In late 1970s and through 1980s the Soviet Government and the Communist Party encouraged engineers and scientists to develop innovations, to implement them in order to optimize and to increase the effectiveness of the national economy. “The economy must be economical” was the slogan of this policy. The R@D programs were well funded by the State. The paper describes two failures, linked up with implementation of cost-saving innovations: explosion of a 10,000 m3 liquid ammonia storage tank, and failure of a raft footing on largely spaced piles
