Forensic structural investigation and root-cause analysis fundamentals, plus nine real diagnostic scenarios in a symptoms-diagnosis-investigation-resolution format — progressive collapse triggers, differential settlement, connection failures, corrosion, formwork collapse, overload, decay, and more.
A structural failure almost never announces its actual root cause at first glance, and this module builds the diagnostic discipline that separates a defensible forensic conclusion from a plausible-sounding guess: following physical and historical evidence to a conclusion rather than starting from an assumed cause, distinguishing proximate cause from root cause, and ruling out competing explanations before settling on one. From there the module works through nine real diagnostic scenarios — an unengineered wall removal triggering progressive collapse, diagonal cracking from differential foundation settlement, an under-bolted steel moment connection, chloride-driven rebar corrosion behind a spalling balcony, a formwork collapse during concrete placement, an unauthorized rooftop equipment overload, a decayed deck ledger, a corroding post-tensioned tendon, and a roof truss overstressed by snow drift.
By the end of this module you should be able to explain why visible damage like concrete spalling is usually a lagging indicator rather than an early warning sign, and why the RFI logs, submittal reviews, and field reports built during Module 16's construction administration process are frequently the first documents a forensic investigation reaches for.