TYPES AND CAUSES OF FAILURE IN CONSTRUCTION WORK

FAILURE

Failure can be define as a breakdown in the operation, function, quality, or appearance of a structure, system, component or material.

The various types of construction failure are:

1.     Failure of concrete structure

2.     Component failure

3.     Fundamental failure

4.     Non-progressive failure

5.     Progressive failure

6.     Economic failure

7.     Aesthetic failure

8.     Structural failure

9.     Functional failure.

Failure in Concrete Structure: –

When the mix components such as cement, sound, and coarse aggregate are of less value or standard, if there is a tendency that the concrete structure will fail because of the inadequate mix ratio of the component.

Component Failure

Building component tends to fail depending on materials, designs, method of construction, environmental conditions and the use to which the building is put.

Foundation Failure

Foundation failure can cause the building to collapse, foundation is the first element of a building where the construction starts, but when it fails, it can cause many defects in the building including failure or collapse of the building.

Repair of defect  in foundation are mostly difficult and very costly, so it is most important to understand the type of foundation failure to avoid them by taking necessary steps before construction starts.

Non – Progressive Failure

Non – progressive failure or condition is one that is not likely to deteriorate. Generally, the non-progressive failure of an under-specified component such as building insulation can result from design or construction defects that often do not need to be remediated.

Progressive Failure

This type of failure is one that is likely to worsen over time. In the legal and insurance fields, a progressive failure that is the basis of a defective work claim is often described as a “continuous loss”. Defects such as expansive soil under a basement slab can cause structural and progressive slab failure and may need to be corrected as soon as possible.

Economic Failure

This is a condition that result in economic loss or the need to expand unplanned  moves to keep a structure, component or system in order. The loss could take the form of excessive maintenance, shortened useful life or added repairs. The installation of improper bearings in an engine can result in the economic failure of the equipment.

 Aesthetic Failure

A condition that renders a component unsightly, significantly detracting from its appearance, can be termed as aesthetic failure, economic consequences often accompany aesthetic failures such as masonry effective, although they may be subjective and difficult to quantity.

Structural Failure 

This failure is a breakdown in one or more components of the structure system. Such failures include common concrete cracking which may or may not be of any consequences, depending upon the degree of the failure. In addition, structural failures do not always require correction, and, in the context of construction defect claims and litigation, a structural failure without some functional failure or impairment is of limited value. Furthermore, the failure of structural steel connection caused by a design defect could be catastrophic and demands immediate attention.

Functional Failure

This is a condition that renders a component unsuitable or unusable for its intended purpose. The functional failure of a mechanical piece of equipment resulting from a manufacturing defect often require immediate correction.

Causes of Foundation Failure

(i)      Soil Type (Expansive clay soil): –

The most common kind of expansive clay can absorb so much water that it can swell by several hundred percent. The pressure from this degree of swelling can easily lift or “heave” most residential homes, soil expand with moisture and they contract with destication, causing up and down movements known as differential settlement. To preserved structural integrity of the building, we have to provide underpinning for the foundation.

(ii)   Poorly Compacted Fill Materials: –

If the fill material on a lot is not sufficiently compacted to support the weight of the structure above it, there will foundation problems. The problem can be from the mix of add fill materials, and from poorly compacted fill or both. It can also develop a wide crumbling crack in its lowest corner of its foundation. 

(iii)Slope Failure / Mass Wasting: –

Geologist use the term “mass wasting” to illustrate the movement of earth downhill. It could be “creep” which is slow, or “landslides” which are sudden slope failure as we use it refers to “creep”.

Underpinnings can act as a barrier to “creep”, but the power of gravity is such that unless the underpinnings were specifically designed to stop slope failure, warranties can’t usually cover this in sites exposed to slope failure.

(iv)Erosion

Erosion may be the most straight forward cause of settlement issues. Itcan come from poor drainage, uncontrolled water flow or lack of growned water. If not identified early, erosion can wear away the soil around foundations, creating a new need for underpinning.

(v)   Poor Construction: –

Most towns and cities now have building codes that require soil testing and engineer certification before and during the building process, so poor construction is less and also less the cause of foundation failure.

(vi)Transpiration: –

We all know what perspiration is, but transpiration is a less commonly known word. It is the world that describes plants removing moisture from the soil. Tress withdrawing moisture from the soil in the summer can accelerate soil shrinkage in hot summer months. It is the expansion and shrinkage or contraction of soil, often invisible from the surface. So we need to keep our eyes open to any signs of foundation weakness.

Causes of Component Failure

i.              Using of substandard materials and design errors – that is method use in designing the building. When using materials that are less in quality it means that you subjecting the building under failure.

Causes of Failure in Concrete Structure

i.                   Poor construction methods and workmanship

Poor construction methods and workmanship is responsible for the failure of buildings and structure. The poor construction methods and workmanship is caused due to negligence and inadequate quality control at construction site. The effect and inadequate quality control at construction site. The effect of some of the poor construction methods includes:

(a)  Incorrect placement of steel

(b) Inadequate cover to reinforcement

(c)  Incorrectly made construction joints.

(d) Grout leakage

(e)  Poor compaction

(f)   Segregation

(g)  Poor curing

(h) Too high of water content.

Causes of structural failures and other

i.              It can cause by bad design, faulty construction, foundation failure, extraordinary loads, natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, cyclones and fires.

ii.            Poor communication between the various design professionals involved, e.g. engineers involved in conceptual design and those involved in the supervision of execution of works.

iii.         Poor communication between the fabricators and erectors.

iv.         Bad workmanship, which is often the result of failure to communicates the design decisions to the persons, involved in executing them.

v.            Compromises in professional ethics and failure to appreciate the responsibility of the profession to the community at large could also result in catastrophic failures.

vi.         Lack of appropriate professional design and construction experience, especially when more structure are needed.

vii.       Complexity of codes and specifications leading to misinterpretation and misapplication.

viii.    Unwarranted belief in calculations and in specified extreme loads and properties.

ix.         Inadequate preparation and review of contract and shop drawings.

x.            Poor training of field inspections.

xi.         Compressed design and construction time.

xii.       Overloading the ground: The bearing capacity of the ground can be exceeded by increasing the load that the building applied to it. Ground movement causing cracking of walls, structural failure and ultimately structural collapse.

xiii.    Overloading the structure: The structure of a building can become overloaded due to excessive quantities of materials been supported by the building. Structural element been overloaded beyond their design limit. Weakening structural element, rendering them incapable of supporting their own load and also abuse of the structure.

Causes of Functional Failure

Defects in requirements, design, process, quality control, handling or part application, which are the underlying causes or sequence of causes that initiate a process (mechanism) that lead to a failure mode over a certain time. A failure mode may have more causes. For instance, fatigue or corrosion of a structural beam or fretting corrosion in an electrical contact. The related failure mode is a “Full fracture of structural beam” or “an open electrical contact”. The initial cause might have been “improper application of the corrosion protection layer (paint)” or abnormal vibration input from another possibly failed system”.

Causes of Economic Failure

It is caused by economic depression, material unrest, and highly increased poorly level of workmanship thereby reducing the value of the component of the building – financial estimate crashes can also be part of it causes.

Causes of Progressive Failure

–         Miscommunication between contractors and engineering documents in this case, workers may improperly install specific structural elements that can lead to weakened structural members throughout the building. Some contractors may be pressed for time to where they may improperly address key connections or finishing techniques to adequate install the structure.

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        Improper inspection or overlooking structural issues also lead to progressive failure. In some cases, proper inspection may find a faulty member or connection yet may not properly document it or resolve the issue due to poor miscommunication.

–         It takes place in the design phase of a building. If structures go for years without receiving proper maintenance, rust or other material failures can occur which weakened the structure and make it more susceptible to a progressive failure. Engineers may under-design specific elements because of an underestimation of load which in turn cause higher stresses on specific structural elements.

Causes of Aesthetic Failure

i)                   Rise of dampness

ii)                Pilling of paint cause by water or void created when mixing and casting the materials (i.e. cement, sand, coarse aggregate).

 CONCLUSION

In analyzing construction defects, the parties often identify the specific type of failure at issue to gain a full understanding of the potential ramification of each problem. If this information is not offered by expects in their analysis, then it should be developed through inquiry. Theoretically, a functional, structural, aesthetic or economic failure could be either progressive or non-progressive, in general, all defects and failure can be categorized according to the above types.