Learning Lessons from Historical Case Studies: Information Sources & Higher Education

Abstract

By way of an evaluation of the availability printed material to 54 historical case studies a case is made for the creation of an e-library, so that higher education, and others, can quickly access a dedicated information source with forensic engineering knowledge. Forty-six of these case studies give level 2 (year 2) students the ‘learning from failure’ knowledge to complete two assignments in a transferable skills module, called Forensic Engineering. The evaluation finds that the quantity and quality of the information is very variable, with less for the case studies that happened before the mid-1980s. More information, often quickly accessed via the Internet, is found for cases in the ‘non-civil’ engineering sectors of aviation, chemical and allied industries, marine, nuclear, offshore oil and gas, and rail. It is found that the quantity and accessibility to printed material is often less (can be much less) for case studies that are classified as civil engineering. Despite the disparity in the volume of information a comparison of the average module assignment marks between the civil and non-civil cases only shows a slight credit advantage in working with a non-civil case. Having recognised that the quality and impact of the learning provision will increase if students could rapidly find and download more technical information the author recommends the setting-up of an e-library. All higher education institutions, consultants, contractors and clients alike would want such a resource because of the premier role it can play in the long-term management of risk and safety. Abstract Introduction Case Study Information Civil and non-civil engineering case study marks Concluding Remarks References