DMN Blog: Summit Structures comments on facility collapse

[WoodysGirl]

10:34 AM Mon, May 04, 2009 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
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A statement from Summit Structures regarding Saturday's incident at the Cowboys' Valley Ranch facility:

Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured and their families. This is obviously a very difficult time for each of them and for the Cowboys organization. I have flown to Texas along with other representatives of our company to assist in anyway possible. We will be working with the Cowboys organization and local professionals and officials to fully assess this severe weather event. Here is a statement from the National Weather Service regarding the conditions at the time: "PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT​

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX​

842 PM CDT SAT MAY 2 2009​

RESULTS OF VALLEY RANCH DAMAGE SURVEY...BASED ON A SURVEY OF THE ON-SITE DAMAGE...RADAR IMAGERY...AND EYEWITNESS REPORTS...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETERMINED THAT A MICROBURST IMPACTED THE VALLEY RANCH AREA OF FAR NORTH IRVING. MAXIMUM WINDS NEAR THE GROUND WERE ESTIMATED NEAR 70 MPH. RESEARCH HAS INDICATED THAT WIND SPEEDS IN HIGH WIND EVENTS OFTEN INCREASE CONSIDERABLY IN THE LOWEST FEW HUNDRED FEET ABOVE THE GROUND. THEREFORE...IT IS QUITE POSSIBLE THAT WINDS GREATER THAN 70 MPH AFFECTED THE UPPER PORTIONS OF THE DAMAGED STRUCTURES. A MICROBURST IS A SMALL...INTENSE DOWNDRAFT WHICH RESULTS IN A LOCALIZED AREA OF STRONG THUNDERSTORM WINDS. IN EXTREME CASES...MICROBURSTS CAN HAVE WINDS WHICH EXCEED 100 MPH."​

As some basic background: Summit Structures installed this facility in 2003, which was manufactured at our manufacturing plant in Saskatoon, Canada. The engineering, and related approvals for the facility were managed by professional engineers licensed to practice engineering in Texas, both in 2003 and again in 2008 when the building was upgraded and a new roof covering was installed on the facility.​

We understand there is a great deal of concern and curiosity about what happened on Saturday, but rather than speculate, we are focused on being part of the effort to find answers and assist the team.​

Thank you for your time,​

Nathan Stobbe​

President​

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[DallasEast]

That was a very appropriate press release in my opinion. It expresses sympathy, demonstrates cooperation, includes information related to conditions which may have contributed to the catastrophe (e.g. weather report) and a concise summary of the building's construction. While it doesn't absolve the company of any blame, it does afford them the opportunity to create understanding and patience with both the Dallas Cowboys organization and the general public as the investigation continues to discover the true causes behind this tragedy.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

A microburst is what brought down that Delta jet at DFW in 1985 that killed over 100 people.

They are extremely powerful forces. If that's what hit the structure, it's not surprising it came down.

 

[Cowboys22]

That was a very appropriate press release in my opinion. It expresses sympathy, demonstrates cooperation, includes information related to conditions which may have contributed to the catastrophe (e.g. weather report) and a concise summary of the building's construction. While it doesn't absolve the company of any blame, it does afford them the opportunity to create understanding and patience with both the Dallas Cowboys organization and the general public as the investigation continues to discover the true causes behind this tragedy.

I read it a little differently. To me it sounded as if they were subtly trying to place blame solely on the weather when that has yet to be determined. I have seen things in the videos and heard things from people who were inside that lead me to think there may have been some type of problem with the facility itself. Rain felt inside before it collapsed, the interior fabric waving as if being hit by wind, and a non bent metal pole falling from the ceiling before the collapse tell a little different story. I think the new fabric was installed incorrectly or it ripped due to the severe weather. This allowed the rain and strong winds to get inside and its not suprising at all that it collapsed if 60-70 mph winds got inside. If that is the case, that building was nothing but a giant sail waiting for a strong enough gust to destroy it.

 

[burmafrd]

Anyone know the design requirements- at what wind speed it was designed to withstand?

 

[joseephuss]

Anyone know the design requirements- at what wind speed it was designed to withstand?

http://dynamiclighting.com/html/wind velocity.pdf

http://www.steel.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=PDFs1&CONTENTID=8987&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm

These links show some typical wind speed maps used to determine the loads for building construction. These are just the starting points in the design process and you will find similar maps in the code books.

 

[tomson75]

http://dynamiclighting.com/html/wind velocity.pdf

http://www.steel.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=PDFs1&CONTENTID=8987&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm

These links show some typical wind speed maps used to determine the loads for building construction. These are just the starting points in the design process and you will find similar maps in the code books.

Hmmm....that's surprising that the DFW area is among the lower end of the wind speed spectrum when it comes to building codes. I would figure the potential for violent weather out there would far exceed that of my area.

I also find it funny that Hatteras has amongst the highest...as I've lived in and seen some pretty shoddy buildings in the Outer Banks.

 

[BigDinAZ]

I read it a little differently. To me it sounded as if they were subtly trying to place blame solely on the weather when that has yet to be determined. I have seen things in the videos and heard things from people who were inside that lead me to think there may have been some type of problem with the facility itself. Rain felt inside before it collapsed, the interior fabric waving as if being hit by wind, and a non bent metal pole falling from the ceiling before the collapse tell a little different story. I think the new fabric was installed incorrectly or it ripped due to the severe weather. This allowed the rain and strong winds to get inside and its not suprising at all that it collapsed if 60-70 mph winds got inside. If that is the case, that building was nothing but a giant sail waiting for a strong enough gust to destroy it.

I took it this way as well...

 

[joseephuss]

Hmmm....that's surprising that the DFW area is among the lower end of the wind speed spectrum when it comes to building codes. I would figure the potential for violent weather out there would far exceed that of my area.

I also find it funny that Hatteras has amongst the highest...as I've lived in and seen some pretty shoddy buildings in the Outer Banks.

Those basic wind speeds are not based on violent weather conditions. Like I said those numbers are used as the starting point. Then other factors are used to get to the final design wind loads that will be applied to a building.. And after all that there still may be winds that get applied to the building that exceed the design loads or the acceptable design loads.

 

[Doomsday101]

I read it a little differently. To me it sounded as if they were subtly trying to place blame solely on the weather when that has yet to be determined. I have seen things in the videos and heard things from people who were inside that lead me to think there may have been some type of problem with the facility itself. Rain felt inside before it collapsed, the interior fabric waving as if being hit by wind, and a non bent metal pole falling from the ceiling before the collapse tell a little different story. I think the new fabric was installed incorrectly or it ripped due to the severe weather. This allowed the rain and strong winds to get inside and its not suprising at all that it collapsed if 60-70 mph winds got inside. If that is the case, that building was nothing but a giant sail waiting for a strong enough gust to destroy it.

It very well could be the weather and not faulty design. These facilities are used by many teams and can withstand bad weather but the power of a micro burst could cause the structure to fail. I'm sure investigators will look into every aspect to see what or if anything could have been done to prevent this accident.

 

[dadymat]

I read it a little differently. To me it sounded as if they were subtly trying to place blame solely on the weather when that has yet to be determined. I have seen things in the videos and heard things from people who were inside that lead me to think there may have been some type of problem with the facility itself. Rain felt inside before it collapsed, the interior fabric waving as if being hit by wind, and a non bent metal pole falling from the ceiling before the collapse tell a little different story. I think the new fabric was installed incorrectly or it ripped due to the severe weather. This allowed the rain and strong winds to get inside and its not suprising at all that it collapsed if 60-70 mph winds got inside. If that is the case, that building was nothing but a giant sail waiting for a strong enough gust to destroy it.

they are a business....that part was written by lawyers.....covering their bums.....but if the microburst theory is true then it would have brought down a brick building just the same.......

 

[PullMyFinger]

Hmmm....that's surprising that the DFW area is among the lower end of the wind speed spectrum when it comes to building codes. I would figure the potential for violent weather out there would far exceed that of my area.

I also find it funny that Hatteras has amongst the highest...as I've lived in and seen some pretty shoddy buildings in the Outer Banks.

Over the past 15 years or so there has been at least three pretty nasty tornadoes in this part of VA. One had a wall of water that knocked trucks over on the James river bridge on 295 (thats about 70 feet high), another ripped the roof off Wal Mart, killing 4 people. In 2007 there was one that stacked about a dozen cars on top of each other in a local mall parking lot.


And yes some of those houses down in Hatteras look pretty shoddy. A hurricane would wipe most out it seems.