L E M B A GA JURUTERA MALAYSIA
BOARD OF ENGINEERS MALAYSIA
THE
INGENIEUR
VOL.76
OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2018
KDN PP 11720/4/2013 (032270)
MAGAZINE OF T HE BOARD O F ENGINEERS MALA Y S I A
FORENSIC
ENGINEERING
FORENSIC ENGINEERING
PIE viaduct collapse: Jail for engineer who knew
of calculation errors but failed to fix them – (The
Straits Times Singapore)
The engineer who prepared the building work
plans for the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) viaduct
that collapsed in July 2017 was on Monday
December 2, 2019 sentenced to 86 weeks jail, or
slightly over one year and nine months, as well as
a fine of S$10,000.
In delivering her sentence, Deputy Presiding
Judge S. Jennifer Marie said that the potential for
harm in this case was high.
Indonesian Robert Arianto Tjandra, 46,
the qualified person from subcontractor CPG
Consultants, knew his team of engineers was
inexperienced in designing bridges, but failed to
give them guidance or instructions.
He also failed to check the design assumptions
made for the corbels, which are support
structures, between the affected vertical columns
that collapsed. The viaduct rests on these vertical
columns which are called piers.
Even after he was aware of the errors in the
calculations made by the engineering team, he
failed to take the necessary remedial steps.
It was this reckless act that resulted in the
collapse of the PIE viaduct, which killed Chinese
worker Chen Yinchuan, 31, and injured 10 others.
The 11 workers, who were working on the
affected deck slab, fell to the ground from a height
of at least 9m.
Arianto Tjandra, a Singapore permanent
resident, had faced five charges under the
Building Control Act and the Workplace Safety
and Health Act – the highest among those who
were charged.
Building Death (NST)
The Construction Industry Development Board
of Malaysia (CIDB) in its 2018 report set off
the alarm thus: “The Malaysian construction
industry is killing its workforce at a rate which is
approximately 10 times higher than that in the
United Kingdom.”
Between 2001 and 2016, the fatal accident
rate increased from 10.7 to 12.8, a rise of 20%.
The picture is different in the UK. There, the fatal
accident rate in the construction industry over the
same period dropped from 4.9 to 1.3, a slide of
70%.
The statistics for 2018 — the latest figures
available — aren’t pretty for us either. According
to the Department Of Occupational Safety and
Health (DOSH), there were 169 fatalities and
3,911 accidents in that year.
And the numbers have been growing from bad
to worse. There is reason to be worried.
The construction industry employs an
estimated 1.2 million workers or close to 10% of
Malaysia’s workforce. Plus, it is a major contributor
to our economy. Last year, the industry was worth
approximately RM146 billion.
The construction industry is too important to be
left to its own devices. What ails the construction
industry? CIDB provides some insights. The industry
is constructed around cheap, unskilled labour.
Safety is the least of its concern. If safety
does enter into the equation at all, it is all on the
contractors’ account. In the end, the workers pay
with their lives and limbs.
And most of them are migrant workers, with no
one taking interest in their welfare.
9,429 Construction Site Notices issued (NST)
Occupational safety and health advocate Tan
Sri Lee Lam Thye said based on the number of
fatalities and injuries arising from construction
accidents in the country, these issues can no
longer be ignored.
He said the Department of Occupational Safety
and Health issued 9,429 notices last year from
10,917 construction sites inspected.
The notices included 740 compounds and 113
cases filed for safety and health offences.
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