Forensic engineering
Forensic engineering has been defined as "the investigation of failures—ranging from serviceability to catastrophic—which may lead to legal activity, including both civil and criminal".[1] The forensic engineering field is very broad in terms of the many disciplines that it covers, investigations that use forensic engineering are case of environmental damages to structures, system failures of machines, explosions, electrical, fire point of origin, vehicle failures and many more.[2][1]
It includes the investigation of materials, products, structures or components that fail or do not operate or function as intended, causing personal injury, damage to property or economic loss. The consequences of failure may give rise to action under either criminal or civil law including but not limited to health and safety legislation, the laws of contract and/or product liability and the laws of tort. The field also deals with retracing processes and procedures leading to accidents in operation of vehicles or machinery. Generally, the purpose of a forensic engineering investigation is to locate cause or causes of failure with a view to improve performance or life of a component, or to assist a court in determining the facts of an accident. It can also involve investigation of intellectual property claims, especially patents. In the US, forensic engineers require a professional engineering license from each state.
History[edit]
As the field of engineering has evolved over time, so has the field of forensic engineering. Early examples include investigation of bridge failures such as the Tay rail bridge disaster of 1879 and the Dee bridge disaster of 1847. Many early rail accidents prompted the invention of tensile testing of samples and fractography of failed components.[3]
Investigation[edit]
Vital to the field of forensic engineering is the process of investigating and collecting data related to the: materials, products, structures or components that failed.[4] This involves: inspections, collecting evidence, measurements, developing models, obtaining exemplar products, and performing experiments. Often, testing and measurements are conducted in an Independent testing laboratory or other reputable unbiased laboratory.
When investigating a case a forensic engineer will follow a series of standard steps of their investigation process. First thing is when the forensic engineer arrives to the scene is to establish safety, they make sure that all the hazards have been dealt with an are safe to handle and be analyzed.[5] The next step would be to do a initial incident appraisal, this is done before any analysis is done and they take a quick observation of what the solution is at hand.[5] The third step in the investigative process is to plan how to the investigation will go and would resources they will need to obtain to do the analysis accurately.[5] Next would be establishing the terms of reverence, this is when the forensic engineer will consult with the client on what they want done in the investigation.[5] The next step is to create the investigative team, once their is plan on how to investigate they will make a team of the experts in the given field needed to conduct the analysis.[5] lastly would be to start the investigation, and this is where they conduct their analysis.
Organizations[edit]
The National Academy of Forensic Engineers (NAFE) was founded in 1982 by Marvin M. Specter, P.E., L.S., Paul E. Pritzker, P.E., and William A. Cox Jr., P.E. to identify and bring together professional engineers having qualifications and expertise as practicing forensic engineers to further their continuing education and promote high standards of professional ethics and excellence of practice. It seeks to improve the practice, elevate the standards, and advance the cause of forensic engineering. Full membership in the Academy is limited to Registered Professional Engineers who are also members of the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE). They must also be members in an acceptable grade of a recognized major technical engineering society. NAFE also offers Affiliate grades of membership to those who do not yet qualify for Member grade.[8] Full members are board-certified through the Council of Engineering and Scientific Specialty Boards[9] and earn the title "Diplomate of Forensic Engineering", or "DFE". This is typically used after their designation as Profesional Engineer.
Applications[edit]
Most manufacturing models will have a forensic component that monitors early failures to improve quality or efficiencies. Insurance companies use forensic engineers to prove liability or nonliability. Most engineering disasters (structural failures such as bridge and building collapses) are subject to forensic investigation by engineers experienced in forensic methods of investigation. Rail crashes, aviation accidents, and some automobile accidents are investigated by forensic engineers in particular where component failure is suspected. Furthermore, appliances, consumer products, medical devices, structures, industrial machinery, and even simple hand tools such as hammers or chisels can warrant investigations upon incidents causing injury or property damages. The failure of medical devices is often safety-critical to the user, so reporting failures and analysing them is particularly important. The environment of the body is complex, and implants must both survive this environment, and not leach potentially toxic impurities. Problems have been reported with breast implants, heart valves, and catheters, for example.
Failures that occur early in the life of a new product are vital information for the manufacturer to improve the product. New product development aims to eliminate defects by testing in the factory before launch, but some may occur during its early life. Testing products to simulate their behavior in the external environment is a difficult skill, and may involve accelerated life testing for example. The worst kind of defect to occur after launch is a safety-critical defect, a defect that can endanger life or limb. Their discovery usually leads to a product recall or even complete withdrawal of the product from the market. Product defects often follow the bathtub curve, with high initial failures, a lower rate during regular life, followed by another rise due to wear-out. National standards, such as those of ASTM and the British Standards Institute, and International Standards can help the designer in increasing product integrity.
Publications[edit]
Product failures are not widely published in the academic literature or trade literature, partly because companies do not want to advertise their problems. However, it then denies others the opportunity to improve product design so as to prevent further accidents.
The journal Engineering Failure Analysis,[10] published in affiliation with the European Structural Integrity Society, publishes case studies of a wide range of different products, failing under different circumstances.
A publication dealing with failures of buildings, bridges, and other structures, is the Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities,[11] which is published by the American Society of Civil Engineers, under the umbrella of its Technical Council on Forensic Engineering.[12]
The Journal of the National Academy of Forensic Engineers is a peer-reviewed open access journal that provides a multi-disciplinary examination of the forensic engineering field. Submission is open to NAFE members and the journal's peer review process includes in-person presentation for live feedback prior to a single-blind technical peer review.[13]