Forensic Engineers and Consultants

Archive: Industrial

Pollen Can Cause More Than Allergies

Slip and falls occur when there is an unexpected loss of traction between a person’s foot and the walking surface, causing them to lose balance and fall.  This type of injury is common and can occur in any setting where people walk, including homes, workplaces, and public areas. Slips can result in serious injuries, particularly for older adults.

The human gait cycle consists of four phases: the Read More

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Stan

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“What’s up man, you want to hit up the Longbranch tonight? Cool, I’ll get up with you later.” Ronnie ends the call and heads out on a beer run. After the last sip of Gin, Stan finishes up one of his many fan letters, drops it in the box, and starts to get ready for the night. “What’s good?” It was Ronnie’s cousin Squirrel on the line. “You okay with Stan going tonight?”  “Yeah,” Squirrel says, “he’s got a sweet ride… we’ll let him drive! He let me drive that GT all last week, that thing is hot!” “Sounds like a plan! Let me go dude, bout to head in and get some cold beer.”

“911, what’s the nature of your emergency?“

“Yes, there is an overturned car, looks like maybe a Mustang, a red Mustang. I’m just off Highway 9. It’s down an embankment…I can see two people laying on the ground and one person still in the car. The two people on the ground are moving, but the one in the car looks bad!”

“Police and EMS are on the way ma’am.“

“Okay, I have my emergency flashers on, can you stay on the phone with me until they get here… it’s really dark and cold. I’m scared.”

“I’m here ma’am, try to calm down. Can you give me a description of the people involved, maybe what they’re wearing?“

“The one that’s lying near the car is wearing red jeans with a white T-shirt, and it looks like he has a black and green high-top sneaker on his left foot only, just a sock on the other. The other one out of the car has regular blue jeans on, and a green shirt with boots. It’s hard for me to see the guy in the car… looks like he has on jeans and some kind of black concert T-shit, I can see tour dates and make out the word “Shady”. Hey, the police are here, so I’ll hang up now.”

A lot is at stake here and we have quite a dilemma, three occupants involved in a single vehicle crash with one fatality and no idea who the driver is. The stakes begin to rise immediately, at the scene of the crash. What’s documented or not documented will affect the outcome of this case. It will affect the outcome of this case when everyone has gathered with suit and tie, when hands are placed on the Bible, and the truth is sworn to be told.

We’ve talked about proper collision scene documentation several times, but this time let’s talk about a few ways we can build a case like this and possibly identify beyond a reasonable doubt who was driving at the time of the wreck. Read More

Cross Cut Grooving in Walking Surfaces

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As an experienced safety consultant, I am often called upon to investigate a wide range of premises liability incidents. One common type of incident that frequently results in serious injury is a fall on a painted walking surface.

The ASTM International Standard Practice for Safe Walking Surfaces, ASTM F1637, is a nationally recognized consensus standard that has existed for more than 30 years. It provides guidance to property owners and designers in the construction and maintenance of safe walking surfaces. The standard specifically addresses painted walking surfaces in Section 5.1.3.

ASTM F1637-21 states:

5.1.3 Walkway surfaces shall be slip resistant under expected environmental conditions and use. Painted walkways shall contain an abrasive additive, cross-cut grooving, texturing, or other appropriate means to render the surface slip resistant where wet conditions may be foreseeable.

In previous articles, I have discussed Read More

Short Flight Stairs, Big Hazard

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Stairs that contain three or fewer risers are considered short flight stairs according to safety standard ASTM F1637-21: Standard Practice for Safe Walking Surfaces. Single step transitions are also considered a short flight stair. Short fight stairs can be particularly hazardous for pedestrians due to the lack of visual cues signifying an elevation change. Unexpected changes in elevations can cause pedestrians to misstep and fall. Read More

You’re Just Not My Type – Part 1: Guards

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Selecting the best or most effective way to reduce or eliminate risk from a particular machine hazard is an extremely important process.  It can mean the difference between someone going home and hugging their wife and children…to never going home again.  The hazard control hierarchy (see figure below) is an available tool that illustrates what is known to be most effective to least effective when it comes to eliminating machine hazards or reducing the risk from those hazards to an acceptable level.  Removing the hazard by designing it out is by far most effective.  Read More

The End of Daylight-Saving Time Leads to More Vehicle and Pedestrian Collisions

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Daylight saving (DST) ends on November 2, 2025, and with it the clocks will “fall back” an hour.  While it is nice to gain an hour of sleep, the end of daylight-saving time also comes with a increase of vehicle crashes, injuries, and pedestrian fatalities. This phenomenon prompts the question: What is so dangerous about being a pedestrian at night? Read More

KEEP the CHANGE?

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As we all know, change is a part of life.  Sometimes the results from change are good.  And we know sometimes change may result in things becoming worse, although it may not be immediately evident.  I think it is safe to say that when we intentionally make changes to something, our goal is to make it better with respect to one or more metrics.  Engineers working in manufacturing facilities are often asked to make changes to existing machines and processes for multiple reasons: Read More

The Alphabet Soup of Expert Certifications

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When consulting as an expert witness, having certifications can assist in establishing your credibility and qualifications.  If you’ve perused the Curriculum Vitaes of the experts at The Warren Group, Inc., you may have seen some of these letters trailing after our names.  What do they mean and what organizations grant them?  The following is a sampling of some of the certifications our experts have acquired: Read More

Waterpark Woes

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On July 12, 2024, a family entered the local water park to cool down. The family consisted of a mother and her two sons. While walking toward the wave pool area, the mother stepped off the wooden stairs and onto the surrounding concrete landing. As she did so, she slipped on a puddle of water that had accumulated on the surface. She fell backward, landing on her left side and striking her elbow and the back of her head against the stairs—effectively ending the family’s outing before it began. Read More

Machinery Directive VS Machinery Regulation – A Notable Change

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In 2023, the new European Machinery Regulation was published which replaces the 2006 Machinery Directive.  The 2023 Machinery Regulation is slated to be entered into force and application on January 20, 2027.  A number of changes and/or clarifications are included in this new Machinery Regulation, not the least of which is the definition for “substantial modification.” Read More

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