A few days ago I reported on the structural failure at the former Pfizer headquarters at 235 East 42nd Street in Manhattan. Late last week we learned a few more details.

The structural engineer on the project has now publicly stated that the reinforcing steel specified in the construction drawings was apparently never installed on the two columns that ultimately buckled.

If that statement ultimately proves to be correct, then this wasn't a design failure.

It was an execution failure.

The columns in question are made of steel. They are made of structural steel that looks like an I beam, except it is vertical instead of horizontal. The engineer called for steel plates to be welded to the sides of each beam in order to create a box beam out of the I-beam profile. This was not done. The photos of the failed columns clearly show the original columns with no welded plates. I’ve looked at the detail on the structural drawings which clearly show the treatment for four different types of columns. The columns near the exterior are the ones in question.

That makes me ask a different question.

How did this get past everyone?

Now, I want to be careful.

The official investigation is still underway. The Department of Buildings, the Department of Investigation and independent forensic engineers are all examining what happened, and no final conclusions have been reached. The city has also expanded inspections to other projects involving the same developer and inspection firm while investigators determine whether broader quality-control issues exist.

But regardless of where responsibility ultimately lands, this incident exposes something much larger.

A gap in quality assurance.

Quality assurance isn't glamorous. Nobody celebrates it. Nobody gets awards for finding problems before they become disasters. But every high-reliability industry depends on it.

Software isn't shipped without testing.

Aircraft aren't delivered without every component undergoing inspection and certification.

Automobiles undergo extensive inspection on the factory floor before they're ever sold.

As you think about that, ask yourself one simple question.

In your own business, where are you relying on assumptions instead of verification?

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