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> The lack of documented concern from the contracted engineers about the inconsequentiality of the cable pullouts or the safety factors between Hurricane Maria
by deskr 2y ago
> The lack of documented concern from the contracted engineers about the inconsequentiality of the cable pullouts or the safety factors between Hurricane Maria in 2017 and the failure is alarming.
This is crazy. Basically cables were pulling out for months and years and no one raised the alarm? In many industries that could be a criminal or career ending malpractice. Are the "contracted engineers" liable?
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- magicalhippo 2y agoIn chapter 5 they go into how the ownership was transferred to the University of Central Florida (UCF) at the start of 2018, after the hurricanes in 2017. It seems unlikely that UCF had adequate time and resources to review and understand the Arecibo Telescope's original 1963 design, the 1974 upgrade, the structural inspection and maintenance records produced for nearly 50 years, [...] and the key factors, such as the wire breaks and cable pullout of the sockets and their significance on the strength and integrity of the structure. The measured cable pullout may have appeared "normal" to [the UCF staff] and was not on their radar as signs of structural distress. The lack of concern may be because a small cable pullout was present from the beginning, and no one in authority had previously raised an alarm But yeah, seems weird no-one of the contractors tried to raise an alarm.
- hinkley 2y agoI bet there’s a r/MaliciousCompliance in Spanish out there somewhere about how UCF cancelled existing maintenance contracts and hired new companies to keep an eye on the equipment, and did it so rudely that the old company didn’t hand over important warnings like this. Discontinuity could explain problems like this readily.
- renewiltord 2y ago[flagged]
- haccount 2y agoAnyone in the field will likely say that they wouldn't trust half of their colleagues or themselves. It's pretty much how professional prestigious positions work. Beneath the gilding there's duct tape repaired with super glue.
- renewiltord 2y agoThat's how software works. But professional engineers are professionals. They have certifications. They have an iron ring. It's real.
- LaffertyDev 2y ago> Professional Engineers do not make mistakes. They are real engineers. My _literal_ engineering 101 case studies on "engineering failure": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacoma_Narrows_Bridge_(1940) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacoma_Narrows_Bridge_(1940) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyatt_Regency_walkway_collapse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyatt_Regency_walkway_collapse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-35W_Mississippi_River_bridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-35W_Mississippi_River_bridge Are all failures traced down to the underlying design and engineering. Granted, they are famous because they are rare. I almost linked the Columbia disaster but that is sufficiently murky between engineer and management. Stop being elitist.
- LorenPechtel 2y agoBut that would have required spending money. And why would the engineers be liable? They weren't being paid to fix it.
- kreims 2y agoYou go to school and learn that 2+2=4. You get a consulting job and learn 2+2= whatever the client says it is. I wouldn’t jump to the conclusion that the consulting engineer was incompetent. Sometimes a bureaucrat tells you to sharpen your pencils and come back with the answer That fits the budget they have if you want to keep your professional services contract going.
- cssanchez 2y agoThey specifically stated a lack of documented concern by the engineers. First thing you learn as a contractor is CYA.
- foxglacier 2y agoYea and that's a violation of professional ethics. Being corrupt or working for a corrupt organization in no way justifies it. Professionals are trusted by society to act responsibly even when it's against the interests of their clients or employers.
- rovr138 2y agoSpecially licensed professionals.
- kreims 2y agoIf only you knew how bad things really are.
- foxglacier 2y agoHowever bad they are, it's the fault of the engineer. You can't excuse that with "but everyone does it".
- londons_explore 2y agoSince the design had a factor of safety of 2, and no other cables exhibited pull out at such high safety factors, checking such things might not even have been on the checklist.
- bsder 2y ago> Basically cables were pulling out for months and years and no one raised the alarm? And what if they did? Then what? My guess is the conversation went something like this: "Okay, cables are pulling out. Raising this issue will not magically make money appear to fix it as nobody wants to fund this. Tell me, how much do you like your job? If you flag this, you may lose your job directly and if the project gets shut down you may lose your job indirectly. So, how about we bury this as much as possible, cross our fingers and bank as much money as possible in the meantime, eh?"
- foxglacier 2y agoIt creates a paper trail that transfers liability from the individual to their employer, which then incentivizes them to make it safe somehow, even if that means shutting down and demolishing the whole thing. Better that than somebody getting killed.
- 8bitsrule 2y agoHmmm. I was just looking this over a couple of days ago. On Nov 19 2020, NPR was already reporting that "Sean Jones, Director for the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate at the NSF, said the telescope will be dismantled. ... after receiving ... the engineering assessments, we have found no path forward that would allow us to do so safely..." https://www.npr.org/2020/11/19/936677582/world-renowned-arecibo-telescope-set-to-be-dismantled https://www.npr.org/2020/11/19/936677582/world-renowned-arec... In retrospect, it seems that, -at its age- the design got in the way of repairs. The scope made possible a lot of great finds in its day, but it'd become too weak to save.