Failed Project Failed Engineering Project

Many projects fail. That is the nature of progress. Thomas Alva Edison was one of the greatest failures that ever attempted a project (Beals, 1999), but he is also regarded as one of the greatest successes . His life is proof that failure can be a learning experience such as discovering a new adhesive (NAEP, 1999), but more often the failure leads to disaster and knee jerk regulations. Many failures come as the product of faulty planning and improper diligence on the part of the engineers involved. One such tragedy that was directly attributed to the structural engineers involved was the collapse of the Hyatt Regency walkways in July of 1981. This paper will discuss the project criteria, success criteria, and why the structure failed.

Kansas City, being the middle-most large city in the United States has long been a popular destination for conferences. Due to this fact, many hotels have been built to ensure...

The goal of the Hyatt project was to construct a 40-story hotel structure that had walkways that would enhance the view for patrons who were traversing the second, third and fourth floors (Engineering.com, 2006). To this end, three walkways were constructed. The second and fourth floor skywalks were in direct line and the third floor walk was offset from the others.
The project was awarded by the Crown Center Development Corporation to GCE International a "professional consulting firm of structural engineers" (Engineering.com, 2006). The consulting engineers worked directly with the parent company to design and then contract out the project. Elbridge Construction Company was chosen as the general construction firm, and they, in turn, sub-contracted the fabrication of the atrium steel for the building to Havens Steel Company.

The overall project…