10.2190/9R4M-3WXA-MC9L-3BDV 9R4M3WXAMC9L3BDV 5 Notes on Safety Quality Assurance and Performance 139 143 20020509 20020509 20020509 20020509 9R4M3WXAMC9L3BDV.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=9R4M3WXAMC9L3BDV 2 Carl J. Turkstra Polytechnic University, Brooklyn, New York <b>EDITOR'S NOTE</b> Consideration of the environment and environmental systems has generally neglected the notion that we are fast approaching the time when not only will most of the threats to our environment be man-made, but the habitated environment itself will be largely man-made. From this perspective, concepts involving reliability, quality assurance, and human error, not in the vocabulary of environmentalists accustomed to dealing with natural systems will become increasingly important. The following commentary identifies some issues concerning human behavior and human error in the design of structures. A. Freudenthal, The Safety of Structures, <i>Trans, ASCE, 112</i>, 1947. Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, <i>Criteria and Loading, Vol. CL</i>, Monograph on the Planning and Design of Tall Buildings, ASCE, New York, NY, 1980. T. V. Galambos and M. K. Ravindra, Load and Resistance Factor Design, <i>J. St. Div., ASCE</i>, ST9, September 1978. B. Ellingwood, T. V. Galambos, J. G. MacGregor, and C. A. Cornell, Development of a Probability Based Load Criterion for American National Standard A58, <i>NBS Special Publication 57</i>, June 1980. R. E. Melchers and M. V. Harrington, <i>Human Error in Structural Reliability - I, Investigation of Typical Design Tasks</i>, Civil Engineering, Monash University, Report No. 2, 1984. Port Authority of N. Y. and <i>N. J., Journal Square Transportation Center Concourse Ceiling Collapse</i>, Special Investigation Report, June 1984. C. Perrow, <i>Normal Accidents</i>, Basic Books, Inc., New York, NY, 1984.