Hidden Defects 2016 - Nine ways to hide a defect

Hamish gave a well-received presentation at the Bridge Design & Engineering Hidden Defects 2016 conference in Birmingham.

It discussed some of the many ways in which damage to masonry bridges can be "hidden" in practice.

These issues are important for everyone involved in masonry bridge management, from inspectors to bridge owners.

This note covers the same material, with the same photographs, in a form that we hope is more useful than the presentation slides. 

"Hidden" as in ... 

  1. Result of or modified by hidden details
  2. Covered by lining or behind locked gates
  3. Covered by previous modification or "repair"
  4. Significance not apparent to the person looking
  5. Cause mis-diagnosed
  6. Lost in the archive
  7. Inspection and assessment results not captured or not acted upon
  8. Not looked at for way too long
  9. No-one has overview to see patterns
If you can share a few details, we'll send a copy of the notes from Hamish's presentation.