Join us to help elevate Forensic Engineering!

The 9th Forensic Engineering Congress will bring together practicing engineers, academics and forensic experts from various disciplines to share their knowledge and experience. Attendees will be poised to elevate their practice by learning from the experience of others and attending workshops led by industry experts, by forming new relationships and renew existing contacts in the forensic engineering community and among collaborating professionals in related disciplines, and by learning about failures that may be relevant to their work.

Our experts will present and you won't want to miss it!

Session Title: (Track C) Permanent Bracing for Wood Trusses: Why a Building in Snow Country Cannot Survive Without it
Date & Time: Sunday, 11/6 at 1:30 p.m. MDT
Presenters: Alice Roache and Theresa Ahlborn (Michigan Technological University)

Summary: In regions with heavy snow loads, bracing to prevent web member buckling becomes a critical, yet easily neglected, strengthening component within a building’s structural system. This presentation reviews permanent bracing requirements for wood trusses, illustrates a case study of an individual truss with significantly reduced strength from missing or improper bracing, and discusses indicators that structural inspectors can look for to ensure a roof is properly braced while helping the building owner answer the question, “When should I shovel my roof?”

Session Title: (Track B) Cloud-Based GIS Mapping Software as an Evaluation Tool for Condition Assessments
Date & Time: Monday, 11/7 at 8:30 a.m. MDT
Presenters: Alice Roache, Mike Cousins, Austin Doezema; and Mark Muszynski (Gonzaga University)

Summary: In June 2018, a thousand-year storm dropped nearly seven inches of rain in under nine hours across regions of Michigan's Upper Peninsula resulting in a federal major disaster declaration. This presentation illustrates the use of cloud-based GIS mapping software for rapid evaluation of 44 washed out and 40 blocked or collapsed culverts along 9.5 miles of recreation trial just north of Lake Linden. Its use allowed engineers to define specific parameters for condition assessment, record site observations, and geo-locate the data in real time to allow for rapid evaluation, improve communication with key stakeholders, and enable faster data review for immediate risk assessments and remedial work cost comparisons.
 

Click here to register!