Forensic Engineers and Consultants

Archive: Subrogation

Winter Safety Tips for Portable Electric Generators

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During winter ice storms, power to residences is often lost and homeowners revert to using gasoline powered portable electric generators.  It is often thought by some homeowners that leaving a generator outside in the severe weather may damage it or affect its performance and therefore resort to bringing the unit inside the shelter, typically, the garage. This is particularly hazardous when the generator is run for an extended period of time as carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning from the toxic exhaust gas can cause death. In addition, other hazards including electric shock, electrocution, fire and burns potentially can occur. Read More

Mobile Crane Ground Support

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Mobile cranes depend on stability through their outriggers. These are the four “legs” that are deployed onto soil or other working surfaces adjacent to the crane.  When a mobile crane is set up at a site, the outriggers are deployed by a hydraulic mechanism that extends the four outriggers beyond the crane body and then jack the crane free of its wheels so that it is supported by the outriggers only. Read More

Preventing Fugitive Vapor Explosion with Design

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For years, many water heater-related fires, injuries, property damage claims, and deaths were attributed to “consumer misbehavior.” By 2002, however, the NFPA National Fuel Gas Code began to reflect several key realizations: the existence of fugitive vapors and how appliance design can limit the risks they pose. Read More

Using Historical Weather Data to Investigate Lightning Strike Claims

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Property damage claims to sensitive electronic equipment due to a direct or nearby lightning strike are frequently difficult to substantiate to a high degree of confidence.  Electrical damage to common consumer electronic equipment (televisions, computers and accessories, wireless routers, telephones, fax machines, electronic security systems, etc.) is most frequently not visible to the naked eye during a physical inspection of the allegedly failed equipment.  So, how do we investigate an electrical loss when an insured claims he has $30,000 worth of non-functioning equipment? Read More

Electric Motors – The Electrical Work Horse of Industry

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Electric motors are the work horses of the electrical industry. Their use is so pervasive in our industrial society that approximately 75% of electrical power sold to industry is used for the operation of electric motors. With so many electric motors in operation, it becomes imperative that they be utilized and maintained properly. A failed electric motor causes delays in production, which in turn impacts the bottom line. Read More

Code Violations Are Root of Fatal Explosion

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The design and installation of gas piping systems in homes and commercial buildings is guided by a set of regulations called NFPA 54 — the National Fuel Gas Code. The code, which establishes minimum safety requirements, is also used by forensic engineers to evaluate an explosion to determine cause and responsibility. Read More

Design Can Prevent Industrial Accidents

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Two of the top causes of workplace accidents, according to the United States Department of Labor’s Occupation Safety and Health Administration, are a lack of machine guarding and improper control of hazardous energy. At first blush, these types of incidents can mistakenly be attributed to an employee’s actions without considering how a machine’s design or the improper control of an environment or situation may have contributed.
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Protecting Industrial Employees from Workplace Hazards

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The recent Texas fertilizer plant explosion has focused the nation’s eyes on the important matter of workplace safety. When an employee is injured or killed on the job, Warren investigators are often called in to identify what went wrong and how it could have been prevented.
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Concrete Core Drill – Reducing Hazard Exposure by Design

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The safety hierarchy is a well-established principle among safety professionals. It’s a reliable and widely accepted method to minimize or eliminate exposure to hazards in products and workplaces.
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Fire Investigation Points to Design Failure.

Author

Defects that cause problems in machines are categorized into two different concepts. Manufacturing defect is a term that applies to a situation where the defect was unintended. For example, a part was installed that did not meet the designer’s specifications or quality. A design defect is another matter. Design defect is a term that applies to a situation where the defect resulted from a purposeful decision or by failing to investigate or heed available design criteria on the part of a designer or builder. Read More

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