Category: Articles, Engineering, Resources for Attorneys What is Failure Analysis? TASA ID: 17993 Failure analysis for machinery, equipment and products may be viewed as a series of intentionally planned, sequential activities geared to understanding how the subject component came to be unfit for its original purpose. Failure analysis may be undertaken by people from many different career paths and professions. But for the type of failure analysis where something broke / got deformed / corroded / worn out, materials engineers are often involved, because a natural primary question is “Was there something wrong with the material?” When materials engineers get involved, then failure analysis is essentially an engineering process. Read more
Category: Articles, Accident Analysis / Reconstruction, Automotive/Trucking, Construction, Engineering, Resources for Attorneys, Resources for Experts, Safety, Working With Experts 100% Defense Verdict in Forklift Case Reviewed by a Mechanical Engineering Expert Witness TASA ID: 7934 About 10:30 am on the morning of 26 October 2007, Jose Avalos was delivering slabs of granite to a local installer. The countertops were being loaned to the installer to be displayed at an open house barbeque for customers that was to take place later that day. Mr. Avalos brought two A frames and between four and eight slabs of granite on a 20' flatbed gooseneck trailer. Upon arrival, two of the installers employees proceeded to unload the truck. One of them drove a Hyster forklift that had a custom boom attached to the forks and had a gravity clamp (Abaco Lifter) that hung down from the end of the boom. The lifter was at the end of the boom. The setup is shown below: Read more
Category: Articles, Chemicals / Toxic Substances, Construction, Engineering, Premises Liability, Resources for Attorneys, Safety, Working With Experts Chemical Grouting Combats Water Intrusion TASA ID: 11934 This article was originally published in Transmission & Distribution World, www.tdworld.com, September 2016.Typically, utilities have leaks that occur inside conduits, along cracks and at pipe penetrations. The conduit problem, for example, occurs where the conduit penetrates inside a structure such as a building foundation, a manhole or a vault. Water infiltration occurs inside the structures at the annular space between the cables and the conduit. This leakage can fill an underground vault with water, depending on the water table elevation. Read more
Category: Articles, Accident Analysis / Reconstruction, Engineering, Maritime / Boating Accidents, Resources for Attorneys, Resources for Experts Root Cause, Causal Factors, Proximate Causes or Contributing Causes TASA ID: 273 Causal analysis is a surprisingly complex process that over the years has been subject to push and pulls from a wide variety of professional influences. When determining the actual cause of an accident or an incident, any number of stake holders would like to address the issue that “caused” the accident, whether to prevent a reoccurrence or, on the other side of the remedial spectrum, to punish the causal party. Read more
Category: Articles, Engineering, Maritime / Boating Accidents, Resources for Attorneys, Resources for Experts, Safety Whack the Whac-A-Mole Safety Approach TASA ID: 273 Capt. Terry Ogg published a thoughtful article on safety culture and training on LinkedIn. The title is “Why it's time to deep-six our current safety culture,” but within the article he provides an even better meme: The Whac-A-Mole Safety Game. Read more
