Forensic Engineering:: The Art and Craft of A Failure Detective

Forensic Engineering: The Art and Craft of a Failure Detective synthesizes the current academic knowledge, with advances in process and techniques developed in the last several years, to bring forensic materials and engineering analysis into the 21st century.

The techniques covered in the book are applied to the myriad types of cases the forensic engineer and investigator may face, serving as a working manual for practitioners. Analytical techniques and practical, applied engineering principles are illustrated in such cases as patent and intellectual property disputes, building and product failures, faulty design, air and rail disasters, automobile recalls, and civil and criminal cases. Both private and criminal cases are covered as well as the legal obligation, requirements, and responsibilities under the law, particularly in cases of serious injury or even death.

Forensic Engineering will appeal to professionals working in failure analysis, loss adjustment, occupational health and safety as well as professionals working in a legal capacity in cases of produce failure and liability―including criminal cases, fraud investigation, and private consultants in engineering and forensic engineering.

Colin R. Gagg, M.Sc., holds an honours degree in engineering technology and a master’s degree in management and technology of manufacturing. He is a chartered engineer and professional member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineering. His practical experience includes 2 years at the Structures Laboratories of Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine and 4 years at the Engineering Department of the University of Toronto. He currently holds the post of research projects officer at The Open University and, for the past 10 years, he has been a member of the Forensic Engineering and Materials Group.

Mr. Gagg’s prior research interest focused on advanced processing techniques such as Ospray processing, thixo-casting and melt spinning, from which a long-standing avenue of interest developed, engineering in medicine. His current research interests lie in two distinct areas: solder studies and forensic engineering. Solder assessment focuses on creep, creep rupture and monotonic characteristics of lead and lead-free solder systems. A principal aim of the work is to ensure that stress analysis and modeling for life prediction employ appropriate and reliable data. In addition to research publications, results generated have been fed directly into mainstream course production and into a specifically tailored course for the Taiwanese market. The second channel of research pursuit is forensic engineering, an area of research that is fed directly into the teaching stream as case study input. Mr. Gagg’s academic interests center on forensic engineering, where he is a contributing author for a postgraduate forensic engineering course. He maintains his enthusiasm for teaching the subject by tutoring 20 to 30 postgraduate students per year and serving as a member of the examination board for the course. He is also an examiner for M.Sc. dissertations in the manufacturing program at The Open University.

Mr. Gagg has written 24 papers for journals and international conferences and has produced more than 100 technical reports dealing with failure of metallic products. His consulting activities include resolving production difficulties and component failure issues. He acts as a single joint expert in product failure, personal injury disputes and failure during surgical procedures. He has appeared as an expert witness in court proceedings related to personal and fatal injury.