The misunderstanding concerns responsibility for design detail review for a hybrid building where the precast superstructure was being constructed on a design-build basis, and the engineer of record and contractors failed to communicate properly.

In this sense, the Rockville accident is reminiscent of numerous other tragedies where responsibility slipped away partly because no one was determined enough to grasp it in their own hands or forcefully put it in someone else’s.

According to one investigator, the "cause" of the accident was the breakdown of necessary communications and design-construction integration during all project phases and affecting all parts of the building.

When a system fails, individuals are not at their best. Information in the state file shows all the customary fingerpointing. General contractor James G. Davis Construction Corp. claims the structural engineer of record had extensive knowledge that a pier was needed at location C3. The structural engineer of record, Smislova, Kehnemui & Associates, asks why a pier was built without a design. There had to have been numerous chances for those now arguing over responsibility to have settled all the issues before the fatal collapse of Nov. 15 occurred.

Culture Shock Challenges Firms Looking Ahead

The U.S. construction industry has always been adept at winning work overseas, but the lure of reconstruction contracts in places like Afghanistan and Iraq could draw some firms in over their heads. Large international firms have many resources to deal with the enormous challenges of working in the global marketplace. But the massive reconstruction of countries devastated by war could trip up the best of them.

Political and physical risks are the most treacherous and must be reckoned with. Language and cultural differences can’t be ignored either. Addressing them sensibly can unlock many opportunities for success.

The U.S. government’s conference on rebuilding Afghanistan, held in Chicago last week, went a long way to outline opportunities there. These outreach programs are a good start because many firms need an education on how to work abroad. The first lesson is to drop ethnocentric views that the world should accommodate our method of contracting rather than the other way around.

In a separate meeting, also held in Chicago last week, ENR brought together construction executives at its annual leadership conference. U.S. firms interested in China’s Olympic building plans and other work, particularly those willing to listen patiently through translation, heard rich detail from Chinese representatives.

Patience, attentiveness and sensitivity are not common construction traits, but they can help in cultures different from our own.