Structural Safety :: Confidential Reporting on Structural Safety

Recent Reports

AUS-21 Inspection and maintenance of Super-T bridge girders

Durability and maintenance of bridge Super-T girders with particular reference to the lack of access to inspect the sealed internal cavities.

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AUS-19 GFRP reinforcement in concrete structures

A correspondent has become aware of work being undertaken in the field of glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) reinforcement as a substitute for steel rebar in concrete structures and is deeply concerned by what they have observed.

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Current matters
under consideration

Maintenance of structures
Quality of documentation
Competency
Balconies & Balustrades
Communication and change management
Design of RC walls
Temporary works
Light gauge steel trusses
GFRP reinforcement
Tower crane bases
Non-structural elements

Reports on these subjects are sought, as well as on any other safety issues.

Latest Newsletter

CROSS-AUS Newsletter 4 - August 2020

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Recent Publications

August 2020 CROSS-AUS Newsletter 4

February 2020 CROSS-AUS Newsletter 3

September 2019 CROSS-AUS First Anniversary

CROSS-AUS Newsletter 4 has been published with several Reports covering a range of issues and in particular Report AUS-21 raises an intriguing question about the inspectability of the voids incorporated into Super-T bridge girders and AUS-18 raises concerns about the adequacy of balustrades on high rise buildings.

We encourage you to read this Newsletter and provide us with your comments and feedback on any of the content of this or previous Newsletters. Or better still, submit your own report on any safety issues or matters of concern that you may have.

Please pass this Newsletter on to any of your colleagues who may not be aware of CROSS-AUS.

Note: if you think you have signed up via our website to get email updates and you did not receive this most recent Newsletter, it may be that your email system blocked the confirmation email that you should have received. In that case send us an email to administrator@cross-aus.org.au and we will try to help you resolve the matter.

Latest News: We are pleased to welcome Engineers Australia (EA), Engineering New Zealand (ENZ) and the Structural Engineering Society New Zealand (SESOC) as CROSS-AUS Supporters

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

CROSS-AUS 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-AUS REPORT

CROSS-AUS (Confidential Reporting on Structural Safety - Australasia)

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

CROSS-AUS builds on the success of CROSS, the UK based schemes 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-AUS 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.

Welcome to CROSS-AUS.

As President of The Institution of Structural Engineers, I was privileged to launch CROSS-Australasia during the ASEC 2018 conference in Adelaide in September 2018.

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 IStructE members who rose to the challenge of formally establishing CROSS-AUS. By doing so you have made an invaluable contribution to safety in the built environment.

With my best wishes

Faith Wainwright, President of the Institution of Structural Engineers 2018

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