Human Error and the Case for Case Histories in Design

Human error in anticipating failure has been an important factor in keeping the reliability of engineering designs from achieving the theoretically high levels made possible by modern methods of analysis and materials. This is due in part to a deemphasis on engineering experience and judgement in the light of increasingly sophisticated numerical and analytical techniques. While mostly couched in terms of structural engineering, the present discussion is applicable to engineering design in general. Recommendations are made as to how the vast but underutilized store of experience contained in case histories of failures, both ancient and modern, can be tapped in a systematic way to benefit the design process and thereby improve the performance and reliability of engineering designs.