NEWS
RADIOHEAD CORONER’S INQUEST RECOMMENDATIONS CONSIDERED BY PEO COUNCIL By Adam Sidsworth
One month before the engineer involved with the Radiohead temporary stage collapse went before PEO’s disciplinary panel, Council considered key recommendations stemming from the coroner’s inquest into the death of Radiohead drum technician Scott Johnson. At its November 15, 2019, meeting, Council voted to publish its Design Evaluation and Field Review of Demountable Event and Related Structures practice guideline. The guideline was developed by PEO’s Professional Standards Committee over the last three years and began prior to the coroner’s April 10, 2019, delivery of its verdict into the death of Johnson. Johnson died on June 16, 2012, when the event’s temporary stage collapsed just hours before the band was scheduled to take stage. PEO developed the guideline with consultation from numerous stakeholders, including the Large Municipalities Chief Building Officials, the provincial ministries of Labour and Municipal Affairs, Consulting Engineers of Ontario and the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers. The guideline sets the best practices for the design evaluation of demountable event structures as defined in the Ontario Building Code and similar structures exempted from it, such as television and movie sets, and structures exempt due to size or height in addition to demountable event structures designed by practitioners for multiple locations. The document recommends that engineers working with demountable structures: Should “take reasonable steps to confirm that the design or verifi• cation [of other engineers licensed in Ontario] is valid by advising the prior engineer of the proposed design reuse and location”; • Ensure that “drawings should be clear and consistent, including their measurement system…explain key elements in plain language, include a legend for any acronyms and…include an index of all drawings and documents that constitute the complete set of design and erection drawings”; and • “Should confirm with their client that only sealed drawings and documents are final versions and that only sealed drawings and documents are to be used for fabrication, erection or operation of the demountable event structure.” Many of the guidelines’ contents stem directly from the coroner’s recommendations. The coroner had 28 recommendations, 21 of which were directed at PEO (see “Radiohead coroner’s inquest issues recommendations,” Engineering Dimensions, July/August 2019, p. 19). During the 12 days of testimony, the temporary stage’s engineer, Domenic Cugliari, who has since resigned his engineering licence, told the inquest that his sealed plans lacked detail, and Optex Staging, which constructed the stage, stated that it lacked a truss called for in the drawings. Both Cugliari and Optex Staging, along with the concert’s promoter, Live Nation, were charged under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, but those charges were eventually dropped after a judge cited the defendants’ rights to a speedy trial. Johnson’s family and Radiohead repeatedly expressed their frustrations regarding the lack of judicial oversight.
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Engineering Dimensions
ADDITIONAL RADIOHEAD MOTIONS Two additional recommendations stemming from the Radiohead coroner’s report were presented at the Council meeting separately from the motion to approve the Design Evaluation and Field Review of Demountable Event and Related Structures, due to possible necessary amendments to the Professional Engineers Act (PEA). In one motion, Council voted against one of the coroner’s recommendations by opting not to proceed with creating a specialist designation for professional engineers designing and inspecting demountable event structures, despite comments from Past President David Brown, P.Eng., BDS, C.E.T., that “more often than not, when we look at discipline cases, it has something to do with the building industry…we have the same licence, but we’re not equal. And from what I’ve seen from the evidence in the [Gazette], a lot of times engineers make a poor ethical decision because they’re not qualified, and they get in trouble for doing this…It’s a very quick check box for a building inspector and other people to see they’re dealing with people who are properly trained.” However, Council’s vote aligned with a recommendation from PEO’s Professional Standards Committee, which stated in a policy analysis that it would create a “two-tier” system in our profession and that “the market for demountable structure engineering specialists is very small, with a handful of key players and organizations.” In another motion that had councillors strongly vocalizing their opinions, Council sided with the coroner’s recommendation to require members to file an annual report that would include identifying the engineering areas in which they report.
January/February 2020