Pepcon Chemical Plant Explosion:

Due to a welders spark while doing his job, massive fires and devistating explosions ruined the Pepcon Chemical plant in 1988. The incident ended up claiming two lives along with injuring 372 people. This 100 million dollar explosion may have been avoided if the company did not store an abundant amount of flamable ammonium percholate next to the welding site. In this case, we must always consider the location of explosive/flamable material while building a workplace. I feel as though the spark that ignited the event might have never reached the flamable liquid if it was placed further away from the workers.

Mainus River Bridge Collapse:

Another important requirement to remember when it comes to the safety and quality of engineered devices or buildings is the maintainance. Many of the flaws of poorly maintained areas can possibly go unnoticed which could escalate to dangerous levels. In this case of the Mainus River Bridge Collapse, Factors such as rust accumulation in hanger systems, water corrusion in pumps and pin failure are all examples of areas in need of constant maintanance to keep the bridge safe. Ultimately, if these conditions were taken care of, this inccident may have been avoided.

Ocean Ranger Tradgedy:

As another precaution that is seemingly underminded constantly is the training of workers and stability of a build. In the case of the Ocean Ranger Tradgedy, poorly trained crew members were unable to handle the disasterous storm that hit them which ultimately destroyed their ship in one wave. With poor safety equipment and tools onboard, the workers were unable to handle the abrupt pounding the ship was taking from waves which essentially lead to their sinking. After the inccident had occured, new regulations were put on these ships by American and Canadian governments that required inspections along with creating new research into better safety tools and technologies. 

Great Johnstown Flood of 1889:

In another case of poor maintainance and lack of quality in a build, the Jonstown flood of 1889 may have been avoided if the dam was secured much more properly than it had been. Members of the South Fork Fishing & Hunting Club were at fault for the poor maintance in their damn which lead to a destructive flood. With one hit of a strong storm, the last minute reinforcemnts built by people of the town would not withstand the strong forces of the water. Ultimately, this yet again proves the importance of high quality maintainance in engineering.