Canadian\u00a0and American engineers\u00a0are\u00a0“…known for going on site and\u00a0getting\u00a0their hands dirty and mud on their boots”.\u00a0 And this is a good thing in forensic engineering, and\u00a0engineers should go there as soon as possible and as often as need be.<\/p>\n
I know this to be true. I don’t feel comfortable until I get\u00a0out on site.<\/p>\n
I heard this expressed by one of my professors at a university in the U.K. when I was overseas\u00a0doing graduate work years ago. (Ref. 1)<\/p>\n
It felt good hearing this at the time, and I’ve tried to\u00a0live up to\u00a0that view of\u00a0us.\u00a0 It’s fairly easy for me because the field is\u00a0a place I like to go.<\/p>\n
I’ve thought for a while\u00a0to share this with you.\u00a0 But\u00a0I didn’t quite know how to explain what it meant.\u00a0 Still not quite sure.\u00a0 For certain,\u00a0it means much more than the initial site visit and visual assessment in\u00a0a forensic engineering investigation (Ref 2).\u00a0 It’s a cultural thing.\u00a0 It’s a feeling,\u00a0a good feeling; we just want to get out\u00a0on site\u00a0and collect data, build things – with our hands, fix things, solve problems, do stuff.\u00a0\u00a0If we get\u00a0dirty, it’s okay, it washes off, and besides,\u00a0we’re doing\u00a0things.<\/p>\n
It’s important that counsel establish that their expert got out on site.<\/p>\n
Our interest\u00a0in being on site fits in with guidelines in the forensic engineering literature.\u00a0 These recommend, for example, that\u00a0the investigator be present and witness field and laboratory tests.\u00a0 This carries a lot of weight in the justice system, the investigator, the expert, doing and seeing things done.<\/p>\n
You can’t go to a site after a building\u00a0or civil engineering structure has been erected\u00a0and examine reinforcing\u00a0steel buried in concrete, structural steel hidden behind gyproc walls, and foundations buried in the ground.\u00a0 There are regulations in some municipalities today that require the engineer to be there\u00a0when it was being done\u00a0and sign off on this.<\/p>\n
Our interest\u00a0also resonates with the fact that\u00a0about 80% to 85% of what we learn is acquired visually.\u00a0 Collecting data visually is the way we get most of our information.\u00a0 You can’t beat picking up a concrete impression on site, walking and poking around, ‘kicking a few tires’.\u00a0 It’s difficult to talk about something without seeing it.<\/p>\n
We like working\u00a0with people to get a job done, but when we examine a site, investigating and collecting data, we like to do this privately and in a relaxed manner without the distractions of the presence of another person.<\/p>\n
Counsel would do well to establish if their expert did this: Got out on site a lot.\u00a0\u00a0He should\u00a0also cross-examine and establish if opposing counsel’s expert did this as well.<\/p>\n
Credibility goes way up if an expert has gone into the field and got “his hands dirty and mud on\u00a0his boots”.<\/p>\n
References<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Canadian\u00a0and American engineers\u00a0are\u00a0“…known for going on site and\u00a0getting\u00a0their hands dirty and mud on their boots”.\u00a0 And this is a good thing in forensic engineering, and\u00a0engineers should go there as soon as possible and as often as need be. I know … Continue reading \n