Forensic Engineering

Book excerpt: A comprehensive resource that builds a bridge between engineering disciplines and the building sciences and trades, Forensic Engineering: Damage Assessments for Residential and Commercial Structures provides an extensive look into the world of forensic engineering. With a focus on investigations associated with insurance industry claims, the book describes methodologies for performing insurance-related investigations including the causation and origin of damage to residential and commercial structures and/or unhealthy interior environments and adverse effects on the occupants of these structures. Edited by an industry expert with more than 30 years of experience, and authors with more than 100 years of experience in the field, the book takes the technical aspects of engineering and scientific principles and applies them to real-world issues in a non-technical manner. It provides readers with the experiences, investigation methodologies, and investigation protocols used in, and derived from completing thousands of forensic engineering investigations. It begins with providing a baseline methodology for completing forensic investigations and closes with advice on testifying as an expert witness. Much of what must be known in this field is not learned in school, but is based upon experience since recognizing the cause of a building system failure requires a blending of skills from the white collar and blue collar worlds. Such knowledge can be vital since failures (e.g., water entry) often result from construction activities completed out of sequence.. This book details proven methodologies based on over 7,000 field investigations, methodologies which can be followed by both professionals and laymen alike.