What Does a Forensic Engineer Do?
To put it simply, forensic engineering is the application of engineering principles and science used in the investigation of failure, more specifically, the failure of a machine, component, material or structure. A lot of times people think of it as reverse engineering, as these applications are used to uncover why something went wrong or stopped working. Reports provided by forensic engineers are used in matters involving injury or property damage such as a building collapse, a sprinkler failure, or a machine malfunction causing injury. Many times, these findings are also used in court to help settle a case or a claim. When this happens, the engineer will be deposed to offer testimony as to why the failure occurred. In addition, engineers are tasked with investigating catastrophic damages following hurricanes and floods, earthquakes, explosions and large fires.
Types of Forensic Engineering
There are many types of forensic engineering experts, from biomechanical, to metallurgy, to geotechnical. At Envista, we have forensic engineers and experts that offer expertise to legal and insurance professionals surrounding:
- Accident Reconstruction
- Biomechanics
- Biosciences and Healthcare
- Civil Failures
- Construction Defects
- Electrical Failure Analysis
- Energy and Renewable System Failures
- Geotechnical Analysis
- Mechanical Failure Analysis
- Materials Analysis
- Structural Failures
In addition, Envista also employs experts in a number of fields such as:
- Building Consulting
- Builder’s Risk/Course of Construction
- Cyber Security and Incident Response
- Digital Forensics
- Equipment Loss Consulting
- Fire and Explosion Investigation
- Inland and Ocean Marine Investigation