Resumen de Managing Health & Safety Risks: Nº62: Robustness

The Institution of Structural Engineers' Health and Safety Panel

• Article No. 55 in this series discussed structural safety and highlighted ‘robustness’ as a key attribute. The demand that structures be ‘robust’ is enshrined in building regulations, yet it causes difficulties because, unlike other safety attributes, it is not a quality easily defined by mathematical equation. Hence, there are problems for designers in knowing what to do (and how much to provide) and there are problems for regulators in verifying that what is provided is sufficient. Many safety issues on site can be traced back to a failure to assure robustness in temporary works.