Forensic Engineers and Consultants

Jennifer Morningstar

Jennifer Morningstar

Jennifer Morningstar

BSChE, P.E., CFEI Phone: 803.732.6600 Cell: 803.603.4425 vCard LinkedIn Download CV

Expertise

  • Chemical Release & Exposure
  • Confined Space Entry - Lockout/Tagout
  • Industrial Accident Investigation
  • Environmental Regulatory Compliance
  • Fires & Explosions
  • OSHA Process Safety Management (PSM)
Biography

Jennifer Morningstar is President and Senior Consulting Engineer of Warren Forensics. She is a licensed professional engineer in several states and a NAFI Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, as well as a Masters of Business Administration from the University of South Carolina. With over 20 years of industrial experience, her emphasis includes chemical release & exposure, OSHA process safety management, industrial accident investigation, fires & explosions and scope of damage/cost to repair.  She has provided deposition and trial testimony in both state and federal court.

During 16 years of work at a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) manufacturer, she gained deep familiarity with all unit operations. Her experience also includes distributed control systems (DCS) and programmable logic controllers (PLC). An OSHA-trained Process Hazard Analysis study leader, she has completed Root Cause Failure Analysis training to become an Incident Investigator. Jennifer has authored procedures for lockout/tagout and confined space entry, and she has managed capital expansion projects in excess of $1M.

Jennifer then spent 3 years as an energy management consultant in a variety of industries, including mineral extraction, pulp & paper, animal harvesting & packaging (including rendering) and grain milling. She worked with both natural gas and coal-fired boilers producing saturated steam and super-heated steam (for cogeneration). She also has experience in air compressors, cooling towers, chillers, multi-stage ammonia-based refrigeration systems, waste water treatment and biogas production.

Jennifer is a member of the National Association of Fire Investigators (NAFI), the South Carolina chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators (SCIAAI), and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).

Qualifications
B.S. in Chemical Engineering, M.S. in Business Administration
Licensed Professional Engineer
Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator
Applied Engineering Experience – over 20 years
Experience in Process Safety Management
Experience in Root Cause Failure Analysis
Publications
Boiler Blowdown – It’s Not a Dance Move

When thinking about the safe operation of boilers (and don’t we all?), several systems can readily be named; flame control, fuel/air ratio; steam pressure control, levels in the vessel, etc. What about the water? It seems so passive, as long as there is enough for level control, what’s the big deal? Well, it turns out...

Recent Posts

Understanding Heat Transfer: A Guide for Fire Investigators

In the realm of fire investigation, understanding heat transfer is crucial. Heat transfer plays a significant role in how fires start, spread, and ultimately, how they can be analyzed and investigated. There are three primary modes of heat transfer: conduction, convection, and radiation. In this article, we’ll delve into each of these modes and explore […]

Steam Explosions…Spectacular Expansions, Spectacular Losses

I’ve heard some people say that the term steam explosion is a malaprop because explosions involve combustion.  However, if you look up the definition of explosion, you get this: “a large-scale, rapid, or spectacular expansion or bursting out or forth.” (Thanks, Meriam-Webster!!)  If you’ve ever witnessed a steam explosion, you’ll agree that it is a […]

One of the Most Amazing Compounds Around – Water?!?!

Around Christmas day of 2022, a mass of very cold air settled in the deep south/southeastern United States (where I live).  It remained below freezing for over 24 hours.  That is very unusual down here.  There was a spate of burst pipes all over the area.  Why?  Water is one of a very few compounds […]

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

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 […]

Heating System Losses: Part Two

Previously, Warren posted the first installment of a series on losses associated with heating systems.  The first article looked at central forced air furnaces.  This new article will look at a common form of supplemental or secondary heat, oil filled electric radiant heaters. These heaters are commonly used to provide extra heating in areas that […]

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 […]

Interpreting Industrial Incident Data – Lesson Learned

This is a case study about an incident I investigated involving a major upset in a distillation column.  This blog builds on the previous blogs about the Distributed Control System, DCS – Data is the Key. Distillation is a method of separating mixtures of compounds with differing boiling points.  Uncle Bill with his still on […]

What Does a Recovery Boiler Recover? – Quite a bit, actually!

The Kraft paper process was invented in 1879 and produces a stronger finished product that other paper manufacturing methods. One of the waste streams is known as black liquor and is a mixture of solids and water.  It contains lignin, hemicelluloses and chemicals used in the pulping process. The original process had no use for […]

Heat Exchanger Failures Will Shut Your Process Down

Heat exchangers, as the name implies, are used to bring a process stream to a desired temperature.  They can heat or cool either gases or liquids. They are fairly intricate in their construction, therefore not the cheapest piece of equipment to purchase.  For that reason, facilities don’t keep “spare” exchangers lying around, so when they […]

P&ID’s, If You Please – Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams Explained

When investigating an industrial incident, one piece of information I always ask for is the relevant P&ID’s for the process.  P&ID stands for Piping and Instrumentation Diagram and is defined as “A schematic diagram of the relationship between instruments, controllers, piping, and system equipment.” A set of P&ID’s for an entire facility allows you to […]

Jennifer Morningstar is President and Senior Consulting Engineer of Warren Forensics. She is a licensed professional engineer in several states and a NAFI Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, as well as a Masters of Business Administration from the University of South Carolina. With over 20 years of industrial experience, her emphasis includes chemical release & exposure, OSHA process safety management, industrial accident investigation, fires & explosions and scope of damage/cost to repair.  She has provided deposition and trial testimony in both state and federal court.

During 16 years of work at a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) manufacturer, she gained deep familiarity with all unit operations. Her experience also includes distributed control systems (DCS) and programmable logic controllers (PLC). An OSHA-trained Process Hazard Analysis study leader, she has completed Root Cause Failure Analysis training to become an Incident Investigator. Jennifer has authored procedures for lockout/tagout and confined space entry, and she has managed capital expansion projects in excess of $1M.

Jennifer then spent 3 years as an energy management consultant in a variety of industries, including mineral extraction, pulp & paper, animal harvesting & packaging (including rendering) and grain milling. She worked with both natural gas and coal-fired boilers producing saturated steam and super-heated steam (for cogeneration). She also has experience in air compressors, cooling towers, chillers, multi-stage ammonia-based refrigeration systems, waste water treatment and biogas production.

Jennifer is a member of the National Association of Fire Investigators (NAFI), the South Carolina chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators (SCIAAI), and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).

B.S. in Chemical Engineering, M.S. in Business Administration
Licensed Professional Engineer
Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator
Applied Engineering Experience – over 20 years
Experience in Process Safety Management
Experience in Root Cause Failure Analysis
Boiler Blowdown – It’s Not a Dance Move

When thinking about the safe operation of boilers (and don’t we all?), several systems can readily be named; flame control, fuel/air ratio; steam pressure control, levels in the vessel, etc. What about the water? It seems so passive, as long as there is enough for level control, what’s the big deal? Well, it turns out...

Understanding Heat Transfer: A Guide for Fire Investigators

In the realm of fire investigation, understanding heat transfer is crucial. Heat transfer plays a significant role in how fires start, spread, and ultimately, how they can be analyzed and investigated. There are three primary modes of heat transfer: conduction, convection, and radiation. In this article, we’ll delve into each of these modes and explore […]

Steam Explosions…Spectacular Expansions, Spectacular Losses

I’ve heard some people say that the term steam explosion is a malaprop because explosions involve combustion.  However, if you look up the definition of explosion, you get this: “a large-scale, rapid, or spectacular expansion or bursting out or forth.” (Thanks, Meriam-Webster!!)  If you’ve ever witnessed a steam explosion, you’ll agree that it is a […]

One of the Most Amazing Compounds Around – Water?!?!

Around Christmas day of 2022, a mass of very cold air settled in the deep south/southeastern United States (where I live).  It remained below freezing for over 24 hours.  That is very unusual down here.  There was a spate of burst pipes all over the area.  Why?  Water is one of a very few compounds […]

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

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 […]

Heating System Losses: Part Two

Previously, Warren posted the first installment of a series on losses associated with heating systems.  The first article looked at central forced air furnaces.  This new article will look at a common form of supplemental or secondary heat, oil filled electric radiant heaters. These heaters are commonly used to provide extra heating in areas that […]

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 […]

Interpreting Industrial Incident Data – Lesson Learned

This is a case study about an incident I investigated involving a major upset in a distillation column.  This blog builds on the previous blogs about the Distributed Control System, DCS – Data is the Key. Distillation is a method of separating mixtures of compounds with differing boiling points.  Uncle Bill with his still on […]

What Does a Recovery Boiler Recover? – Quite a bit, actually!

The Kraft paper process was invented in 1879 and produces a stronger finished product that other paper manufacturing methods. One of the waste streams is known as black liquor and is a mixture of solids and water.  It contains lignin, hemicelluloses and chemicals used in the pulping process. The original process had no use for […]

Heat Exchanger Failures Will Shut Your Process Down

Heat exchangers, as the name implies, are used to bring a process stream to a desired temperature.  They can heat or cool either gases or liquids. They are fairly intricate in their construction, therefore not the cheapest piece of equipment to purchase.  For that reason, facilities don’t keep “spare” exchangers lying around, so when they […]

P&ID’s, If You Please – Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams Explained

When investigating an industrial incident, one piece of information I always ask for is the relevant P&ID’s for the process.  P&ID stands for Piping and Instrumentation Diagram and is defined as “A schematic diagram of the relationship between instruments, controllers, piping, and system equipment.” A set of P&ID’s for an entire facility allows you to […]

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