Engineer never saw vital CTV document
Vital documents which could have revealed flaws in the Canterbury Television building were never used in an engineer’s assessment after the September 2010 earthquake, an inquiry has heard.
The Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission yesterday heard more than four hours of evidence from building manager John Drew.
The structural engineer employed to undertake the assessment, David Coatsworth, twice asked for the building’s structural and architectural drawings to be supplied, both before and during the assessment.
Drew said Coatsworth indicated during the inspection the plans would be helpful in determining the building make-up, saying ‘‘you know I don’t have X-ray vision’’.
The final report noted the requested drawings had not been received.
Commission lawyer for victim’s families, Marcus Elliot, said the file would have revealed a 1990 Holmes Consulting report stating there was a ‘‘vital area of noncompliance’’ in the connection between the north core and floors.
Drew said the council told him there would be an eight-week delay in accessing the records because the quake had affected the archived.
He gained access to CTV file on October 21, about two weeks after Coatsworth completed his final report, but did not retrieve the drawings. Drew said the file’s size meant he was unable to ‘‘pick and choose’’ the relevant documents.
‘‘I had no idea what David might want or need . . . It was beyond me to figure out what might be important,’’ he said.
‘‘I got the impression he had a pretty good idea of how the building was made.’’
Drew disputed Elliot’s view that he should should have asked Coatsworth to review the drawings after he had gained access to them.
Elliot asked: ‘‘Wasn’t it obvious to you that if [Coatsworth] had the structural drawings he could have given you a better assessment of whether the building was suitable for occupation after a major earthquake that what he’d given?’’ Drew replied he assumed Coatsworth would not want to release the report before being satisfied he had the necessary information. ‘‘I assumed that he didn’t need it,’’ he said.
Drew said Coatsworth’s observation was that the damage was typical of similar concrete structures and he was ‘‘pretty sure we were OK to stay in there’’.
It was suggested the lining on the shear wall behind an external stairwell be removed for further inspection, but was ‘‘delivered with no urgency at all’’, Drew said. The area had been blocked by equipment critical to the television station’s operation.
Drew’s voice faltered and he fought back tears when he said he felt a ‘‘huge sense of responsibility’’ after 115 people died in the building collapse. He had ‘‘complete faith’’ in the structural integrity of the building, but the action taken before the quake had weighed heavily on him. ‘‘I am forever questioning what might have been done differently,’’ Drew said.
He offered his condolences to the victims’ families at the completion of his evidence.