Heating Ventilating Air / HVAC Consultants: 3

Roger W. Griffith, PE, has over 37 years of professional experience as a Mechanical Engineer in the design, maintenance, and operation of mechanical systems. He specializes in the areas of Plumbing, HVAC, and Fire Sprinkler Systems Design.

Background - As the principal of Griffith Engineering & Consulting for 23 years, his design experience with commercial and industrial projects include convention centers, schools, office buildings, condominiums, apartment buildings, hotels, churches, manufacturing facilities, medical buildings, restaurants, historic buildings, dormitories, fire halls, and maintenance facilities. Prior to that, Mr. Griffith worked at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) as a mechanical engineer for 14 years. 

His roles at TVA included nuclear piping analyst, valve and heat exchanger specialist, maintenance engineer, and later maintenance supervisor at a fossil plant, and quality manager. His engineering roles included failure analysis of plant equipment. He also taught many courses on the subject of problem-solving and failure analysis for company employees.

Consulting Services:

View Roger W. Griffith's Expert Witness Profile.

Joseph A. LaRovere, CEM, has over 35 years of experience as a contractor, owner/operator, technician, and consultant to the construction industry with specialties in HVAC, Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, Energy Management and Control Systems. He works with clients that are experiencing operational issues, difficulty finding the right team members, need help with business processes, or just need an objective executive coach to help them get to the next level.

Business Consulting Services:

• HVAC Systems, air conditioning, heat pumps, chiller plants, heating hot water, boilers, air handlers, water source heat pumps, cooling towers, dedicated outside air, ventilation, and exhaust systems
• Energy management and control system, sequence of operation, energy management and building efficiency
• Domestic hot water systems, electric and gas boilers and water heaters, mixing valves and hot water recirculation systems
• System failures, equipment failures, maintenance issues, preventative maintenance, water treatment, forensic investigation, and remediation
• Project Management, Program Management, Project Accounting, and Scheduling consulting and analysis
• Contractor Evaluation, Contract Review, Contractor Standard of Care, Engineering Evaluation, Site Inspections, and Retro commissioning

Certifications:

• C.E.M. - Certified Energy Manager
• Honeywell Tridium Niagara AX
• Honeywell Tridium Niagara 4
• Johnson Controls Facility Explorer

View Joseph LaRovere's Expert Witness Profile.

Mr. Keane is an engineer and internationally recognized authority on the control, mitigation, and forensic investigation of Legionella in building and industrial water systems. He has more than 40 years of experience spanning engineering, construction, facility operations, water treatment, and Legionella risk management, including more than 25 years leading outbreak investigations, root cause determinations, and remediation efforts.

Mr. Keane is retained in complex Legionnaires’ disease litigation involving alleged failures in engineering design, system operation, and water management programs. His forensic work includes field investigation, system and operational analysis, interpretation of water quality and microbiological data, review of engineering schematics, and reconstruction of system operating history.

His experience includes:

• Building engineering, construction, and facility operations/management (1977–1987)
 • Water treatment industry leadership and technical operations (1987–2000)
 • Legionella consulting, outbreak response, and water management program development (2000–present)

Mr. Keane has led or played key roles in major public health outbreak investigations, including:

• Rapid City, South Dakota (2005): Contracted by state of South Dakota to lead community wide outbreak investigation
 • Flint, Michigan (2016): Participated in the state-led evaluation of Legionella risk in residential water systems
 • Quincy Veterans’ Home, Illinois (2015–2018): Contracted by state of Illinois for engineering investigation to resolve the multi-year Legionnaires’ disease outbreak

He has direct field experience investigating and remediating Legionella in hospitals, long-term care facilities, hotels, residential buildings, industrial and municipal water systems, casinos, and other large-scale facilities.

Mr. Keane was an original voting member in development of ASHRAE Standard 188 and the revision of ASHRAE Guideline 12 through publication of the 2018 standard and 2020 guideline. He has also contributed to other industry guidance documents including AWWA, ASHE, ASPE and IAPMO.  He has coauthored five peer-reviewed papers, including collaborations with the CDC and multiple academic institutions.

Mr. Keane has presented to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and has trained public health officials and industry professionals nationwide on Legionella risk management and water system safety.

He is frequently engaged to:

• Perform outbreak root cause analysis
 • Evaluate standard of care and regulatory compliance
 • Assess engineering design and operational deficiencies
 • Provide expert testimony and litigation support