史意義卻有增無減。是次講座暨考察活動將介紹各個主要燈塔的歷史故事及其對香港發展的重要性。https://commons.ln.edu.hk/jchkhlp_talks/1011/thumbnail.jp

Falsework and bridge failures

Bridge construction always involves falsework erection. The falsework scaffolding used in Hong Kong gave a lower failure load than the supplier’s figure and the used frames have their loadbearing capacity reduced with age of materials. Sixty-two bridge collapses during construction in twenty-two countries or cities were studied and analysed. More than half of the collapses were falsework-related failures and occurred during concreting, placing of bridge segments and redistribution of major forces. The permanent works failed mainly due to insufficient consideration of stresses generated and instability of the structural member during construction

Analysis of causes of bridge failures during construction

Over fifty bridge collapses during construction from about twenty countries or cities in the past thirty years were studied. About half of collapses were falsework failures while the remaining were largely contributed by the lacking of consideration of stresses incurred in the partially completed works during erection. Procedural errors were always present though not easily extracted from the reports. The findings of the research emphasize the importance of an effective communication system in order to prevent falsework failure and bridge collapse during construction

Construction Safety

XII, 159 p. 42 illus., 35 illus. in color.online

Construction safety

A close-to-ideal blend of suburb and city, speedy construction of towers of Babylon, the sparkling proportion of glass and steel buildings’ facade at night showcase the wisdom of humans. They also witness the footsteps, sweats and tears of architects and engineers. Unfortunately, these signatures of human civilizations are swathed in towering figures of construction accidents. Fretting about these on sites, different countries adopt different measures on sites. This book firstly sketches the construction accidents on sites, followed by a review on safety measures in some of the developing countries such as Bermuda, Egypt, Kuwait and China; as well as developed countries, for example, the United States, France and Singapore. It also highlights the enormous compensation costs with the courts’ experiences in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong

A review of design procedures of scaffold falsework for concrete construction

Concrete in its plastic state needs formwork to retain its shape and while it is not self-supporting requires falsework to support its weight. Falsework thus has an important role during the maturing process of concrete. The materials for falsework range from single timber struts and metal tubes to scaffold system and steel frame structures depending on the loading and the supporting conditions. The design of falsework is usually undertaken by the contractor and the design procedure is very similar to those adopted for permanent works. Because of its nature, falsework will subject to different types of loading including the dead weight, the imposed loads and the forces arise from environmental actions and constraint effect during construction. Some of these forces are difficult if not impossible to assess. Stability is another aspect which requires careful consideration but regrettably is often ignored. An inadequate design coupled with the absence of checking is one of the . primary causes for falsework failures