Forensic Engineers and Consultants

Archive: Subrogation

Don’t Get Burned With Your Gas Grill!

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

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Water Removal In Windows and Doors – Part 1: Weep Holes

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In architecture, the word fenestration is used to encompass the windows and doors in a building. During my twelve-year career as a design engineer in the fenestration industry, water infiltration resistance (I.E., stopping leaks) consumed almost as much time in the test lab as pressure or impact testing. During the life of typical exterior fenestration products, every driven rain is a test of the product’s water evacuation system. Most windows and doors handle water without much homeowner input, but poor, clogged or covered water drainage systems can allow moisture into the structure, where damage to flooring, walls, and molding may occur. Poor water infiltration resistance also increases the humidity in a living space. 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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Turkey Fryers- Product Design is Critical to Consumer Safety

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As the holiday season nears, thoughts turn to wonderful home-cooked meals with family.  Few things in life are more pleasurable than a traditional holiday turkey feast. Yet for an unfortunate few, holiday meal time can turn tragic if a turkey frying accident occurs.   While fried turkeys may be tasty, many fire safety experts feel that the reward is not worth the risk.  Read More

Warren’s Product Failure Evaluation & Laboratory

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Many losses stem from a failure of a household appliance (i.e. dishwasher, water heater), plumbing component (supply lines and fittings), or HVAC system.  For over 25 years, Warren experts have utilized their diverse and highly specialized education, training and experience to investigate these types of losses.

Warren conducts product failure investigations at our laboratory, where we evaluate and test items sent to us from across the United States. All testing and reporting is done by experienced and licensed professional engineers.  We have the facilities to provide for examinations ranging from a non-destructive examination of a single component to large multiple-party destructive examinations of complex systems. When needed, we provide a written protocol for complex or destructive examinations. Read More

The FORKLIFT 500 – A Need for Speed

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From a young age, many children are typically drawn to things that are fast.  Fast toys, fast race cars, sports that require speed.  Is it possible that “feeding” this desire tends to make many of us resist, whether consciously or subconsciously, the request or demand to “Slow down!” once we’ve grown up, even when we know that it is the right and wise thing to do?  Now couple this with the natural tendency of most businesses to push for more productivity by doing things faster and more efficiently.  This can be dangerous when we take this combination into a workplace where forklifts are a necessary and integral part of the day-to-day operations.

Race cars are designed to go fast, and they rely on a properly trained and experienced driver to complete a race successfully and safely.  Forklifts are designed to lift and transport heavy loads, and they also rely on a properly trained and experienced driver to Read More

Improperly Used Space Heaters Can Be Dangerous

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As the temperature outside slides from the cold to the “bitter” cold range on the thermometer, most people tend to turn the heat on inside their home. Some homes, however, do not have whole house heat or sufficient heating capacity and therefore the occupants  may rely on portable space heaters. Portable space heaters, used properly, can be a good choice to warm a small area of a home. Unfortunately, while they can warm your cold and tingling hands and feet, they can also warm nearby materials to the point of ignition. Read More

The Vehicle – Tires

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In a previous blog post, I gave an overall introduction to the 9-Cell Collision Matrix as an investigative tool used in collision reconstruction. Now let’s focus in a little at each element.

They are called car wrecks, after all…so let’s start with a more comprehensive look at the vehicle component of the matrix.  This review of the vehicle before, during, and after the collision will highlight a few important factors but is not meant to be all-inclusive.  So, let’s get started! Read More

Everybody Has A Part to Play – What’s Your Role?

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Across industry and construction sites, there are times when employees of different employers are working side by side, or at least on the same site at the same time.  Some industry examples are when chemical plants have contractors on-site for routine maintenance or during process shutdowns for major overhauls or repairs. OSHA refers to these as multi-employer worksites.  In December of 1999, they revised their citation policy which allows for more than one employer at a worksite to be cited for conditions that violate OSHA standards. Read More

HEY…Cover Up Please!

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Machine guards can be compared to the clothes we wear every day.  Indeed, they serve a very important purpose.  Imagine someone leaving their home on a fine, sunny morning wearing nothing but a smile.  Wonder how far they will get through the day before things start going poorly for this individual?

 

 

 

 

 

There will be more than a few raised eyebrows and blushes when he stops into the local Starbucks for his usual morning double-dipped and whipped, chocolaty chip with a touch of pumpkin spice cappuccino fix.  Good luck with that!  Probably going to leave disappointed, empty-handed, and likely wearing handcuffs.  This will be the beginning of a very long, very bad day for that individual.  Had he recognized the risks associated with this type of behavior, and then put forth a little effort to cover up, he would have prevented many unfavorable and possibly life-changing personal and legal problems from ever occurring!

And so it is with properly guarding a machine.  Machine safeguarding helps to protect workers from preventable injuries. Read More

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