Collapse of the "Gourmet du Village" building in Morin Heights : The Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec emphasizes the importance of the professional management of construction sites

Montreal, November 19, 2008 - At the end of the press conference held by the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CSST), which today presented its investigatory report, the President of the OIQ, Mr. Zaki Ghavitian, Eng., declared that the tragedy of the collapse of the "Gourmet du Village" building in Morin Heights could probably have been avoided if there had been better coordination of the works from the start of construction. He pointed out that no engineer was in charge of managing the project as a whole. Mr. Ghavitian pointed out that "it is extremely important to consider a project as a whole, especially when several buildings or successive additions are worked on over time."

 

For professional management and supervision of construction sites

According to the OIQ, supervision of the site and the works by an engineer from the very beginning of a project is crucial to ensuring compliance with plans and specifications and thus guaranteeing the safety of building users.

 

The President of the OIQ recommended that "an owner who has work done on the roof, on installations or any part of a building must make sure that the whole structure can support the work or modifications without risk." That is why the OIQ recommends having the necessary verifications performed by an engineer, especially when abnormal signs appear. The President of the OIQ also insisted that owners of commercial and industrial buildings preserve their "as built" plans of all successive work on their structures, as a preventive measure. "It is an issue of the safety of users."

 

The President of the OIQ hoped that such an accident would generate support for the immediate correction of a major anomaly in the Engineers Act.  That law does not require the supervision of works by an engineer, which is unacceptable, especially in the presence of complex structures or where safety is critical. "The next government of Québec must make sure to take the steps necessary to reduce the risks of such disasters. "

 

The respective missions of the CSST and the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec are complementary in terms of safety and the protection of the public. The CSST investigates causes, while the OIQ seeks to identify the professional responsibility to ensure that such an accident never happens again.

 

 

- 30 -