Failure and Disaster Response | Services

Services

Failure and Disaster Response

WJE has investigated virtually every major structural collapse in the United States since 1970.

Michael Koob
Unit Manager and Senior Principal

Structural Evaluation

Facade Assessment

Roofing and Waterproofing

Failure and Disaster Response

Historic Preservation

Repair and Rehabilitation

Peer Review and Commissioning

Bridge Engineering

Earthquake Engineering

Blast Engineering

Materials Evaluation and Research

Testing and Instrumentation

Litigation Consulting

No one expects their building or structure to fail. Yet when the unexpected occurs, you need to know how and why it happened. Thousands of clients have relied on WJE to provide responsive and professional services in the aftermath of structural failures, fires, and natural disasters. You can trust our experienced professionals to conduct a thorough assessment of existing conditions, gathering the information necessary to understand the cause and extent of damage. Our problem-solving approach based on a first-principles understanding of structural systems, construction materials, and hazards has enabled us to conclusively determine the causes of structural failures. Our resume of past success in failure investigations includes the 1981 walkway collapse at the Kansas City Hyatt Regency; structures damaged by the terrorist attacks on September 11; and the recent collapse of the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota. We share the lessons learned from studying these failures to improve codes and standards, which leads to safer designs.

We have earned a reputation as the firm that responds quickly to catastrophic events, frequently arriving on site the same day of a disaster. Following the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma in 2005, teams of WJE professionals were among the first responders to arrive in the Gulf Coast. WJE assessed more than thirty-five hundred properties—crucial work that needed to be completed before the rebuilding process could begin. And we can help with recovery, providing design services to make your structure safer and stronger than before.

Cause and origin studies

Stabilization designs

Damage assessment and documentation

Failure simulation modeling

Load testing

Repair and rehabilitation design

FEATURED PROJECTS

Browse Failure and Disaster Response Projects

City of Snellville Billboard Collapse
Construction Quality Assessment
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MacArthur Maze Fire and Collapse
Fire-damage Assessment and Structural Testing
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Hyatt Regency New Orleans
Investigation and Repair of Curtain Wall Hurricane Damage
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