Prompted by a ‘near-miss’ while driving to work this morning, I was reminded that we are all required to manage risk in our every-day lives. If you drive around a blind bend on a quiet narrow country road, there may be something just around the corner you don’t expect. That risk can be managed if you are concious of it and drive cautiously.
However, if you are driving a little too quickly, you add to that risk. If the road also happens to be covered in wet leaves, that level of risk increases again. If you keep adding other factors into the mix – such as an old car without traction control, or an extra distraction – the level of risk increases to the point where the chance of an accident occurring becomes not just possible, but probable. Not unforeseeable, but likely.
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
In July, T&TI editor, Tris Thomas wrote an editorial in which he questioned the use of the phrase ‘unforeseen ground conditions’ as an reason for some tunnelling incidents. He pointed out that, more often than not, such events are far from ‘unforeseeable’ and as an industry we must be held accountable if we want to retain our credibility.
It is encouraging to see this same sentiment echoed by the authors of this month’s article on the official report into the Pinheiros Station collapse, during construction for São Paulo Metro’s Line 4, last January (p16). Despite the complex geological conditions of the Pinheiros Station area, the ground conditions were actually found to be more or less exactly as predicted at the time of bidding. The accident is instead attributed to a number of deficiencies and omissions in engineering processes relating to the design, construction and management of the project; and a lack of quality control and risk management.
The collapse of the station had increased consequences, resulting from an inadequate emergency plan that failed to save the lives of seven people – by not ensuring the swift evacuation of all workers and members of the public from the area surrounding the shaft.
All who work in the tunnelling industry will have heard much on the subject of risk assessment and management in recent years. But the message from Brazil is that there are still lessons that need to be learnt – and put into action.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataUnfortunately, while both myself and my car did indeed manage to make it into work in one piece this morning, I arrived to be greeted with the tragic news of the Hangzhou Metro collapse, in eastern China, this weekend. Early reports state that a 75m-long section of tunnel collapsed in the Xiaoshan District of the city, trapping 50 workers, swallowing a part of a highway, and breaking the banks of a local river, in the process.
It is too early to make any real comment on this horrific tragedy, but with five workers lives now confirmed lost, another 16 feared dead, and numerous injured, it has to be the most catastrophic tunnelling accident I have yet seen during my tenure on the magazine.
With this in mind, I urge every single member of the tunnelling community – from apprentices to project managers – to re-consider the contribution they can make towards improved safety and management of risk on their project.
Amanda Foley
