Joint lecture offers challenge to thinking on safety priorities

摘要

Remembering disasters of the past and learning from them is a crucial part of the work of engineers, and it is vital to pass on the knowledge to students. This was the message from Gordon Masterton, Vice President, Jacobs and Past ICE President, who gave the joint ICE / IStructE Annual Lecture on 'Safety first as second nature: a question of priorities' on 12 July.rnHe took his audience through a sobering list of major disasters which had taken place in the UK since 1900, from which he made suggestions for action. He reminded them that civil and structural engineers had learnt valuable lessons from air crashes and ship disasters, not just those involving structures. 'We should study all failures, not just those in our discipline.'