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Denny's Sign Failure 8

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They don't say how old the sign is, so poor, or deferred, maintenance might by high on the list. I've seen our light standards in the company parking lot rusted through on two sides, and response from the maintenance manager was a shrug

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I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! faq731-376 forum1529 Entire Forum list
 
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The sign fell from the top of the mast. The mast remains standing.

maxresdefault-10_uhni5w.jpg
 
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dik said:
Was it removed before an investigation... seems a little hasty.
Click to expand...

In this context, the sign was almost certainly "removed" to a storage location. Not sure of the exact age of the sign,
but that Denny's location has been in operation for more than 20 years.
 
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It would not havce occurred to me that the sign would weight 2,600 pounds, I can't wait to see the connection details between the sign and the post. Probably the least expensive design, I wonder if it was PE sealed.

Of course, Denny's now says "safety is top priority". Such lame posturing is infuriating, always after the fact. Was safety a top priority when the design was approved or maintained (if ever)? Will they take the time and money to examine all their signs or just sweep this under the rug and wait for the attention to go elsewhere?

sigh...
 
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It should have remained where it fell, until it was studied...

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik
 
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I don't think moving the sign is going to be an issue, unless things got "lost" in the move. The sign is MASSIVE and built BETTER than the proverbial brick outhouse, since it's almost completely intact after falling 80 ft. The car never stood a chance. Lots of rust showing on what might be the mounting flange; not a whole lot of bolt pattern there.

dennys-sign_mnn0wk.png


sign_jsjleg.jpg


MWMS6Y3PD5CX7JZ7ID5NYVCPTU_qptmeq.jpg


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Looks like there are two plates still together.

I see a circle that is likely the outline of the pole.

To me, weld failure.
 
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We can see pretty clearly the "interface" between the sign and the support pole in one of the above photos.

How come it looks like it was glued together? I see no bolts or bolt holes. I see an interesting pattern of rust color and white color.

I am curious who designed that interface.

Welded? Really? Am I missing the alignment pins that would have been used for the operation?

This design was of course submitted to the local building department. And they undoubtedly approved it. I look forward to a release of the plans for this item.


spsalso
 
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A zoom of the photos shows what looks like 4 bolt holes near the corners of the square. They seem to be not particularly well placed, but I'm not an ME.

The rust pattern is probably from the bolts rusting and loosening over time and wind rocking the sign and allowing water to seep in

dennys2_kxmeht.png


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Fatigue crack propagates, sign falls.
Click to expand...

It could just be the bolts rusted out; the bottom of the plate looks rusty, so the bolts were likely pretty rusty as well, and there were only 4 of them holding the sign in place.

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There are many reasons scene preservation wouldn't be necessary. The purpose of investigation is to prevent future failure. If this were a unique installation there may be no benefit from investigation. The sign was too old. The only question may be, what was the design life.
 
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If a fire brigade investigator can take pics and then send to your equivalent heath and safety regulator in other countries they can release the site for movement relatively quickly if its pretty obvious the mode of failure and cause. UK the police would be happy with that as long as nobody killed and its not deemed a crime scene.
 
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I found some more pictures showing the sign mounting.

Here you can see the empty bolt hole in the upper left of the plate:

bolt_hole--upper_left_ydicri.jpg



And here's a shot showing two remaining bolts still in position as the sign is lifted for removal:

two_remaining_bolts_r0d5lu.jpg




spsalso
 
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Alistair... it was the fatality that ran up the red flag... [pipe]


...another possibility is to determine if somebody 'screwed up'... not just for future prevention. It doesn't appear the the material was HDG, which I would have used as a coating...

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik
 
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Is that the plate from the top of the post? or the underside of the sign?

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik
 
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Could those bolts have been good for anything but lineup purposes?
Could they and the plates possibly been designed for wind or seismic loads?
 
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For the dimension of the plate, the plate looks a little thin... for any high load conditions.

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik
 
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