Friday, March 29, 2024

Engineer behind unsafe highrise in Langford faces fines, license revocation

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After admitting to unprofessional misconduct, the man behind a faulty residential highrise in Langford is now without a license to practice and out tens of thousands of dollars.

Engineers and Geoscientists BC (EGBC) says structural engineer Brian McClure has lost his engineering license and must pay a $25,000 fine, plus $32,000 in legal costs, after his design of the former Danbrooke One building—now known as RidgeView Place—failed to meet BC Building codes.

On Thursday, the regulatory body EGBC recalled the City of Langford’s 2019 independent review that flagged the Centurion Property Associates-owned rental building, located on Claude Road, with “several” safety concerns.

The findings led to an occupancy permit revocation later that December, forcing tenants already living in the building to vacate around Christmastime.

Flash forward to May 9th, 2022, McClure admitted structural design drawings for Danbrook One were “deficient,” with certain aspects of the seismic design and gravity load resisting system not up to code.

In addition, in a Consent Order, he noted that “significant” defects identified in the structural design drawings demonstrated incompetence, according to EGBC.

“McClure also admitted he failed to undertake an adequate design process, did not perform a sufficient number of field reviews…” added EGBC, “and failed to take adequate steps to address serious concerns about the building’s design that were brought to his attention during construction.”

EGBC says it’s responsible for establishing and upholding standards of professional practice, and if a regulator determines an engineer or geoscientist may have breached set standards, it takes action.

“We expect our registrants to apply the appropriate standards, codes and technical expertise to every project they work on,” added Heidi Yang, EGBC CEO.

“The public deserves to have confidence that their homes are being designed to rigorous standards, and this case represents a serious breach of that trust. As a result, the individual involved can no longer practise professional engineering in British Columbia.”

The full text of the Consent Order for Brian McClure is found online here.

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