The editorial in the May 31 issue implores us not to stifle innovation as we remove the root causes of the Paris Charles de Gaulle airport concourse collapse (ENR 5/31 p. 56). The root causes exist in our systems of "processes and procedures" for ensuring that the "millions of details mesh on our projects." The public cannot rely on our collective individual memories to prevent recurrence of such disasters.
As designers and builders further explore the wild side of design with short-er timeframes and smaller budgets they must institutionalize their learning within their companies and projects. They must continually improve their process-based management systems for effective organizational learning so the root causes of such disasters are eliminated. Unfortunately, systems receive little attention in owner organizations and the industrys firms of project managers, designers and constructors. Too many projects completely ignore or ineffectively use and improve their process-based manage ment systems to assure quality while adding value faster and preventing loss sooner.