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March 2020:  CROSS-US Newsletter 1

CROSS-US learning from lockdown: structural safety hazards from COVID-19

CROSS-US would welcome your reports on new structural safety hazards arising from these or other consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic; your reports will help us learn for the future.

Safety hazards might be in the present during lockdown, be in the future as we hopefully get back to normal afterwards or become embedded in the built fabric and give problems in years to come. What are you finding that we should learn from as a result of:

• concerns about designs, checks or quality assurance;
• works suspended, sites closed, structures left part-built;
• revised work methods or changed supervision practice that have knock-on effects to structural safety;
• consequences of 24/7 higher occupation of residential buildings during lockdown;
• consequences of vacancy of non-residential buildings, or non-use of other structural assets;
• postponement or curtailing of safety or inspections or maintenance activity;
• loss of look, see, touch, feel - the intuitive engagement with hazard, risk and early warning signs;
• other responses to this terrible crisis.

SUBMIT CROSS-US REPORT

CROSS-US (Confidential Reporting on Structural Safety - United States)

CROSS-US is a confidential reporting system established to capture and share lessons learned from structural safety issues which might not otherwise get public recognition. Our Panel provides expert commentary to help engineers learn from the experiences of others. CROSS-US will help the profession and improve public safety.

CROSS-US builds on the success of CROSS-UK, the UK based system that has been operating since 2005 with demonstrable public safety outcomes. It depends on individuals and firms participating by sending reports of their experiences and concerns on structural safety in confidence.

Reports submitted to CROSS-US are completely confidential and neither personal details nor information that could be used to identify a project or product are seen by anyone other than the Designated Persons as detailed on our People page.

We are deeply saddened by the loss of our friend Robert Ratay, who passed away on 3 January 2020.  A long-time supporter of CROSS, Bob was an enthusiastic and dedicated member of the CROSS-US Expert Panel.  For more information on Bob and his outstanding contributions to structural engineering visit our People page.

Welcome to CROSS-US

As professional engineers we have a profound duty to ensure the safety of all those who use the structures we design and build. Sharing feedback on near misses or concerns is not always easy, and CROSS is a successful community platform to allow professionals to do this simply, without attributing blame. 

Learning across national boundaries is vital as frequently the experiences in one country are directly relevant to another. The CROSS model has operated successfully in the UK for many years, and we are working to expand it as an international safety reporting scheme wherever we can.

I would like to thank all my fellow SEI members who rose to the challenge of formally establishing CROSS-US. By doing so you have made an invaluable contribution to safety in the built environment.

With my best wishes

Glenn Bell, President, Structural Engineering Institute of ASCE, 2019-20

Visit our Confidential Reporting page to find out more about our system or if you have an experience that could be useful to others, please contribute by submitting a report.

Recent Publications from CROSS International Partners

Recent publications from CROSS International partners include:

July 2020                CROSS-UK Newsletter 59

February 2020        CROSS-AUS Newsletter 3

January 2020         CROSS-UK Newsletter 57

SUBMIT CROSS-US REPORT

MORE REPORTS ARE ALWAYS NEEDED