Experts are now saying that construction error could be a factor in Wednesday's collapsed Miami garage.

The garage partly under construction at Miami Dade College campus in Doral fell around noon, killing three workers. The $22.5 million project began in February, with completion intended for the end of 2012. The 1,855-space garage was to serve the 8,000 students at the college.

William P. Byrne, president and chief executive officer of the garage contractor, Ajax Building Corp., said an internal review was taking place to determine the cause of the accident. Byrne added that the company would embrace any subsequent protocols, policies and procedures that would ensure the safety of their workers as a result.

Miami Garage Collapse

Byrne said at a news conference Thursday that there was as yet "no indication of any potential cause.'' The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, along with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, will investigate the incident, according to state officials.

Because of the manner in which the garage fell, predominantly on side while remaining attached to a sidewall on the other, investigators will prioritize the investigation of a construction error, before looking into the possibility of a faulty design, as the cause.

"I would look at erection procedures - that's probably the one question to ask first,'' said Mark Santos, a Miami structural engineer for major engineering design firm, Kimley-Horn and Associates. Steven J. Smith, Washington D.C area based vice president of CTLGroup, noted that the columns and horizontal girders remained in tact, whilst the garage floors separated and fell.

"That is what you would expect if there is a connection failure. In all structures where there is a failure, one of the first places we look to are the connections, the joints. That's going to get scrutinized first," he said.
Charles Danger, Miami-Dade County's veteran building director, said the top floor could have fallen, taking with it the ones beneath. Another possibility could be that a crane operator could have hit a portion of the structure.

"If there is something in the system here that is not functioning as it should, it will come to light as part of the investigation,'' Smith said.

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