Forensic Engineers and Consultants

Chad E. Jones

Chad E. Jones

Chad Jones

P.E., CFEI, CVFI, CMSE Phone: 803.732.6600 Cell: 864.377.0900 vCard LinkedIn Download CV

Expertise

  • Fires & Explosions
  • Machine Design
  • Machine Safeguarding
  • Products Liability
  • HVAC Systems
  • Risk Assessment
Biography

Senior Consulting Engineer Chad Jones is a licensed professional engineer in several states, a NAFI Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator, and a Certified Machinery Safety Expert.  He has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Clemson University.

Chad has over 25 years of engineering experience including mechanical, process and manufacturing engineering. He has participated in and led industrial accident investigations and participated in in-depth process safety audits. This work has included equipment design, machine safeguarding, cost estimating and safety compliance.  He has designed HVAC and plumbing systems for commercial, industrial, and private clients.

Chad’s process experience includes the operation and control of continuous and batch polymerization equipment to produce nylon as well as expansion projects to add new equipment to increase production. His machine design experience includes utilizing diffusion pumps in the design of high vacuum production equipment for manufacturing facilities. He was also the engineer responsible for mechanical power presses at a capacitor production facility. His vertical construction design experience includes industrial heating, cooling, ventilation, and piping; while his commercial HVAC and plumbing design experience includes heating and cooling, commercial kitchen ventilation and fire protection, as well as plumbing.

A lifelong auto and motorcycle enthusiast, Chad is accomplished in the maintenance, repair, and modification of vehicles and engines. He is also an IFSAC Certified Interior Structural Firefighter II with the Northwest Volunteer Fire Department in Greenwood, South Carolina. He has served on the Board of Directors of the department since 2002.

Qualifications
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering
Licensed Professional Engineer
Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator
Applied Engineering Experience – over 20 years
Experience in Machine & Piping Design
Experience in Machine Safeguarding
Certified Machine Safety Expert
Experience in HVAC System Design
Publications
Residential Structure Fires

The winter season is well underway in the United States, with the Christmas and New Years holidays behind us and the depths of cold weather here for the duration. With winter, many people spend more hours indoors as compared to the summer when outdoor activities ramp up. With more time spent indoors, it is somewhat […]

Recent Posts

New Year, New HVAC Refrigerant

As we ring in the new year 2025, a significant change is coming for several heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) systems that are currently used in both residential and commercial applications.  The 2020 American Innovation & Manufacturing (AIM) Act is bipartisan legislation that was signed into law.  The AIM legislation empowers the Environmental […]

Safety Distance in Machine Safeguarding

Hazard can be defined as a potential source of harm.  Machine safeguarding seeks to protect people from these potential sources of harm.  Often distance from a hazard will play a key role in providing a means of protection. One would often think of distance as it relates to the location of a barrier guard from […]

Materials in HVAC Plenums

What materials are suitable for installation in Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) plenums?  Let’s first define a plenum.  The 2021 edition of the International Mechanical Code (IMC), a subset of the International Building Code (IBC), defines a plenum as “an enclosed portion of a building structure, other than the occupied space being conditioned, that […]

Hot ’til It’s Not Part II – Heating System Maintenance

As cold weather sets in for those of us that actually get a winter in the Northern Hemisphere, a property owner needs to think about another expensive home system that is often taken for granted, your HVAC system. Whether you have a heat pump with electric backup, a gas fired furnace, a fuel oil fired […]

Hot ’til It’s Not…Water Heater Maintenance

An often overlooked item in your home’s infrastructure is the water heater.  Most people don’t think a lot about their water heater until they turn the tap and are surprised with water that is less than hot.  Water heaters are just like many other major home appliances, they need a little attention to get their […]

Keeping the Home Fires Burning Without the Fires Burning Homes

As the Holiday Season approaches in the United States, it is a good time to take a look at several ways that the festivities can go awry. For people that have cool or cold weather during winter, the thought of a warm, cozy home can be very comforting.  However, many of the things that come […]

Danger Within Reach

How far away from a hazard should you stay?  Your parents or grandparents would probably have told you to stay far away, but what are you to do when a hazard is present, and you must work around or near the hazard?  And what exactly is a hazard?  ISO 12100 Safety of machinery – General […]

The Concepts of Hazard, Risk, and Harm in Machine Safeguarding

Hazard, risk, and harm are terms that are used in the world of machine safeguarding.   How do these words shape the concept of machine safeguarding? Let’s look a little deeper…. Hazard, which Merriam-Webster defines as a noun, lists its first meaning as a source of danger. 1: a source of danger 2a: the effect of unpredictable and […]

Taking a Practical Approach to Vehicle Fires

“On average, U.S. fire departments responded to a highway vehicle fire every 182 seconds,” according to the NFPA’s Fire Loss Facts Sheet. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) says that vehicle fires account for about 20 percent of all reported fires. Before I attempt to examine a vehicle fire loss, I like to check various […]

Lack of HVAC System Design and Poor Installation Lead to Extreme Conditions

Construction defects can appear in many forms.  The building does not necessarily have to fall down. There are many types of construction defects, including roof leaks, water intrusion into walls, as well as Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) defects. One extreme example of this was an office complex I was called to for an […]

Senior Consulting Engineer Chad Jones is a licensed professional engineer in several states, a NAFI Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator, and a Certified Machinery Safety Expert.  He has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Clemson University.

Chad has over 25 years of engineering experience including mechanical, process and manufacturing engineering. He has participated in and led industrial accident investigations and participated in in-depth process safety audits. This work has included equipment design, machine safeguarding, cost estimating and safety compliance.  He has designed HVAC and plumbing systems for commercial, industrial, and private clients.

Chad’s process experience includes the operation and control of continuous and batch polymerization equipment to produce nylon as well as expansion projects to add new equipment to increase production. His machine design experience includes utilizing diffusion pumps in the design of high vacuum production equipment for manufacturing facilities. He was also the engineer responsible for mechanical power presses at a capacitor production facility. His vertical construction design experience includes industrial heating, cooling, ventilation, and piping; while his commercial HVAC and plumbing design experience includes heating and cooling, commercial kitchen ventilation and fire protection, as well as plumbing.

A lifelong auto and motorcycle enthusiast, Chad is accomplished in the maintenance, repair, and modification of vehicles and engines. He is also an IFSAC Certified Interior Structural Firefighter II with the Northwest Volunteer Fire Department in Greenwood, South Carolina. He has served on the Board of Directors of the department since 2002.

B.S. in Mechanical Engineering
Licensed Professional Engineer
Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator
Applied Engineering Experience – over 20 years
Experience in Machine & Piping Design
Experience in Machine Safeguarding
Certified Machine Safety Expert
Experience in HVAC System Design
Residential Structure Fires

The winter season is well underway in the United States, with the Christmas and New Years holidays behind us and the depths of cold weather here for the duration. With winter, many people spend more hours indoors as compared to the summer when outdoor activities ramp up. With more time spent indoors, it is somewhat […]

New Year, New HVAC Refrigerant

As we ring in the new year 2025, a significant change is coming for several heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) systems that are currently used in both residential and commercial applications.  The 2020 American Innovation & Manufacturing (AIM) Act is bipartisan legislation that was signed into law.  The AIM legislation empowers the Environmental […]

Safety Distance in Machine Safeguarding

Hazard can be defined as a potential source of harm.  Machine safeguarding seeks to protect people from these potential sources of harm.  Often distance from a hazard will play a key role in providing a means of protection. One would often think of distance as it relates to the location of a barrier guard from […]

Materials in HVAC Plenums

What materials are suitable for installation in Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) plenums?  Let’s first define a plenum.  The 2021 edition of the International Mechanical Code (IMC), a subset of the International Building Code (IBC), defines a plenum as “an enclosed portion of a building structure, other than the occupied space being conditioned, that […]

Hot ’til It’s Not Part II – Heating System Maintenance

As cold weather sets in for those of us that actually get a winter in the Northern Hemisphere, a property owner needs to think about another expensive home system that is often taken for granted, your HVAC system. Whether you have a heat pump with electric backup, a gas fired furnace, a fuel oil fired […]

Hot ’til It’s Not…Water Heater Maintenance

An often overlooked item in your home’s infrastructure is the water heater.  Most people don’t think a lot about their water heater until they turn the tap and are surprised with water that is less than hot.  Water heaters are just like many other major home appliances, they need a little attention to get their […]

Keeping the Home Fires Burning Without the Fires Burning Homes

As the Holiday Season approaches in the United States, it is a good time to take a look at several ways that the festivities can go awry. For people that have cool or cold weather during winter, the thought of a warm, cozy home can be very comforting.  However, many of the things that come […]

Danger Within Reach

How far away from a hazard should you stay?  Your parents or grandparents would probably have told you to stay far away, but what are you to do when a hazard is present, and you must work around or near the hazard?  And what exactly is a hazard?  ISO 12100 Safety of machinery – General […]

The Concepts of Hazard, Risk, and Harm in Machine Safeguarding

Hazard, risk, and harm are terms that are used in the world of machine safeguarding.   How do these words shape the concept of machine safeguarding? Let’s look a little deeper…. Hazard, which Merriam-Webster defines as a noun, lists its first meaning as a source of danger. 1: a source of danger 2a: the effect of unpredictable and […]

Taking a Practical Approach to Vehicle Fires

“On average, U.S. fire departments responded to a highway vehicle fire every 182 seconds,” according to the NFPA’s Fire Loss Facts Sheet. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) says that vehicle fires account for about 20 percent of all reported fires. Before I attempt to examine a vehicle fire loss, I like to check various […]

Lack of HVAC System Design and Poor Installation Lead to Extreme Conditions

Construction defects can appear in many forms.  The building does not necessarily have to fall down. There are many types of construction defects, including roof leaks, water intrusion into walls, as well as Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) defects. One extreme example of this was an office complex I was called to for an […]

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