BPM113 Construction Technology Tutor-Marked Assignment One July 2025 Presentation

BPM113 Assignment: A Case-Study on Hyatt Regency Hotel’s Walkway Collapse

Introduction

It is unfortunate that, while human beings strive to build higher, bigger & safer buildings, accidents do happen from time to time. The collapse of a double-deck linkway at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in 1981 caused the loss of 114 lives and injury to 226.

While we fear such mishaps being repeated, our only way forward is to learn from these costly accidents and, hopefully, avoid recurrence as we deepen our understanding (and thus improve the methods) of how building projects are executed.

Now, suppose you were one of the members of the investigative team that was commissioned to find the root cause of the accident. With the information available online, you are required to address the following questions:

BPM113 Question 1

(a) By referring to the structural aspect, discuss the miscalculation/misunderstanding that directly caused the accident. Elaborate your findings in terms of loading estimations, application of the factor of safety & structural analysis. (15 marks)

(b) Identify and illustrate at least TWO (2) areas of lapses, in terms of flow of information and control of building quality, from this accident. Discuss what we can do (or rather, are we doing) in Singapore to prevent such mishaps. You may elaborate on your findings on the division of responsibilities, proper documentation, approval process, etc. (20 marks)

(c) The owner, having witnessed such a catastrophic accident on the superstructure, has a very valid concern now about whether the foundation of the hotel had been properly constructed. Suppose the hotel was designed to be built on piled foundations, illustrate your understanding of the safe and quality installation of such foundations (design procedures, construction sequence, control test, record keeping and etc). (20 marks)

(d) Identify at least THREE (3) key aspects of good workmanship in a construction project. Elaborate your understanding of these aspects with detailed examples (either negative or positive, local or from other regions). (18 marks)

(e) Propose and explain at least THREE (3) technologies which will help detect the miscalculations early and alert all parties before fabrication proceeds on site. (12 marks)

Report Presentation

(a) Cover page & Content page (2 marks)

(b) Graphic & Illustration with proper label & caption (appropriate usage, titles, sources) (4 marks)

(c) Organisation of the write-up (sub-headings, font size, spacing, paragraphing, page number, etc) (5 marks)

(d) Grammar usage, spelling and sentence structure (2 marks)

(e) Referencing (in-text citation and list of references) (2 marks)