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Advanced enclosure failure investigation · Lesson 3 of 4

Advanced enclosure failure investigation: methods and worked application

A nine-step method, a field evidence checklist, safety at the edge, four worked calculations with every input sourced, and how to report what you found and how sure you are.

You will be able to: Run a documented investigation from complaint to evidence-backed statement, work the thermal, zinc and rating calculations with sourced inputs and units, and report observations apart from interpretations with stated confidence.

14 min · 12 slides · 11 questions

All lessons in this module
Slide 1 of 12

The nine-step method

Course method: 1 define the question, 2 authority, warranty and safety, 3 collect records, 4 look before touching, 5 list hypotheses, 6 targeted checks, 7 preserve evidence (photograph and tag in place before any check at step 6), 8 weigh and state confidence, 9 report.

The sequence is this course's framework. The parts it borrows are cited on the next slides.

The documented investigation in nine stepsA vertical flow of nine steps: 1 define the question, 2 authority warranty and safety, 3 collect records, 4 look before touching, 5 list hypotheses, 6 targeted checks, 7 preserve evidence, 8 weigh and state confidence, 9 report. A loop arrow returns from step 8 to step 5 if no hypothesis survives. Callout A marks step 1, B marks step 6 and C marks step 7.Define the question1Authority, warranty, safety2Collect records3Look before touching4List hypotheses5Targeted checks6Preserve evidence7Weigh, state confidence8Report9if nonesurvivesABC

A vertical flow of nine steps: 1 define the question, 2 authority warranty and safety, 3 collect records, 4 look before touching, 5 list hypotheses, 6 targeted checks, 7 preserve evidence, 8 weigh and state confidence, 9 report. A loop arrow returns from step 8 to step 5 if no hypothesis survives. Callout A marks step 1, B marks step 6 and C marks step 7.

1
Define the question in one sentence
2
Authority, warranty and safety, before access
3
Collect records first; a gap is a finding
4
Look before touching: photographs, then close-ups with a scale
5
List hypotheses, each with what would rule it out
6
Targeted checks, non-destructive first, after the evidence is photographed and tagged in place
7
Preserve evidence: tag, photograph in place, bag, log (photograph and tag before any check)
8
Weigh the hypotheses and state confidence in words
9
Report: observation, interpretation and confidence kept apart
A
UFC 3-110-03: identify and locate the defect first
B
ASTM E2128 (a wall guide, applied here by analogy): destructive steps need limits and a patching plan
C
ASTM E1188: collect and preserve information and physical items
The sequence is this course's framework; the parts it borrows are cited in the callouts. Photograph and tag anything in place before a check at step 6 can disturb it; step 7 keeps and logs what the checks produce.

Sources

Glossary

Hypothesis
A possible cause written down before testing it, together with what you would expect to see if it were true and what would rule it out.
Reference point
A fixed position on the roof from which every location is measured, so that interior damage can be matched to a roof position.
Observation
What you measured or saw, with units and a reference point, kept separate from what you think it means.
Interpretation
What you think an observation means; it is stated apart from the observation and carries a stated confidence.
Coefficient of thermal expansion
The fractional length change per degree; movement equals the coefficient times the length times the temperature change.
Order of magnitude
A rough size of a number, good for showing which environment is far worse, but not a prediction of life.