Forensic Engineers and Consultants

Archive: Liability Claim

Spontaneous Combustion…Is it hot in here or is it just me???

In the old-timey Fire Triangle, you have heat, fuel, and oxygen.  Get these three together in the right quantities, and you get fire.  What if the fuel provides its own heat?  That’s spontaneous combustion, or spontaneous ignition.  NFPA921 defines this as “initiation of combustion of a material by an internal chemical or biological reaction that has produced sufficient heat to ignite the material.” Read More

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Don’t Get Burned With Your Gas Grill!

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If there is one thing Americans can agree upon, it is the enjoyment that comes from an outdoor barbeque.  Whether a summertime cookout or a fall BBQ to watch a football game, we all love the fun and fellowship that comes from sharing a meal that was prepared outdoors on a grill or smoker.  In fact, 64% of Americans own a grill or smoker.  The great majority of these are LP fueled gas grills with comparatively few natural gas fired grills.  These products can be enjoyed safely when designed, installed, and used in a proper manner.  However, given the grill’s use of flammable fuel gas and high temperatures, the potential exists for things to go wrong and result in burn injuries or uncontained fires that spread to the surroundings. Read More

Safety Hazards in Waterjet Cutting

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Waterjet cutting machines (often simply called ‘waterjets’ in the industry) are essentially platforms that use ultra-high pressure water to manufacture cut parts with accuracy as high as .001 inch. They can cut materials ranging from glass and stone to steel and even plastics. Such machines can cost under $1.00 per minute to run, even including labor. Waterjets are some of the most versatile cutting tools available today. They produce virtually no heat-affected zone. They also use CNC (computer numerically controlled) programs, which allow continuously variable speeds for different edge conditions and cut quality. The waterjet dissipates heat, and the jet stream minimizes harmful chemical vaporization from cut materials. Small and mid-sized companies throughout the U.S. depend on these powerful tools to manage all sorts of custom two-dimensional cuts.

But waterjets present unique hazards to the manufacturing environment. The following challenges require special attention: Read More

Pollen Can Cause More Than Allergies

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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

WARREN Welcomes Mechanical Engineer Brian Tenace, M.S.M.E., P.E.

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Brian’s Areas of Expertise Include:

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The Potential Leak in Your Kitchen Cabinet – Flexible Supply Connectors

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One of the more innovative products to emerge on the plumbing scene in the past 20 years or so (in my opinion) is the flexible supply connector.  A lot of people have seen but probably not paid much attention to them under their sink or perhaps from the toilet supply valve to the toilet tank.  Most have Read More

The Life of a Smoke Alarm – How A Decade Flies!

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A smoke alarm milestone birthday party!

No kidding, I’m passionate about fire protection!  To prove it, I could tell you stories about the damage I have seen from various failures from freezes to fire pump cooling to what happens when a fire hydrant’s weep holes are clogged…. But instead, I will tell you about smoke alarms!

Although it’s still new in my head, my home just turned 10 years old. The decade has seen the replacement of two household appliances and at least one HVAC repair… now what? A paint and décor refresh?  Maybe, but that’s not what the fire protection engineer is thinking! It’s time to replace the smoke alarms! Read More

FORKLIFT Etiquette: DON’T BE A LOUSY TIPPER!

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That is always good advice to follow if you are a forklift driver!  Operating a forklift can be a dangerous occupation.  There are approximately 1 million forklifts (powered industrial trucks) in the US workplace today, and it is estimated that just over 10% of those are involved in some type of accident every year.  Forklift accidents result in dozens of deaths and thousands of non-fatal injuries annually.  About one out of every four of those accidents involves a tipping or overturning forklift, making this the most common type of industrial truck accident.  Read More

Civil Twilight Pedestrian Collision: A Case Study

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Susan, a 45-year-old runner, was jogging in the early morning approximately an hour before sunrise, also known as “civil twilight.” Civil twilight occurs both before sunrise and after sunset when the sun is below the horizon and the sky is partially illuminated. Susan was wearing dark athletic clothing and grey tennis shoes for her morning run. She was running on the sidewalk in a suburban area and began to cross the four-lane road at an unmarked crosswalk. Read More

Wet System Pressure Release Valves

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Ah, summertime. Summer’s heat brings some good things: opportunities for outdoor swimming and seasonal produce: blueberries, and peaches, and watermelon…

Summer’s heat doesn’t bring all good things. It can even trigger issues with fire sprinkler systems. Let’s zoom in on a small component on a wet fire sprinkler system that’s there in part because of summer heating: a pressure relief valve.

A pressure relief valve (or an auxiliary air reservoir) is required on wet sprinkler systems; one reason is to Read More

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