Environmental Noise Studies Business Consultants, Page 1

Durand R. Begault received a PhD in Computer Audio from UC San Diego in 1988 and an MFA from Mills College in 1981. He has been associated with the Audio Forensic Center and Charles M. Salter Associates, Inc. since 1996 and has worked as an expert witness, legal consultant, and acoustical consultant on a variety of audio-related cases since 1988. Dr. Begault also holds a research position at NASA Ames Research Center and is an adjunct faculty member at McGill University. He is the author of several U.S. patents and is qualified as an expert witness in both Federal and State Courts. Dr. Begault has testified in over 40 cases on a variety of audio technology and forensic audio-related cases.

Areas of Expertise:

Audio Technology Patent / Intellectual Property Analyses
Forensic Audio and Video Tape Examination / Authentication
Analysis of Speech, Alarms, Warning Signal Audibility
Voice Identification and Elimination
Analysis of ‘Ear Witness’ Testimony
Enhancement of Speech from Noisy Audio / Video Tape Recordings
Music Copyright Infringement and Musicological Analysis
Gunshots
Acoustical Test and Measurement - Environmental Sound
Noise Exposure
Software / Hardware Black Box Testing for Infringement
Videotape Image Enhancement
Analysis of Digital Recordings

Please contact the Marketing Department at Charles M. Salter Associates, Inc./Audio Forensic Center for Dr. Begault’s current CV.

View Expert Witness Profile.

8/30/2017 · Audio Forensics

Forensic Sound Analyses of Cellular Telephone Recordings

By: Dr. Durand R. Begault

Recordings involving cellular telephones or personal digital assistants (“PDAs”) are increasingly the source evidence in audio forensic examinations, compared to recordings originating with other devices such as hand-held digital recorders. On modern PDA cellular telephones recordings can be made either directly to the telephone or transmitted as voice mail messages. The current investigation focuses on differences in the two types of recordings in terms of dynamic range and linearity of levels. Such information can be important for characterizing the distance of sound sources relative to the microphone and are important for understanding transformation of recorded speech and non-speech sounds.

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3D Sound for Virtual Reality and Multimedia

Durand R. Begault, PhD

Written by an author with expertise in both theory and applications, 3D Sound for Virtual Reality and Multimedia provides readers an essential technical foundation in sound and virtual reality. The book covers components of spatial auditory displays; psychoacoustics of spatial hearing; what sounds are appropriate to spatialize; applications to human-machine interfaces (including virtual reality and multimedia); computer music; and room acoustics.

DNA Industrial Hygiene CSLB 773462 1A,HAZ is an occupational/environmental health & safety firm providing comprehensive industrial hygiene/environmental services. Dan Napier is the 'go to' person for help with your health & safety program. if you are a small business or one of the fortune 500's DNA has helped someone like you. whether you need a simple survey for a single issue or a complex benchmark or safety audit they have the experience and expertise to do the work. Mr. Napier provides services to the legal community. please check with him for trial assistance, forensic studies or expert witness services. he has been designated as an expert and has testified in federal and state courts.

• View Dan Napier's Curriculum Vitae

The four PhD and registered PEs at Miller Engineering are celebrating 40 years of Professorships at three universities along with providing services to Government, Insurance, and Industry—through research, publications, presentations, and expert testimony. We have a dedicated office with a full time staff of engineers, researchers, and technical writers. The span of our collective academic and experiential expertise covers well the Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, Agricultural, Industrial, Human Factors, Ergonomic and Safety fields of engineering. The areas listed below are from actual projects completed in our 40 years of history.

Vehicles

Car/Truck Accident Reconstruction
Crash Data Retrieval (CDR)
Visibility & Reaction Time Analysis
Tires, Trailers, Brakes & Accelerators
Truck/Off Road Vehicle Egress/Ingress
Traffic Signing and Construction Zones
Electronic Vehicles

Mechanical & Electrical Safety

Product Safety & Analysis
Machinery - Metal, Wood, Plastic Molding
Machine Guarding & Safety, Robots, Automation
Hazard and Risk Analysis
Employee Safety Procedures – OSHA
Electrical Distribution & Transmission Hazards

Warnings & Instructions

Warning Labels & User Manual Design
Hazard Analysis & Product Label Designs
Medical Device & Drug Warnings & Instructions
Inadequate Warnings Analysis
Standard Compliance (ANSI Z535)
Product Recall Information & Strategies

Consumers/Household Safety

Appliances & Tools
Child Furniture, Choking, Playgrounds
Swimming Pools & Exercise Equipment
Recreation - ATV, Boats, Bicycles, Boards
Ladder, Stair, Step and Railing Accidents
Slip, Trip, & Fall Accidents
CPSC Recall Information & Strategies

Chemicals Safety & Labeling

NEW OSHA HAZCOM (2012) & GHS Review
MSDS, SDS and Product Label Compliance
Toxic Torts - Diacetyl, Asbestos, Benzene, Lead, Carbon Monoxide
Vaping & E-Cigarette Health Effects

Chemical Exposures & Workplace Safety

Chemical Inhalation, Ingestion, Dermal Contact
Contamination - Water & Environmental
Manufacturing & Process Line Accidents
Slips, Trips, Falls, & Entanglements

Fires & Explosions

Cause & Origin Investigations
Gas, Vapor, & Electrical
Spontaneous Combustion
Vaping & E-cigarette Battery Failures
Fire Control & Explosion Issues

Agriculture

Tractor & Equipment Accidents
Chemical Applications & Exposures
Crop Storage & Harvesting Accidents
Pesticides

Construction

Vehicle Visibility Accidents
Slip, Trip, & Fall Accidents
Power Tool Repetitive & Immediate Injuries
Scaffolding - Cranes - Hoisting - Fork Lifts

Insurance Subrogation & Forensics

Accident Investigations
Electrical & Fire Causation
Chemical Leakage Damage
Defective Equipment Injuries
Premise and Process Damages

James M. Miller, PE, PhD – Founder Dr. Miller is an Emeritus Engineering Professor at the University of Michigan. He has directly served in Washington originating several Federal OSHA safety regulations, and interacts regularly with CPSC regarding safety and product recalls. Dr. Miller often works on projects relating to compliance with occupational safety standards, provides upper management guidance on product design, recall and liability issues, and serves as an expert witness.

Mark R. Lehto, PhD – Co-Founder Dr. Lehto is a Professor of Engineering at Purdue University. He completed his Ph.D. in engineering at the University of Michigan, where he specialized in Human Factors Engineering, in particular Warnings and Labeling. Dr. Lehto specializes in knowledge engineering, warnings and instructions, structuring expert systems, accident modeling, accident statistical analysis, consumer product safety, boating safety, in-field national surveys of product usage, and product information effectiveness.

Adam M. Olshove, PE, MSE – Engineering Manager Mr. Olshove has over 10 years of experience providing consulting services to industry and the legal profession. He holds an MS in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on control systems and battery modeling (2019), and a BS in Mechanical Engineering (2012), both from the University of Michigan. He has performed dozens of on-site investigations nationwide in relation to consumer product design and industrial accidents, including failure analysis and testing.

James M.L. Miller, MS, PhD, EIT – Engineering Associate Dr. Miller is an Assistant Professor of mechanical engineering at Trine University in Angola, Indiana. Dr. Miller graduated with a Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering and electrical engineering from Stanford University in 2021, advised by Dr. Thomas W. Kenny. At JMME he has applied his expertise to biomedical heat transfer problems and energy management in hydroelectric systems, solar arrays and portable battery usage.

Jeffrey D. Rupp, MSE – Engineering Associate Mr. Rupp has a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan and a MS in systems engineering and engineering management from Wayne State University. Among his company affiliates is 26 years with Ford Motor Company and Volvo Car Corporation, where he was involved in crash development and crash sensing calibrations.

• Project Examples

• Publications Index

Introduction to Human Factors and Ergonomics for Engineers, Second Edition

Mark R. Lehto & Steven J. Landry

Introduction to Human Factors and Ergonomics for Engineers, Second Edition presents and integrates important methods and tools used in the fields of Industrial Engineering, Human Factors and Ergonomics to design and improve jobs, tasks and products. It presents these topics with a practical, applied orientation suitable for engineering undergraduate students.

Introduction to Human Factors and Ergonomics for Engineers

Mark R. Lehto, Steven J. Landry & Jim Buck

Emphasizing customer oriented design and operation, Introduction to Human Factors and Ergonomics for Engineers explores the behavioral, physical, and mathematical foundations of the discipline and how to apply them to improve the human, societal, and economic well being of systems and organizations.

Warnings: Fundamentals, Design and Evaluation Methodologies, Vol. 1

Mark R. Lehto & James M. Miller

Instructions and Warnings: The Annotated Bibliography

James M. Miller, Mark R. Lehto & J. Paul Frantz

Warnings & Safety Instructions: Annotated and Indexed

James M. Miller, Mark R. Lehto

Nancy M. McClellan, MPH, CIH, CHMM, is an award winning, Industrial Hygiene and Safety expert with over 25 years of broad international experience practicing, teaching and authoring to anticipate, recognize, evaluate, control and prevent workplace health and safety hazards in high hazard industries.

Ms. McClellan is domestically and internationally recognized for leadership service to the IH profession for the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), the American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH), the Occupational Hygiene Training Association (OHTA) and the Joint Industrial Hygiene Ethics Education (JIHEEC) Boards of Directors and Committees. She currently serves on the AIHA Executive Board of Directors.

Background Experience:

Technical

Planned and carried out evaluation and exposure assessment of global drug supply management resulting in >55% reduction in respiratory personal protective equipment in clinical packaging operations. Completed initiative resulted in potential total reduction of >70% respiratory protection equipment as new engineering controls were implemented and evaluated for controlling pharmaceutical dust.
Developed and executed strategy for assessing potential IDLH chemical release during missile destruction testing. Outcome enabled missile scientists to safely enter the test site and collect time-critical data.
Provided expert witnessing to nationally profiled, occupational health cases in multiple states.
Executed reduction of >70% respiratory personal protective equipment for potent compound isolators as result of statistical analysis of occupational hygiene data, saving time and materials and eliminating need to transport active pharmaceutical ingredients between facilities.
Identified and addressed the mysterious source of staphylococcus biohazard in canning industry to address epidemic and prevent further widespread infections among workers.

Management

Developed and instituted IH programs through effective change management process, impacting 85 countries, increasing engineering control implementation and reducing need for quantitative-evaluation consulting services by over 20%.
Planned and executed highly potent (HPAPI) compound containment risk assessment and management strategy, achieving 50% improvement in potent compound containment across global manufacturing in 5 years, fully engaging engineering, operations and EHS communities in reaching goal.
Designed sustainable industrial hygiene risk assessment strategy and tools, addressing prioritization of industrial hygiene goals and resources, resulting in 32% increase in manufacturing site exposure assessments and global program engagement.
Reviewed, planned, and prepared EHS response to Statement of Work for TPMs, required for first trial as third-party manufacturer in clinical supply operations, leading team in completing multiple rounds of production of highly potent compound for other major pharmaceutical companies in collaboration with global pharmaceutical operations in high-containment facility.

Training

Served as volunteer leader for past 9 years for globally-endorsed Occupational Hygiene Training Association (OHTA) for development and proliferation of free, public-domain training modules, collaborating in creating module materials taught in over 55 countries and officially training over 8000 students regarding OH technical skills to universally impact and grow occupational hygiene profession.
Directly addressed IH competency in global corporations by implementing training curriculum, impacting over 100 health and safety staff by providing endorsed training materials and tools for manufacturing-site-level industrial hygiene programs.

Good Morning America Interview Link

View Nancy McClellan's Expert Witness Profile.

• Nancy M. McClellan's Curriculum Vitae

• Select Occupational Health Projects

• University of Michigan School of Public Health Comprehensive Industrial Hygiene Review

• In-Flight v. Stockbridge - Facility Pandemic Resilience and Rent Case

• Virus Countermeasures Drive Worker Safety

• Article: Nancy McClellan and ABC News Eden David - "How Air Purifiers and Cleaners May Help Keep You Safer Indoors from COVID-19"

• Good Morning America Interview Link

8/5/2021 · Industrial Hygiene and Safety

Occupant Health Hinges On Indoor Air Quality

By: Nancy M. McClellan

Mold, pollen, dust, smog, smoke, carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and other viruses and bacteria released through materials like furniture upholstery and carpeting, gaseous chemicals, particulates, and occupants, can all impact and jeopardize human health. Investing in healthier indoor air now will lead to a better environment in your building as we emerge from this pandemic with occupants that are more productive and focused.

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David Smith specializes in Recording Authentication, Speech Enhancement, Voice Identification/Elimination & Forensic Audio Analysis. Sound Testimony's proprietary's hardware/software systems recover intelligible speech and other sounds from noise-intensive backgrounds & poorly recorded media. Mr. Smith has more than three decades of professional forensic audio analysis experience in criminal and civil cases including murder, corporate fraud, employment discrimination, sexual harassment, labor, and family law. Mr. Smith consults with counsel offering audio forensic evidence examination, analysis, litigation support, expert advice, expert testimony, and related expert witness services including preparation of cross-examinations and courtroom presentations. Clients include Prosecutors, Defense Attorneys, Family Law & General Practice Attorneys, other Legal & Investigative Professionals, HR Departments, Corporations, Private Detectives, & Individuals.

Services Offered:

Recording Authentication / Tampering & Editing Detection
Forensic Quality Enhancement / Voice and Sound Extraction
Intelligibility Improvement
Transcript Review & Correction
Voice Recognition and/or Elimination
Expert Testimony
ALL services are available for Webcams, Body-cams, Dash-cams, and Security Cameras

Authentication and/or Intelligibility Improvement of:

911 calls
Accidental Recordings
Cell Phone Recordings
Video Recordings
Portable Recorders
Interviews
Depositions
Meetings

• More about David Smith

• Services

• Clients

• Testimonials

2/15/2016 · Audio Forensics

Audio Forensics: What We Hear v. What We Record

By: David Smith

In Audio Forensics, it often comes down to ears versus microphones. In one corner, we have the human ear with all its amazing capabilities. In the other corner, the fantastic piece of technology known as the microphone, with its ability to record sound to a digital file or tape for later playback.

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8/26/2015 · Audio Forensics

Audio Forensic Analysis: What Happens In Jail, Stays In Jail... Or Does It?

By: David Smith

A confrontation between an inmate and a Corrections Officer leads to accusations of mistreatment on one side and claims of justifiable action on the other. It was one person's word against another until an unexpected recording came to light and, with the help of sophisticated audio forensic analysis and processing, the truth was revealed.

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7/28/2015 · Audio Forensics

Pocket Dialing and Voicemail

By: David Smith

Pocket dialing occurs when a mobile phone's touch pad is pressed by something in a person's pocket or purse, or, if the person happens to sit down a certain way, a part of their anatomy. If the pressed key or screen surface area is programmed to dial or redial a telephone number, a call occurs. This call often goes undetected by the phone's owner. Some phones are more prone to this phenomenon than others.

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2/27/2013 · Audio Forensics

Family Law Audio Evidence: Altered Without Editing?

By: David Smith

A party in a divorce case hired me after his attorney told him that his wife's council was planning to introduce audio recordings during an upcoming custody hearing.

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1/14/2013 · Audio Forensics

Audio Restoration vs. Audio Forensics

By: David Smith

You have an audio recording that may be used as evidence in an upcoming court case. Looking for a way to make it easier to hear, you do an on-line search and come upon a list of "Audio Restoration companies." The ads state that these sites can lower or eliminate noise and restore recordings to their original quality.

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