{"id":11630,"date":"2026-07-24T16:24:52","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T19:24:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ericjorden.com\/blog\/?p=11630"},"modified":"2026-07-24T16:24:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T19:24:52","slug":"common-sense-in-forensic-engineering-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.ericjorden.com\/blog\/2026\/07\/24\/common-sense-in-forensic-engineering-investigation\/","title":{"rendered":"Common sense in forensic engineering investigation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Many forensic investigations are characterized by common sense<\/em>. The experienced forensic engineer sees the accident or failure site, gets the facts on what happened, and knows the cause. Observation of the site and common sense.<\/em> Not all investigations but many. Observation <\/em>is everywhere in forensic investigation and engineering (Refs 1, 2 and 3) and common sense<\/em> is not far behind. (Appendix)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, an unmarked, sloping pedestrian ramp, a stair railing too large to get your hands around, stairs without railings, foundations on fill, deep excavations near foundations, steep soil slopes near roads, and poor surface drainage on bare ground (after the forest has been cut down). I’ll refrain from going on less I bore you to tears. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, maybe just one more. The Building Code is a basic standard<\/em> and not always adequate for the prevention of accidents and failures. (Appendix)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An experienced engineer with common sense<\/em> would end a forensic investigation – or slow it down – after observations like these.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When common sense <\/em>in forensic work came to mind, I thought, “Can it be true?”. The penny dropped when I realized that most forensic investigations are based on observation<\/em>. “… a simple perception<\/em> of the situation or facts.” (Refs 1, 2 and 3) (Appendix) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A hostile rebuttal review might try to have fun with that statement-of-fact about common sense<\/em>. But a peer review of a forensic investigation at the completion of the work – like in science – would nip that in the bud before it got off the ground. (Ref. 4) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m glad I’ve got that thought out there – the simple truth of common sense<\/em> in many forensic investigations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Is there “super soft” forensic engineering investigation, and if so, why is peer review important?<\/em> Posted June 24, 2024 at www.ericjorden.com\/blog<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. “Soft” forensic engineering investigation and peer review.<\/em> Posted May 28, 2024<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Dunnicliff, John and Deere, Don U, Editors, Judgement in Geotechnical Engineering, The Professional Legacy of Ralph B. Peck.<\/em> John Wiley & Sons, New York 1984<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. A Bundle of Blogs: On the need of peer review in forensic engineering investigation and expert services. Update 1.<\/em> Posted July 29, 2025 <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Appendix<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. Common sense<\/em>:<\/strong> Sound and prudent judgement based on a simple perception of the situation or facts – Merriam-Webster dictionary.<\/em> And, Good sense and sound judgement in practical matters; that is, matters concerned with the actual doing or use of something rather than with theory and ideas – Oxford dictionary<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Nova Scotia Building Code<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      (Posted by Eric E. Jorden, M.Sc., P.Eng. Consulting Professional Engineer and Forensic Engineer, Geotechnology Ltd., Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, July 24, 2026\u00a0ejorden@eastlink.ca<\/mark><\/strong>)\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Many forensic investigations are characterized by common sense. The experienced forensic engineer sees the accident or failure site, gets the facts on what happened, and knows the cause. Observation of the site and common sense. Not all investigations but many. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ericjorden.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11630"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ericjorden.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ericjorden.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ericjorden.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ericjorden.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11630"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"http:\/\/www.ericjorden.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11630\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11661,"href":"http:\/\/www.ericjorden.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11630\/revisions\/11661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ericjorden.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ericjorden.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ericjorden.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}