Archives

Improving project cost evaluations

We read last week a CIM annoucement of a Metallurgy and Materials Society (MetSoc) webinar on September 20 about Improving project cost evaluations. BQE Water President & CEO David Kratochvil will present the seminar. Subject matter Our friend David will discuss the shortcomings of conventional Net Present Value and risk assessments applied to water treatment plants. He will explain how to overcome potential uncertainties with the Risk Adjusted Life Cycle Cost analysis approach. Comparing alternatives for a project requires careful…

Read More

Highway Bridge Catastrophic Failure in Genoa, Italy

It is very saddening to report about the Highway Bridge Catastrophic Failure in Genoa, Italy just one week after the horrific accident in Bologna. The bridge, build in 1967 was a stayed pre-stressed reinforced concrete structure. Its futuristic design and lines drew comments from inception. This time again we will not enter in any legal/political debate, but look at the tragedy with our risk management eyes. We have decided to start the discussion using a few cognitive biases and misconceptions that…

Read More

Traffic accident caused major explosion in Bologna

On August 6th Italian media sadly reported: Traffic accident caused major explosion in Bologna. Traffic accident caused major explosion in Bologna; What happened Two trailers following each other collided. One of them was loaded with liquid propane. Those two then reportedly hit a third trailers loaded with new cars. The accident happened on a viaduct going through a semi-industrial/ urban environment. A fire started in the car transport trailer. By chance, several police units were either onsite or nearby and…

Read More

Laotian hydro dam collapse: more about risks

Last week we discussed a recent catastrophic failure. Now we delve more into the Laotian hydro dam collapse: more about risks. We go back to the first-cut estimates we published. They delivered staggering values at portfolio level and, of course,  intolerable risks. The image above courtesy of MDA shows an image with the: location of the collapsed dam, partially drain reservoir, flooded fields and changes in river channels, and finally, flooded villages. In an international current-affairs magazine for the Asia-Pacific region we read interesting…

Read More

Laotian hydro dam collapse

A series of events starting Sunday July 22nd lead to a Laotian hydro dam collapse with nefarious consequences on the population downstream. The collapsed dam was part of the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydroelectric power project, still under construction. Xe-Pian and Xe-Namnoy are the main dams of the project. The project is located in the central Laotian Attapeu Province, involves Laotian, Thai and South Korean firms. Laos PDR is particularly rich in vertical drops with hydro-generating potential. As a matter of fact,…

Read More

Archive

Hosted and powered by WR London.