The Ingenieur Vol 59 July-Sept 2014 The Ingenieur Vo. 59, July-Sept 2014 | Page 8

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

INGENIEUR

Safe Engineering

T

he recent spate of building failures and
work site accidents has resulted in adverse
publicity for the engineering profession.
Some may be minor in nature such as ceiling
collapse or pipe burst above false ceiling for
public buildings, etc. It nevertheless points to
the question of our level of professionalism in
discharging our duties as professionals. The
most recent cave-in incident at a busy road
junction in Kuala Lumpur, relating to temporary
works underground again provoked negative
remarks from the public; many frustrated with
the inconvenience caused, although no fatality
occurred.
Taking cognizance of the above, the Ministry
of Works Malaysia has formed an Expert Panel
whose main scope, among others, is to promote
safe engineering particularly in the construction
industry. More mitigating measures are to be
expected once the details have been fine tuned.
Safe engineering which relates to reliability
of a product or structure should start early from
the design stage. Risk assessment at this stage
can ٔͅ