The Language of the Forensic Structural Engineering

If a structural problem has to be evaluated, it certainly appears necessary for an Engineer to consider the building, of whatever type, as a hierarchical and organized system. However, in a Legal context, the purely technical description of state of facts, associated with the meticulous application of the theory and the different Codes, does not always help to outline a clear boundary between right and wrong, between safety and failure. This paper will illustrate a part of the legal procedure that substantiates the evaluations of Forensic Engineering, focusing on the relationship between Legal and Court Actors in the common difficulties of the context. Finally, the scope is to introduce the “situational awareness” approach. Analyzing the representation techniques of the real context will allow creating of consolidated lines of communication between different actors. These communication lines, through conceptual diagrams and maps, aim to illustrate a logic that is as universally shareable as possible. It is important to offer to the Court keys to access the Engineer’s approach, to transform Engineering Report into a perfectly integrated cog in the Justice machine. When the Engineering technicalities, languages or approaches meet the horizons of social sensitivity and a common vision of the facts is expanded, a union point arises from which logical scheme lines depart in order to obtain correct understanding and right solutions. However, as discussed in a case study, we have to take into account that may not be always possible to obtain this goal.