Like a doctor first examines a patient to evaluate his/her condition, and accordingly prescribes treatment, similarly Structural Audit uses various techniques to assess the health of the structure and formulates recommendations for restoration if needed.
Periodic Structural health monitoring is necessary for industrial and residential buildings, bridges, airports and similar structures. There are various measures used for examination of structures viz., visual inspection, non-destructive and destructive testing, and chemical analysis.
These tests help to find whether the existing structures have deteriorated to pose safety risks, such as wear and tear, weathering, corrosion etc. Based on the evaluation, the audit report recommends various corrective measures (structural repair, strengthening, crack sealing, painting, etc.) to restore the structure of its safe condition.
Why it is important:
It is very crucial for civic engineers, contractors and property owners to be conscious about the health check of existing structures to gauge the extent of deterioration over time.
In the recent past, if we talk about Kolkata, we have witnessed many unfortunate incidents of fly-over bridge collapse in the city. For instance, the Majerhat bridge collapse incident (Alipore, Kolkata, 2018) and Vivekananda flyover collapse (2016). A proper structural audit may have prevented the disasters. Similarly, due to improper or absence of structural audits, many other cities have witnessed various buildings and bridge collapses.
Structural Audit Purpose:
- To identify the flaws, weaknesses and deficiencies
- To validate the load condition
- To safeguard property and human lives
- To enhance the longevity of structures.
When to conduct the Structural Audit?
The structural audit is obligatory as per Bye Law No. 77. Every building ranging from 15 to 30 years old should carry out a structural assessment once every 5 years. Similarly, buildings older than 30 years need the audit once every 3 years.
It’s necessary to perform structural audits for bridges after every 15 to 20 years.
One can initiate audit even earlier if the condition of the existing structure is poor.
Please note that the structural audit is only conducted by a certified and experienced consultant.
After the audit is performed, if the structural engineer suggests any repair, it should be completed within the given time-frame as mentioned in the audit report. The property owner or the contractor should not fail the deadline (not exceed more than 6 months) to prevent any legal action.
Structural health audit is imperative for the safety of property and people.