SAVING INSTITUTIONAL MEMORY AND THE EXTRAORIDNARY COST EFFECTIVENESS OF PROJECT DATABASES

摘要

There is a well known adage to the effect that “those who ignore the lessons of history are condemned to repeat the same mistakes.” This is particularly apt in the current period of dam and levee rehabilitation. In theory, for every project completed during at least the last 50 years, there should be a full “as-built” package of information available for review: such dossiers are extremely important sources of information when planning and undertaking subsequent repairs and modifications. And yet, it is the author’s experience that the expectation does not always - or even often - meet the reality. The completeness of project reporting has often been curtailed by the transfer of key personnel to the “next” project while, in other cases, the package itself - or major portions of it, such as progress photographs, or the original specifications - cannot be located. Such reports also leave the institutional memory banks when personnel retire, and/or their former offices or storerooms are “cleaned out” soon thereafter. The information contained in contemporary “lessons learned” reports will usually provide clear indications of the cause of the problems which may subsequently develop. Such reports can highlight, with the benefit of hindsight, geological features improperly treated, design assumptions no longer consistent with current practice, and defects made in construction. When these reports are complete and available, their information will allow contemporary engineers to justify not having to spend large sums of money on field research, or having to devote countless hours to “alternatives analysis.” They can therefore be extremely cost effective. There are two ways in which this historical value can be mined: by industry-wide reviews of specific technology applications, and through project-specific studies of historical records. In recent years the author has compiled two comprehensive databases relating to North American dam rehabilitation - one dealing with prestressed rock anchors, the other dealing with seepage cut-offs. The manner of their funding, execution and contents are summarized in this paper. The paper also illustrates how careful appraisal of such reports has proved invaluable in helping to understand current phenomena and in, therefore, optimizing design time and effort.