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vi) Whether any human error has been Involved or not?

All the stakeholders involved in this project have vast experience of executing such projects, both skill-wise and resource- wise. The quality manual followed at site has adequate checks and balances to ensure that a good quality product is delivered in time. In spite of all their efforts, a failure has occurred and it appears to be a system failure. Some lapses have definitely occurred at different stages as pointed out earlier. Moreover, when the crack was noticed in the pier cap P67 and it was thoroughly investigated by the experts and an independent consultant, there was still an opportunity to take appropriate corrective measures. It is also on record that while investigating the cracks, some cores were drilled through the cracks and the depth of cracks was seen not to extend beyond the cover concrete. Also, glass tell-tales did not indicate widening of any crack. Since the evidence gathered at site was inconclusive to suggest that the observed cracks in pier caps P67 and P66 are associated with a structural deficiency, it was difficult to make an assessment of the actual cause of distress. Therefore, the Committee feels that the failure was a result of 'collective judgement error' on the part of the group of persons who had taken the decision to go ahead with the construction. However, the group has shown their concern on this matter and therefore, as a precautionary measure recommended constructing a strut to support the pier caps on piers P66, P67 and PG8. It is unfortunate that the strut did not help in averting the accident. This committee is, therefore of the opinion that though some lapses had occurred, but on the whole this is a typical case of collective judgement error without any wilful negligence.