12.4.1 As part of the Inquiry process, the structural engineering advisor to the Inquiry undertook a comprehensive review of the technical reports, drawings and design information made available to the Inquiry by the Structural Engineers acting for ESP, Galliford Try and the City of Edinburgh Council.
12.4.2 This technical review examined and considered the following:
• the nature of the investigations undertaken;
• the nature of the defects identified, and the scale of defects found;
• the design calculations prepared by the different Structural Engineering Consultants as part of the structural assessments process and design of remedial works; and
• the scope, appropriateness, and extent of the remedial works that had been designed and installed.
12.4.3 The technical review did not carry out detailed checks of the designs prepared by the Engineers, as this was beyond the remit of the Inquiry. The Inquiry has been advised that comprehensive design checks for the remedial works had been undertaken by the structural engineers employed respectively by ESP and Galliford Try, and that these were submitted for scrutiny by the structural engineer appointed by the City of Edinburgh Council, before a final letter of assurance was issued for each school.
12.4.4 Following the technical review of the information provided, the Inquiry concluded that a satisfactorily robust approach had been adopted to the process of structural assessments of the buildings following the identification of defects relating to lack of head restraints, poor wall tie embedment, and missing or inconsistent bed joint reinforcement or windposts.
12.4.5 The Inquiry found that the design process for the remedial works was thorough and comprehensive, resulting in a high level of confidence that the risk of structural failure arising from the defects uncovered on the buildings has been properly addressed.
12.4.6 Based on the above, the Inquiry also concluded that the factors of safety required within the relevant design standards, as required under the Building Regulations, have been satisfactorily reinstated in the masonry wall panels through the implementation of the programme of remedial works.