8-15 PDH; in house corporate Live Seminar (Texas)

The class starts with fundamentals of engineering accident investigation and Forensic Engineering. We start the class with small cases in different fields and move to some of the high profile accidents in the country and around the world in different fields of engineering.

All of the high profile cases are in the form of video presentation. We have made it available so you can chose the cases that you like to see.

The cases have been personally selected among hundreds of other cases for the past 10 years. We cover engineering disasters and catastrophes in construction, ships, offshore platforms, vehicle design, bridge design, gas pipeline, industrial accidents and plant explosions.

Each case on its own could be considered an ethics case. The first session in forensic engineering is mandatory as it teaches the engineer the fundamental of forensic engineering. Simply select 5-6 more cases for each day of seminar from the topics 2-26 that your company or engineers would like to see and discuss.

One-Day & Two-days live Seminar

       Opening statement and remarks.

1. Forensic engineering & engineering accident reconstruction. A general discussion of what is Forensic engineering and engineering accident investigation. Sample case studies of forensic engineering in different fields. Sample computer animation for courtroom presentation. The general fundamental of engineering accident investigation and working the scene of the accident. Photographing, video graphing, taking measurement and collecting evidence from the scene of the accident. Product liability, failure analysis, vehicle, truck and train accidents.
   
   
2. Roof Structure Collapse. Video clips presentation and discussion of roof collapse in an indoor stadium in Kansas.
   
   
3. Construction accidents caused by overload. Video Clip presentation and discussion of the walkway collapse accident at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City Missouri, roof collapse of Sampoon Department store in South Korea and wedge failure in a lift slab method in Lambiance Plaza in Bridgeport Connecticut.
   
   
4. Maritime and fire accidents on ships and offshore platforms. Video clips presentation and discussion of a sea ferry accident in Scotland, structural failure on a cruise ship causing the cruise ship to sink, fire on Piper Alpha offshore platform caused by a leaking valve, oil spill by Exxon Valdez and structural testing and modifications of the oil tankers in US waters after the Exxon Valdez incident.
   
   
5. Bridge accidents. Video clips presentation and discussion of structural failure of a bridge in New York caused by improper bridge construction. Structural failure and collapse of the Silver Bridge in West Virginia caused by crack corrosion. Structural failure of a Box bridge in Australia.
   
   
.......................................... Lunch Break........................................12:00 P.M- 1:00



6. Capsized offshore platform Alexander Killian in the North Sea. How a small crack caused by welding was not detected in one of the legs of the platform and after months of poundings by the waves, the crack grew and took one of the platform's legs off, causing the platform to capsize.
   
   
7. Bridge accidents. Video clips presentation and discussion of structural failure of a bridge in New York caused by improper bridge construction. Structural failure and collapse of the Silver Bridge in West Virginia caused by crack corrosion. Structural failure of a Box bridge in Australia.
   
   
8. Capsized offshore platform Alexander Killian in the North Sea. How a small crack caused by welding was not detected in one of the legs of the platform and after months of poundings by the waves, the crack grew and took one of the platform's legs off, causing the platform to capsize.
   
   
9. NASA Firefighters, Industrial fires and plant explosion.  Video clip presentation and discussion of NASA firefighters training in case of a rocket explosion and Phillips plant explosion in the ship channel in Houston, Texas.
   
   
10. Ethics as an engineer and as an expert witness. (1 PDH Ethics) Battle of experts; Video clip case study of a murder trial, where the alleged murderer was accused of killing her mother by setting her mother and car on fire. Testimony of the two experts in this trial.
    
    
11. Sky Walkers; Engineers and construction workers at high elevations; Video clips presentation and discussion of engineers and construction workers working at hair-raising altitudes pushing the limits of safety beyond imagination. From repairing the radio antennas, to changing the bulb on top of the Empire Estates or construction of the new AOL building in New York.
    
    
12. Explosion in a water station; geological factor: Explosion in a new water station built for a small town in England. How coal was not detected or taken into consideration in the soil when the station was being built and the underground tunnel were dogged and pipes were installed. Resulting in accumulation of Methane gas finding their way to the station.
    
    
13. Extreme Engineering Video presentation of building of the Panama Canal by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Future widening of the Canal by the US Army Corps of Engineers and other European Engineering companies.
    
    
14. NASA Firefighters, Industrial fires and plant explosion.  Video clips of NASA firefighters exercises in case of a rocket explosion and Phillips Plant explosion in the ship channel in Houston, Texas.
    
    
15. Oil & Gas Fire accident. Video clip presentation and discussion of the blow out specialists bringing a gas well fire accident under control in Alberta, Canada.
    
    
16. Oklahoma Bombing. Why so much damage was caused by one bomb? Video clip presentation and discussion of the accident. Studying the reaction of the building and floors as a result of the internal pressure increase caused by the bomb. The new guidelines and codes for the construction of federal and government buildings after the bombing.
    
    
17. 911-Examining the collapse of the world trade center twin towers. Examining the collapse of the twin towers and the different possibilities of the collapse. Examining similar building collapses and high rise fire accidents. Examining the controversy regarding the building collapses. Why did building No. 7 collapsed uniformly and evenly from the foundation, despite the fact it was never hit by a plane? Class discussion. (engineering discussion only, No political discussion please)
    
    
18. Building the Brooklyn Bridge. (1 hr. Ethics). The Brooklyn Bridge was built during the mid 19th century. The bridge is one of the marvels of engineering for the time that it was built. See the challenges and personal sacrifices made by the Chief Engineer Mr. John Roebling, his family, his engineers and his working crew to finish the bridge.
    
    
19. Ethics as an engineer and as an expert witness. (1 PDH Ethics) Battle of experts; Video clip case study of a murder trial, where the alleged murderer was accused of killing her mother by setting her mother and car on fire. Testimony of the two experts.
    
    
20. Extreme Engineering, Video presentation of building of the Panama Canal by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Future widening of the Canal by the US Army Corps of Engineers and other European Engineering companies.
    
    
21. Extreme Engineering; The Super Racers.  Treat yourself into a first hand look into the world of high tech motor speed race cars. See the computer 3-D car design, aerodynamic detail borrowed from the aerospace industry, and engines several thousand times more powerful than street cars. From Grand prix cars and Nascars to off road racing, see how the automotive engineers flex their muscles at the race trace.
    
    
22. Extreme Engineering; The Boston's Big Dig. One of the biggest and most challenging projects in US history. See how the city's traffic was eliminated by building a 10 lanes highway 120 feet below the city's surface.

  23. Rebuilding new Orleans                                              

The recovery of New Orleans from the devastation brought by Hurricane Katrina will take years, if not decades. But before long-term solutions can be implemented, immediate repairs are needed to protect New Orleans from the future hurricane season.

  24. Snoohvit Arctic Gas Processing platform                             

Snoohvit is Europe's first liquefied natural gas plant, constructed on a gargantuan floating platform the size of two soccer fields. While it was built in the port of Cadisz in southern Spain, the plant's final destination is the icy waters off the coast Norway – nearly 2,500 miles away. In order to make the trip, the plant will have to be loaded onto a massive transport barge.
Watch as the gigantic plant is slowly loaded onto the submerged barge, then lifted out of the water and prepared for the grueling, cross-globe trip. Follow Snoohvit as it makes its way across the stormy Bay of Biscay and the world's most congested shipping lane, the English Channel, up into the North Sea. Finally, discover how workers pull off the most delicate maneuver of all: removing the plant from the transport vessel and carefully positioning it squarely in the midst of a vast dry-dock that's been cut out of a remote arctic island.        

   25. Sakalin Oil & Ice.                                                              

Watch one of the world's largest, most involved construction projects – the sprawling Sakhalin oil and gas complex, located on a remote island off the eastern coast of Russia. The Russians are pouring billions into this city-sized operation – designed to suck fossil fuel from a frigid corner of the Pacific Ocean – with the hope that it will provide a needed boost to the region's economy. Watch one of the most ambitious construction plans of our time.

   26. Building the USS Truman.                                                

Take a comprehensive, insider's look at the aircraft carriers of today's United States Navy. Marvel as a mind-boggling array of workers, materials and technologies combine to create an aircraft carrier right before your eyes. Exclusive footage captures the building of the USS Truman – from the moment the ship is conceived to its delivery to a jubilant Navy crew.

 

       End of the Seminar.