Structural reliability of multistory buildings during construction

The paper develops a probabilistic model to estimate the probability of structural collapse (system risk) during the construction of typical multistory reinforced concrete buildings. The influence of the number of levels of shoring/reshoring, construction cycle and concreting workmanship (curing and compaction), concrete grade, and number of floors of the building on system risk is included in the analysis. It was found that poor concreting workmanship is more detrimental to system risk than reducing the construction cycle by a few days. It was found also that if the design process ignores construction loading on the slab during construction, then a dramatic loss of structural safety can occur.