A Study of Knowledge Flow and Recurring Costly Infrastructure Failures

Cohen Julie M, Latham NY

Investigators

Abstract

This award is for Early Concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER). It is a case study of structural engineering failures due to faulty design decisions. The PI will engage in archival research and interviews of experts in the field (and related fields including architecture) to bring to light the culture and traditions of structural engineering practice concerning the use of knowledge in design decision making. Specifically, she will focus on occurrences of inadvertent neglect of pertinent available knowledge in design decision-making that unintentionally caused failures, in some cases soon after the structures were placed into service. The PI has nine case studies planned. This grant will support research for the first of the nine planned studies, which concerns the use of galvanized high-strength steel. The PI has done preliminary historical analysis and interviews to substantiate pursuing this case in much greater depth. The results from this project will provide the foundation for the PI's larger effort, serve to introduce the Science, Technology, and Society (STS) community to an overlooked engineering profession, and bring to light decades of recurring failures, many not well publicized that, that in some respects have broader, deeper adverse effects on society than one-time (singular) catastrophic events. This project is both innovative and potentially transformative. It will develop a hybrid conceptual framework that combines Actor Network Theory (an STS approach to socio-technical systems) with a Knowledge Management Systems approach that deals with knowledge facilitators (creators, carriers, conveyors, and users), impeders, and feedback loops within and among organizations. The PI will argue that neither of the two frameworks mentioned is adequate for capturing pertinent elements of her case study, which is best understood in terms of a framework that combines the most relevant features of both frameworks. In addition, the PI will prepare/present a peer-reviewed paper for an STS journal, a peer-reviewed paper for an engineering studies journal, a technical article for a professional structural engineering magazine, and a conference paper at the 2017 meeting of the Society for Social Studies of Science. The results of this project will be of interest to members of the public as well as structural engineers, architects, and historians of technology.