SECTION I: INTRODUCTION
Because only a narrow gap existed between school buildings, the
school staff cut doors into the gable-end walls of the buildings. The
ad-hoc change removed bracing designed to help the building
resist earthquakes and hurricanes. With doors only at the end of
the long row of classrooms, building evacuation was also serious
compromised. Photo: Bill Flinn.
When the site could not accommodate three standardised school
building blocks, on-site engineers were able to improvise effectively,
designing a staggered arrangement without compromising safety.
Photo: Bill Flinn.
Both successful and unsuccessful examples of design
modification show that technical management can make a
huge difference in school safety. Having a suite of approved
design alternatives can be a good option when on-site
technical capacity is low, providing the site manager with
reasonable flexibility. Further trainings and quality control
can then be used to bolster the technical capacity of
these local site managers. However, if further training is
not possible, designs can be modified effectively if both
qualified engineers and architects are on-site regularly.
training taught local contractors to identify high-quality sand
and gravel, they often chose to purchase cheap, low-quality
goods.
Develop capacity and bolster
livelihoods while building
a culture of safety
To build community capacity and place disaster risk
reduction at the forefront of all decisions, Save the Children
formed Safer Construction and Disaster Risk Reduction
Teams at each site. The process involved creating a detailed
construction manual, posters of key concepts and models
of rebar bending and lapping. They also held training
sessions with builders and taught risk-analysis workshops
to the school PTA and community members. Even with
those strong steps, building risk reduction capacity during a
humanitarian response was challenging.
Posters and a detailed training manual in Creole were used
to communicate building schematics, material quality and
the construction process. These materials were developed
with the intention of helping Haitian engineers with onsite instruction. However, this communication style was
not always in-sync with how local builders understood
information. The team had more success with color-coded
physical models showing the proper placement of steel
reinforcement bars. Another challenge was that although
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Significant training also was required to achieve the desired
quality of construction. During site visits in the pilot phase,
local engineers saw apparent high-quality construction but
did not always have sufficient training to understand when
external building elements were misleading. For them, if
the required building elements were present then it passed
the test but they did not always realise the quantity and
placement of these elements was paramount in Haiti’s high
seismic and hurricane risk environment. For example, the
lack of roof gable braces and sparse nailing patterns on
timber frame connectors were not seen as problematic when
they should have been.
While te aching local engineers about hazard-resistant
design was a clear necessity in Haiti, additional benefits
might have been gained by including skilled tradespeople,
as well as other community members, in the earliest stages.
These individuals could have assisted in some aspects
of quality control, providing the double dividend of safer
construction and increased community awareness on
hazard-resistant construction techniques. Though it may
seem unlikely that the community would spot what engineers
would not, effective training from structural engineers with
extensive knowledge on seismicity can increase community
knowledge, aptitude and practice of safe design.
The community’s long-term interest in the safety of their
students might have provided extra motivation to ensure the
school met top safety standards. Perhaps, just as valuable
as a safer school, a more aware community may have
increased demand for safer construction. Though the results
may have been diffuse, the long-term impact would have
been more important than any single building.