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Expert has 25 years of engineering experience working on regional, national and global projects in designing, consulting, project and construction management, operations, facilities and real estate, contract administration, engineering finance, and economics. He has provided subject matter expertise in engineering, facility design and operations, manufacturing, equipment, and systems technology, product and raw material deficiencies, defect identification, and elimination. As a problem solver, he has worked on insurance matters, supporting original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), numerous businesses and facility operations, consumers, and other stakeholders.

His expertise includes the design and engineering of commercial, industrial, manufacturing, institutional, and residential venues, as well as efforts relating to services and products used in and around these facilities. Business and industries include electronics, safety and construction, building materials, polymers and plastics, instrumentation manufacturing, petrochemicals, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, colleges, athletic facilities, textiles, coatings and resins, food storage, biosciences, supermarkets, inks & pigments, automotive, facility and real estate operations, agricultural, transportation, nuclear, healthcare, nutrition, retail, distributors, pulp and paper, packaging, utilities, apparel, and R&D centers.

Expert is a subject matter expert in commercial and industrial engineering applications and projects, as well as engineering standards and applicable codes including ASHRAE, ASME, NIST, NFPA, NBIC, ASTM, SAE, LEED, ASCE, GMP, ISA, BOCA, and EPA Regulations. Expert has developed expertise and provided training on investment engineering economics, engineering standards, chillers, refrigeration, thermodynamics, water treatment, steam systems and boilers, power and utilities, energy conservation, environmental, safety, HVAC, project management, and product development. Expert has also engaged with local, state, and government officials and agencies regarding numerous matters over his commensurate years of experience.

FORENSIC CONSULTING EXPERIENCE
- Psychiatric Hospital Facility – North Carolina
Evaluated a $28M (million) construction claim by the general contractor against a hospital facility concerning a $100M facility construction project. Developed an expert opinion and report for general construction issues, constructability, design revisions, and corresponding delay analysis for mechanical, HVAC, electrical, smoke and fire, structural, security, and building automation systems. Reviewed findings with multi-discipline experts for mediation, leading to a negotiated settlement favorable to our client.
- Municipal Building/Facility - Northern NJ
Evaluated and provided expert witness mediation testimony regarding a $3M construction delay claim by a general contractor against a municipal facility concerning an $8M renovation and new construction project. The analysis included a review of the plaintiff’s claim, project schedules, critical path & time impact considerations, delays, pay applications, contract terms, change orders, consequential & liquidated damages, lien and bond issues, correspondence, and numerous other project documents. Guided mediation to quickly develop a very favorable settlement for our client.
- Construction Claims, Pa
Multiple Pennsylvania Locations – Reviewed and evaluated multiple construction defect claims of residential/commercial construction buildings considering or in active litigation. Performed site visits and inspections during tear-offs and provided forensic analyses of expert reports, materials & methods of construction, construction documents, building code requirements, and humidity infiltration. Developed expert witness materials for the relevant legal team for use in arbitration/mediation hearings

COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL INVESTIGATIONS:
- Research and Development Labs Buildings – Delaware
Researched and provided mitigating efforts for several electrical substation failures (500 KVA to 38 MVA) including fires and explosions. Performed Root Cause Analysis (RCA) to determine contributing factors including oil issues, poor maintenance, age, insulator breakdown, and wildlife intrusion. Developed preventative maintenance measures, design alterations, life expectancy, and replacement criteria for substation capital planning. Performed consequence analyses including financial and personnel safety profiles to minimize risk.
- Industrial Park/R&D Center – Delaware
Evaluated numerous process systems with wastewater environmental excursions. Led process engineering efforts for the facility to manage the issue, reducing process excursions from 14 annual occurrences down to 1 occurrence, and avoided the expected CAPEX of $8M to $15M for a planned infrastructure project to correct the problem.
- Agricultural Research and Processing Facility – Newark, DE
Investigated the catastrophic failure of a flue gas recirculation (FGR) fan on a high–pressure steam boiler with near miss potential, including materials of construction and metallurgical analyses. Found traces of sodium on the carbon steel fan wheel along with corrosion and cracks, both macro and minor. The root cause analysis identified tube failures as the sodium source causing boiler water to introduce to the airside of the combustion system. A stainless-steel fan wheel was specified for the new design to prevent future failures. The expedited project prevented facility downtime risk estimated at a $500K daily value.
- Office & Research Facility – Delaware
Reviewed a near-miss water hammer incident, where poor condensate removal during a steam system startup forced a slug to burst a valve assembly causing high-pressure steam emission in a mechanical room where the person was in the general proximity.
- Pulp and Paper Company – Chester, PA
Investigated structural and civil engineering of concrete foundations in the manufacturing facility underneath large paper processing equipment to identify causes of vibration. Performed vibration analyses on rotating equipment and concrete structure, isolating the problem areas to the lower foundation section. Devised a solution with a resin injection company to reconstitute damaged portions of the foundations. Efforts were done to di minimize interruption to operations, with a daily production rate of $500K in sales.
- Four Star Hotel & Offices – Rodney Square, Delaware
Investigated, engineered, and improved many aspects of facility operation, mechanical systems, indoor air quality (IAQ), HVAC, building automation systems (BAS), boilers, combustion tuning, chillers, utilities billing and metering to 3rd parties, steam leaks, piping distribution, to achieve increased reliability for the overall facility.
- Commercial Supermarkets
US Nationally (PA, MI, WI, CA, DE, MN, UT, NY, OH, FL) Performed investigations of refrigeration system issues, including fires during maintenance activities. Determined the cause of the fires were improper oil removal (vs. the perceived flammability of refrigerants) and advised owners and operators to fully and positively de–inventory refrigerant oil before the use of any open flame (torch) around the system. This recommendation led to reduced risk for the facilities and reduced potential litigation. This also prevented the release of incorrect information, such that the refrigerants were flammable when they were not. Also, investigated the release of refrigerants to ambient due to improper replacement of seals and gaskets as recommended by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM).
- Roofing and Building Materials Manufacturer – Mexico & Brazil
Evaluated roofing and roofing membrane products, including general properties, sustainability, energy aspects, greenhouse gas (GHG), and life cycle properties (cradle to grave). Findings were utilized in the development of product and marketing materials.
- Building Materials Manufacturer – Richmond, VA & Wilmington, DE
Evaluated product properties of Tyvek building wrap including general product properties and infiltration benefits to residential and commercial buildings. Investigated blower door data, performed ASHRAE, TRANE, and “Energy 10” simulations to estimate a 10% reduced infiltration for buildings with certain types of moisture barrier protections. Issued findings and co-authored a paper on the findings which were utilized in aiding the development of product claims and marketing materials. Interfaced with EPA, Department of Energy (DOE), and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) as part of the effort.
- Residential & Commercial Foam Insulation Manufacturer – Wilmington, DE
Performed a product comparison of spray foam insulations including R-Values, manufacturing, and application costs. Performed a product liability analysis for a proposed next-generation drywall material (vs. gypsum) and determined flammability risks of the new application were too high and recommended against the new application.
- Coatings and Colorants Manufacturing Facility
Investigated an EPA refrigerant release due to a large centrifugal chiller, finding the root cause to be contract maintenance. Met with the owner and the contractor to discuss and prevent future occurrences ($1 million value). Investigated a large process cooling tower causing reliability and downtime losses in production valued at $1M per day. Implemented changes with plant operations to correct maintenance issues to deliver uptime benefits.
- Country Club & Golf Course – Delaware
Investigated a new product application failure on an HVAC system causing reliability and potential Indoor Air Quality issues (IAQ). Worked with multiple OEMs with recommendations for the supplier OEM to use the new product only incompatible units, avoiding substantial commercialization costs and potential litigation.
- Petrochemical Manufacturing Facility – West Virginia
Investigated the (vacuum) collapse of a large product storage silo and implemented corrective action, including reforming the vessel and safely welding stiffener rings (in a Class 1 Div. 1 atmosphere) in strategic locations. Investigated a large production fire caused by a plugged rotary blower on a pneumatic product conveying system. Implemented a 2 of 3 voting control scheme to provide safety interlocks to shut the system down to prevent future fires. These upgrades delivered uptime and reliability benefit to a $1M per day operation.
- Petrochemical Facility – LaPorte, TX
Reviewed OSHA findings and the facility owner’s operations and maintenance activities regarding four fatalities that occurred during the facility startup after maintenance activities on the unit. Findings indicated unfamiliar situations for operations personnel.
- Consumer Products/Injection Molding Manufacturer – Milford, CT
Performed a Route Cause Analysis (RCA) for a consumer product line regarding quality and safety concerns. Reviewed both the intermediate materials manufacturer, and the end-use manufacturer’s facilities (injection molding), and determined the problem was contamination at the former’s facility. Investigated the relevant quality and operations procedures and found operations had not performed the requisite quality checks appropriately. Additionally, an equipment overhaul was required. Led the expedited $600K machine overhaul to successfully rebuild the manufacturing equipment per OEM specification.
- Electronics/Coatings Manufacturer, Joint Venture – Sayreville, NJ
Evaluated failures of hot water heat exchangers (HX) used to condition HVAC systems of Class 1,000 and 10,000 cleanroom operations, causing product quality and downtime issues. Determined the Materials of Construction of the HX were prone to erosion due to fluid velocity and recommended replacement with Stainless Steel.
- Mixed-Use Facilities – Globally
Reviewed and investigated personal injuries and incidents including slips, trips, and falls, hand injuries, back injuries, fork truck incidents, ergonomic injuries, hearing loss, and electrical related loss of limb accident, a breathing air fatality, construction, and facilities injuries, vehicle accidents, NESHAPS exposures, asbestos incidents, asbestos remediation, lock tag try incidents, excavation incidents, confined space and asphyxiation risks, trenching and shoring up incidents.
- Mixed Manufacturing / Armored Products Facility – Deepwater, NJ
Participated with the investigation team to review a serious fire that occurred on a thermal oxidizer system (newly refurbished) incineration unit just after startup of the armored products intermediates manufacturing unit. Team findings showed the design-build firm failed to consider the possibility of backflow in a portion of the circuit. As such, the materials of construction in this section were inappropriate for use with high-temperature flue gas which melted that section and caught fire. The team’s recommendations included upgrading materials of construction, increased instrumentation and unit controls, and awareness training for both the design firm & unit operations. The estimated value of lost downtime for this event was $20M.
- Electronics Developer & Manufacturer – Santa Barbara, CA
Led design, engineering, and construction management of a semi-works facility scale-up. The scope included upgrades to the building and structural infrastructure, utility systems, prototyping/production areas, clean rooms, and labs, as well as
office and administrative areas at multiple locations. Maintained a fast-paced project schedule and kept the project on the budget to complete the $40M project.
- Automotive Coatings Production Facility – Philadelphia, PA
Investigated new products in the development, scale-up, and commercialization of automotive resins, coatings, and inkjet inks. Ran R&D efforts for new formulations, catalysts, processed test batches on reactors and media mills, and performed product quality and performance tests. Made recommendations to business stakeholders regarding whether to proceed with proposed formulations. Managed operations, engineering, maintenance, and scheduling of product wheel on 6 process manufacturing lines. Purview included full administrative control over several production reactors with over $80M in annual production. Significantly reduced production over time in a union environment. Analyzed customer failures (complaints) for truck, auto, and airline products by forensically tracing
back to manufacturing batches and checking for a process upset causation. Reviewed and led portions of consequence analyses (CA) regarding catastrophic failures of facility systems including explosions, detonations, fire, and potential loss of life calculations to ascertain the risk of operations. Managed Toxic Substances Control Acts (TSCA) requirements in a High Hazard facility.
- Textile, Safety, Armored Products & Construction Products Manufacturer – Richmond, VA
Performed an infrastructure risk assessment of a large industrial manufacturing complex (including products manufactured for U.S. Department of Defense contracts) with a focus on the risk of downtime valued at $1.5M/day. Developed $70M in capital project recommendations including upgrades to the water and wastewater systems, chillers (18000-ton capacity review), 30MW turbine generators, utility infrastructure and distribution systems, heat sink/spray pond. Implemented upgrade projects with site engineers over several years to deliver uptime improvement benefits for the site.
- Commercial Research & Office Facility – Greenville, DE
Reviewed the failure of a 500 KW Diesel Generator used for peak shaving and determined the catastrophic failure of the supercharger assembly. Reviewed the electrical savings and financial impact related to the generator and determined no functional savings from continued operation. Recommended ending the use of the peak shaving generator, avoiding a CAPEX replacement savings of $300K.
- Mechanical Systems Design Firm – Kalamazoo, MI
Investigated a new product failure, a one-ton hydraulic box dumping system, at a packaging and distribution facility. Developed a design upgrade in conjunction with the design-build firm at the facility. The main repair was the replacement of bushings on the main pivot shaft with sealed, internally lubricated bearings. The device worked well following the upgrades and kept a $250K per day production online.
- Extrusion Manufacturing Facility – West VA
Performed root cause analyses of two fires that occurred during operation: (1) extruder head and (2) extruder barrels. Successfully implemented process and administrative controls to eliminate additional fires, with uptime savings estimated at >$1M. Witnessed and reviewed a large absorber column and flare fire with serious catastrophic potential. Findings included loss of operational discipline (O.D.) in a Process Safety Managed (PSM) facility.
- Pulp & Paper Mill – Southeast PA
Reviewed uptime and reliability issues in the converting and packaging operations. Identified archaic equipment and controls, recommending upgrades to achieve a 4% to 6% uptime benefit. Reviewed a fork-truck pedestrian incident, and other injuries at the facility and recommended upgrades to operational procedures to avoid future occurrences.
- Petrochemical Manufacturer – Newtown Square, PA & Houston, TX
Investigated a reactor (bomb) explosion caused by a polymer decomposition in an R&D Lab. Determined chemistry was likely incorrect and recognized that the vessel ruptured disc was inappropriate. Made recommendations to process chemist and modified the ruptured disc design to avoid future occurrences.
- Nuclear Power Generation Facility (Reactor Services) – Berks, PA
Participated in the investigation of an 1100 MW turbine trip during a routine operation at the facility, with downtime losses estimated at $500K – $1M daily. Worked with the turbine and reactor services teams to determine that the cause was an electrical synchronization issue in the generator. Findings included recommendations for some changes to routine maintenance practices as they pertained to these portions of the operation.