Industrial Engineering Expert Witnesses: 11

William R. Acorn is founder of Acorn Consulting Services, LLC, an engineering firm. As a consulting mechanical engineer, Bill provides project analysis, forensic reconstructions and litigation support services relating to the design, delivery, and functioning of high-tech manufacturing facilities, semiconductor fabrication facilities, institutional laboratories, data centers, health care facilities and a variety of commercial buildings. He is a recognized expert in the evaluation of deficiencies in HVAC systems, cleanrooms, piping systems, refrigeration systems, construction defects, building and fire code compliance, and patent and trade secret disputes. He represents both plaintiffs and defendants.

Bill has more than 40 years of experience as a professional engineer and is a recognized expert in assessing, evaluating, remediating and providing testimony on complex project design, construction and operational matters. His consulting expertise has been influential in shaping approaches to code compliance and life safety in semiconductor and similar advanced technology facilities.

Certifications and Designations:

• Registered as a Professional Mechanical Engineer in the States of Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Washington.
• Registered with the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying NCEES (Certificate No. 6999)
• Fellow in the HVAC industry leading organization ASHRAE
• Visiting lecturer at the Arizona State University Del E. Webb School of Construction in Tempe, AZ
• Advisor to CREATE, ACE – Alliance for Construction Excellence and the IAB – Industry Advisory Board, all affiliated with ASU

Building Systems Analysis:

Litigation Support: Bill’s pragmatic approach to both forensic and litigation consulting as well as project consulting is based on more than 40 years of real-world experience as a design professional, mentor and forensic analyst, as well as many years as an instructor in professional and academic settings. Represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a variety of jurisdictions throughout the US and Asia. Bill’s ability to explain complex issues to non-technical audiences, including juries, mediators and judges, is a key to successfully solving your litigation challenges.

• Forensic Analysis
• Strategic Litigation Consulting
• Trial Demonstratives
• Expert Testimony

Acorn Consulting Services

Consulting Services: Services range from peer review to conceptual design to development of strategies and programs for expedited project delivery.

Bill frequently acts as an owner’s agent and mentor, functioning as an extension of the owner’s project team. On other projects, Bill serves as a subject matter expert assisting project delivery firms in their development of viable solutions and review of construction documents.

As a project consultant, Bill assures the project gets off to the right start and provides his expertise through completion and operation to maximize return on investment.

Consulting Expertise Includes:

• Project Design and Management Consulting
• Forensic Analysis and Litigation Consulting
• Mentoring & Advanced Education

David Smith is an experienced mechanical engineer (MS, PE) with seven issued patents. Award-winning inventor. Vice President of Alpine Engineering and Design, a mechanical engineering consulting company with clients around the United States ranging from individual inventors to Fortune 500 companies. Worked on the development of multiple successful products including among other things: aerial lifts, garbage trucks, thrill rides, ziplines, trailers, oil and gas equipment, exercise equipment, manufacturing equipment, and multiple consumer products. 

Graduated Cum Laude with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Completed a master's of science degree in mechanical engineering and an MBA with an emphasis in product development. Licensed professional engineer (PE) and certified safety professional in comprehensive practice (CSP). Certified trainer for boom lifts, scissor lifts, rough terrain, and counterbalanced forklifts. Over 10 years of experience in product development, patents, equipment safety, and risk assessments. 

Experienced expert witness having drafted over 200 reports/declarations in patent cases and catastrophic injury and death cases. Designed and built multiple custom testing devices to obtain data and evaluate opinions. Created multiple demonstratives to explain the mechanics and circumstances of accident sequences and patented devices. Testified in deposition 11 times and in trial once.

James Parker has over 35 years of relevant industry experience specializing in Electronic Security Systems & Sensors, Electronics R&D, and New Product Development. He has in-depth knowledge of electronic product design in both Wired and Wireless Technologies and outstanding knowledge of Environmental and False Alarm Immunity. Products, such as alarm systems, that Mr. Parker led the design of, have an installed base in the millions. 

Litigation Support - Mr. Parker provides Patent Litigation support to counsel representing both Plaintiff and Defense and is experienced with civil liability, criminal and patent litigation, including Inter Partes Reviews (IPRs). He has the ability to explain complex technical material in a straight forward manner. Mr. Parker's past clients include Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, Fish & Richardson PC, Alarm.com, 2GIG Technologies, and Nest Labs. His services are available nationally and internationally. 

Areas of Expertise:

Background - Mr. Parker is the Past Vice President of Engineering for Digital Security Controls Ltd. (DSC), a leading global manufacturer of electronic security systems and components with sales exceeding $400 million annually. He is currently the President at EE-Systems Group Inc. Canada (R&D) where he is responsible for overseeing new product and business development. A prolific inventor, Mr. Parker has been granted over 25 unique patents with approximately 100 patent documents published worldwide. 

View James Parker's Consulting Profile.

Envista Forensics is a global leader in Forensic Engineering & Recovery Solutions. They provide Cause & Origin, Failure Analysis, Fire and Explosion Investigations, Accident Reconstruction, Damage Evaluations and Equipment Restoration Services following disasters of all kinds. Envista has offered Consulting Services to the insurance, legal and risk management industries, as well as businesses, public entities, and universities for over 25 years.

Their Experts travel globally from 30 offices located across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the U.K., Australia and Singapore. Envista's experience counts when equipment, systems, structures, or data have been threatened by catastrophe or litigation. Their experts and advisors determine cause and responsibility, and identify the nature and extent of damage or loss and provide a full range of solutions to protect their assets.

Envista's technical professionals are trusted advisors and industry leaders. Their expertise is broad and deep, capable of withstanding all forms of scrutiny. Envista's services are available globally so that certainty is assured no matter where in the world it is needed. As the recovery from disasters has grown more complex, Envista has developed a comprehensive array of services to help their clients and has associates located around the globe to provide assurance no matter the type of loss or location of the disaster. Envista helps attorneys quickly get to meaningful answers on the many technical issues at the center of a dispute. Their engineers have decades of experience working with both defendants and plaintiffs.

They offer effective Expert Witness Testimony, with the ability to communicate effectively, build rapport with juries and judges, and maintain adherence to structured, methodical approaches in drawing conclusions are all extremely critical. Envista Forensics understands how critical the selection of an expert can be, and we understand what makes experts effective. Their court qualified experts have extensive experience providing expert testimony on a wide variety of engineering and technical matters.

Areas of Expertise:

View Envista's Consulting Profile.

Summary

Stephen (Steve) T. Hopper, PE, is Founder and Principal of Inviscid Consulting. Over more than three decades, Steve has helped hundreds of clients plan and streamline their warehousing, logistics, manufacturing, and distribution operations by driving down operating costs, boosting capacity, improving service levels, mitigating risk, implementing effective supply chain solutions, emphasizing safety, and enhancing the performance of their supply chain resources: people, processes, inventory, facilities, equipment, material handling systems, transportation assets, and supply chain information technology (IT). He has worked with clients ranging from small businesses to Fortune 100 corporations.

Steve earned a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering (BIE) degree from The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) and is a board-certified, licensed, registered Professional Engineer (PE). He has served as an expert witness on dozens of cases involving supply chain operations in the US, Canada, and Australia and has advised private equity and venture capital investors. He has also been interviewed by the supply chain industry media, authored articles for industry publications, and spoken at industry events.

Industry Experience

• 3PL / Outsourced distribution and fulfillment
• Apparel / Footwear
• Building materials
• Consumer goods
• Direct-to-consumer / Ecommerce / Catalog
• Food / Beverage / Grocery
• Furniture
• High-tech / Electronics
• Industrial / Automotive / Aerospace
• Mining / Drilling
• Pharmaceutical / Health and life sciences
• Rentals
• Retail
• Reverse logistics / Returns
• Wholesale / General distribution

Supply Chain Solutions Expertise

• Warehouse management systems (WMS)
• Warehouse control systems (WCS)
• Warehouse execution systems (WES)
• Slotting and order picking systems
• Transportation management systems (TMS)
• Labor management systems (LMS) 
• Order management systems (OMS)
• Voice and automatic identification systems
• Equipment, automation, robotics, and software used for handling, packaging, storing, and transporting materials
• Logistics network design & optimization software tools

Education, Certifications, and Associations

• Bachelor of Industrial Engineering (BIE), The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)
• Board-certified, licensed, registered Professional Engineer (PE)

Florida Office:
Andrew Avalon, PE, PSP
Chairman & CEO
8633 Willow Kane Court
Orlando, FL 32835
aavalon@long-intl.com
T: (407) 445-0825     F: (407) 650-3399

Long International provides expert engineering and construction claims analysis, expert testimony, project management consulting, and insurance claims analysis services. We focus on projects in the following industries: building and construction; gas, gasification, GTL, LNG, and NGL; industrial and manufacturing; mineral and mineral processing; offshore oil and gas; oil sands; pipelines and utilities; power; refineries, petrochemical, and chemical; transportation; and water, wastewater, dams, and marine. We analyze claims, not limited to, disputed change orders, schedule delay, acceleration, time extensions, liquidated damages, loss of productivity, defective specifications, and deficient project management performance.

Richard J. Long, P.E., P.Eng., Founder of Long International, has over 50 years of U.S. and international consulting experience involving construction contract disputes analysis and resolution, arbitration/litigation support and expert testimony, project management, engineering/construction management, cost and schedule control, and process engineering. As an internationally recognized expert in the analysis and resolution of complex construction disputes for over 35 years, Mr. Long has served as the lead expert on over 300 projects having claims ranging in size from US$100,000 to over US$2 billion. He has presented and published numerous articles on claims analysis, entitlement issues, CPM schedule and damages analyses, cumulative impact claims, and claims prevention.

Rod C. Carter, CCP, PSP is President of Long International and has over 20 years of experience in construction project controls, contract disputes and resolution, negotiations, mediation, arbitration support, and expert testimony on scheduling, loss of productivity, and quantum issues.  He has experience in entitlement, schedule, and damages analyses on over 30 construction disputes ranging in value from US$100,000 to US$7 billion, related to oil and gas, oil refinery, LNG, heavy civil, nuclear, environmental, chemical, power, industrial, commercial, and residential construction projects. Mr. Carter specializes in loss of productivity, cumulative impact, and quantum calculations, and had a lead role in assessing damages on more than a dozen major disputes.  In addition, Mr. Carter has developed cost and schedule risk analysis models using Monte Carlo simulations to address the uncertainty of estimates and claims.

Scott M. Francis, P.E., PSP is a Vice President of Long International and has over 20 years of experience in project management, contract disputes analysis and resolution, CPM schedule preparation, execution, and analysis, productivity analysis, contract administration, design engineering, construction management, and government contracting.  He provides schedule development and assurance services, cost estimating, and claims analysis services on projects for both owners and contractors.  Specific responsibilities include CPM development and reviews, CPM schedule delay and acceleration analyses, change order impact analysis, issue identification, correlation of impacts to schedule activities, and productivity evaluations.

Mass Tank Inspection & Services (MTIS) is the largest Steel Tank Fabrication and Inspection Services company on the east coast. MTIS serves the steel tank industry both domestically and internationally. Their commitment to service and quality has made them one of the largest tank manufacturers with a full range of Aboveground Tanks, Underground Tanks, and Vessels.

MTIS has been in business for over 100 years and has clients throughout the world. Industries served include Aerospace, Agricultural, Biopharmaceutical, Chemical, Construction, Cryogenic, Food & Beverage, Marine, Medical, Military, Nuclear, and Petrochemical.

Litigation Support - Carl Horstmann, President and CEO, provides expert testimony on a variety of Tank Failure cases. Mr. Horstmann and his team are experts in their field, combining a deep understanding of tanks and extensive experience, enabling them to provide accurate, detailed advice for legal matters. Services include site inspection, thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Inspection capabilities include non-destructive methods such as eddy current, ground penetrating radar, infrared, inline, CMM, magnetic particle, on stream, liquid penetrant, robotic, ultrasonic, video, visual, and x-ray. MTIS inspects tanks designed to UL, ASME, API, ASTM D-1998, STI SP-001 and AWWA standards, along with tanks built to unspecified standards.

Areas of Expertise:

Page Engineering is a professional consulting firm that combines Ergonomics, Industrial Engineering, and Health and Safety expertise. They have served industry leaders in the areas of Transportation, Shipping, Manufacturing, and Health Care throughout the United States and Canada. Established in 1994, their approach is bolstered by years of litigation scrutiny and backed by extensive application of ergonomics, human factors, epidemiologic, and occupational medical scientific literature. They specialize in human factors and ergonomics assessments, including both acute and cumulative exposures and their hands-on approach is backed by extensive research and measurement of actual work exposure to occupational physical factors and workplace design.

Litigation Support - The professionals at Page Engineering provide forensic engineering and root cause analysis expert witness services to counsel representing both Plaintiff and Defense. Their areas of expertise include:

George B. Page, CPE, is a Certified Professional Ergonomist. Since founding Page Engineering, Mr. Page has been providing ergonomics services, integrating multiple disciplines (industrial engineering, safety, health, business, regulatory) to provide effective results, whether in the application of job analyses and job improvement processes or in physical job demands analyses. His experience includes conducting ergonomics analyses and research in the railroad industry, primarily, and in heavy industry, in general, for over 30 years. Clients include Union Pacific Railroad, Kansas City Southern Railways, Association of American Railroads, FedEx, American Petroleum Institute, Food Marketing Institute, Food Distributors International, Blue Water Bridge Authority, USPS. His expertise includes job exposure assessments, physical demands assessments, accident reconstruction, and forensic engineering.

Greg G. Weames, CPE, CCPE, CRSP, is a Certified Professional Ergonomist who provides forensic services regarding Musculoskeletal Injury / Disorder Risk and expert testimony. Since joining Page Engineering, Inc., Mr. Weames has been asked to provide consulting services in ergonomics for over 500 cases involving civil lawsuit work-related injury/disorder claims. With training, education, and experience in musculoskeletal injury and musculoskeletal disorder as a focus, he applies generally accepted methodology in his analysis of causation to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty. Mr. Weames has his expert witness experience from within the railroad industry, which includes transportation, construction maintenance, mechanical shop, communications, and office environments that support a large variety of jobs and work tasks. Over the past 20 years of providing expert witness services, Mr. Weames has relied on independent, objective measurements of claimed exposures to occupational physical factors and the epidemiologic scientific literature, relevant ergonomics guidelines, and standards to support his opinions. Mr. Weames has given depositions and has appeared at jury trials in both State and Federal US courts during his years doing expert witness work.

Stephen D. Fleming, CPE, CXLT, is an Industrial Engineer / Ergonomist whose background includes analyzing work environments and work tasks using industrial engineering work measurement methods and risk assessment models for different body regions. His expertise is in assisting industrial clients in applying ergonomics to workplace processes, tools, and equipment, including all major North American railroads, FedEx, Ford Motor Company, Lear Seating, USPS, and the Blue Water Bridge Authority. Mr. Fleming has been acknowledged for developing and implementing a methodology for measuring and analyzing exposure to whole-body vibration (WBV) and hand-arm vibration (HAV).

View Page Engineering's Consulting Profile.

Dr. J. P. Purswell, PhD, PE, CPE has extensive experience in Human Factors, Ergonomics, and Safety Engineering. He holds a doctorate in Industrial & Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech. He has taught Safety Engineering and Ergonomics in the Industrial Engineering Department at CSU-Pueblo since 1999. 

A member of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society and the American Industrial Hygiene Association, Dr. Purswell also served as the Chair of the Industrial Engineers PE exam from 2005 to 2009. He continues to serve on the committee which is responsible for the preparation of the national professional engineering examination in industrial engineering. 

Dr. Purswell is the author of more than 20 publications and presentations on Product Safety, Occupational Safety, Printed Warnings, and Auditory Warnings. Examples of products addressed include silica, asbestos, cleaning chemicals, gasoline containers, and recreational equipment. Dr. Purswell maintains NIST-calibrated equipment for the measurement of light, sound, force, and whole-body and hand-arm vibration in addition to standard photo and video equipment. 

Litigation Support - An Expert Witness in the legal industry since 1997, Dr. Purswell has been qualified as an expert in state and federal courts across the nation in safety engineering, including safety analysis techniques such as Fault Tree Analysis and FMEA as well as product warnings / instructions and OSHA compliance issues. His services include site inspections, document review, drafting Rule 26-compliant reports, deposition, and trial testimony. He has been retained by attorneys for both Plaintiff (40%) and Defense (60%) more than 100 times, has been deposed approximately 50 times, and has testified at trial over 20 times. 

Areas of Expertise:

View Dr. Purswell's Consulting Profile.

Quality Forensic Engineering, LLC is a full-service forensic engineering firm, providing engineering support to clients in the areas of accident reconstruction, biomechanics, fire investigations, patent litigation analysis, premises liability, product liability, and tire failure analysis. We use the latest technology and industry proven techniques to provide thorough analysis and conclusions for the most difficult engineering questions. Our forensic engineers support clients throughout the U.S. Our locations include Tallahassee, FL; Jacksonville, FL; Tampa, FL; New Orleans, LA; San Diego, CA; and Tucson, AZ.

Traci K. Campbell, PE, CXLT, has over 22 years of experience investigating, analyzing, and testifying in matters involving a variety of forensic engineering issues. Ms. Campbell has a strong background working in manufacturing and industrial workplaces including the design, development, and implementation of solutions to ensure safe work environments. She has also been credited as part of a team holding a patent related to safeguarding power hand tools with rotating discs. 

Ms. Campbell's special interests include amusement park and theme park accidents and safety related issues. She is also a CXLT - Certified XL Tribometrist (slip index evaluation) and a certified counter balance forklift operator. Ms. Campbell has served as a presenter with the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) regarding slip, trip, stumble, and fall incidents. She has shared her engineering expertise with many organizations on topics including: slip, trip, stumble, and fall incidents; electronic data in the realm of accident reconstruction; safety engineering and the engineering hierarchy; photogrammetry and other accident reconstruction techniques; OSHA compliance; and Industrial Engineering. 

Ms. Campbell is a registered and licensed Professional Engineer in five states and she continues to refine her skills and knowledge of premises liability and safety engineering by staying current with new technology and best practices.

See Full Bio & CV.

Expertise:

Brian A. Darr, P.E. IAAI-FIT(V), CFEI, has over 25 years of engineering experience which includes Tire Failure analysis on many types of tires (passenger, light truck, radial medium truck, retreads, motorcycle, etc.), Vehicle and Residential Fire Origin and Cause investigations, vehicle accident reconstruction for passenger and commercial vehicles, motorcycles, vehicle component failure analysis, and insurance fraud/consistency evaluations. He also conducts crash data retrieval (CDR) downloads for passenger vehicles and engine control module (ECM) downloads for commercial vehicles. Mr. Darr evaluates traffic signal timing relating to intersection collisions. He provides services in product and material failure analysis, cause analysis of plumbing failures, mechanical equipment and machinery failures, lightning strike investigations, nondestructive examinations and testing, product design and assessment of conformance to government, corporate, industry, safety, and international standards.

Mr. Darr has over 25 years of extensive experience with tires including design, development, manufacturing, quality investigation, race tire preparation, and testing of tires at numerous testing facilities. He worked in a tire manufacturing facility as a plant technical engineer where he investigated quality related issues, and in a Research & Development (R & D) center where he designed, developed, tested, and analyzed tires. Mr. Darr has visited numerous tire production plants such as Goodyear, Bridgestone, Michelin, and Continental tire. He has inherent knowledge of the PAX run-flat tire system and C3M manufacturing process. He also was responsible for verifying standards and regulations were met, related to tire product and tire pressure monitoring sensors.

Mr. Darr has been qualified as a tire expert in State and Federal court. He has completed forensic tire failure analysis on many types of tires in which he referenced hundreds of publicly available tire related documents. He reviews forensic tire reports from outlying offices along with providing marketing support and giving seminars nationwide. He has conducted numerous vehicle and residential fire origin and cause investigations with various findings including fires that were intentionally set, accidental, and electrical in nature. He has also conducted fire suppression system investigations. 

Mr. Darr holds multiple fire certifications and designations with the International Association of Arson Investigators and the National Association of Fire Investigators. 

See Full Bio & CV.

Expertise:

View Quality Forensic Engineering's Accident Reconstruction Biomechanics Engineering Expert Witness Profile.

Gary D. Fletcher, PhD,  is the Founder and Principal Consultant at RnDDx Solutions LLC, a consulting firm founded in 2015, focused on Industrial Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering and Research and Product Development.  In his 30 years of experience, he has been co-inventor on 23 patents for devices and methods in blood collection and processing.

Litigation Support - Dr. Fletcher has subject matter expertise in Medical Device Mechanical Engineering and subject matter expertise in Medical Devices for Blood Collection and Blood Sample processing for diagnostics and therapeutics. He serves as an expert witness in patent infringement cases involving medical device and diagnostic biomedical engineering, blood collection, separation, fluidic preparation, and cell therapy preparation devices.

Dr. Fletcher offers patent litigation services to law firms and lawyers supporting medical device and diagnostic industry clients, who need physical science and mechanical and biomedical engineering expertise for District Court, PTAB, and International Trade Commision patent cases. As an industry consultant, his ideal clients are R&D, product development, and innovation leaders in startup, emerging, and established medical device and diagnostic companies, who face product development and competitive challenges.

Areas of Expertise:

Dr. Fletcher is an entrepreneurial executive with expanding R&D roles in business, technology, and new product development leadership and execution, building and guiding teams in both Fortune 500 and startup companies. With a PhD in physics from Yale, he has a proven record of leadership in creating innovative new businesses and products in healthcare, medical devices, diagnostics, life, materials, and optical sciences.