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Building codes expert Dr. S. Shyam Sunder, acting director, building and fire research laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), says providing minimum safety levels in buildings is one of the NIST goals. “We shouldn’t stop at one set of elements, but look at system-wide building safety as a whole, which has not been consistently and thoroughly done in codes. We need to ensure safety and system robustness, regardless of the threat,” he observes. The lead World Trade Center investigator says this includes minimum robustness and structural integrity in all structures for various threats, hazards, and events that may occur in the normal course of the 100-year life of a building rather than designing against a specific threat, such as blast.

For more, see http://www.buildings.com/Default.aspx and http://wtc.nist.gov/.

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In Procedures for Evaluating Bathing Facility Slip and Fall Accidents, accident investigation expert witness Melvin M. Friedlander, P.E. writes:
The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards for evaluating the slip resistance of walkway and bathing facility surfaces are accepted, almost universally, by experienced and reliable slip and fall experts in the United States. The protocol for testing bathing facility surfaces is contained in ASTM Designation F 462 that is entitled “Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Slip-Resistant Bathing Facilities” [1].

This standard was published in 1976 by ASTM Task Group 15.03 and was developed specifically for wet, soapy bathing surfaces consisting of either combined bathtub/shower or shower stalls alone and for a test material that resembles the texture of the bottom of the human foot as closely as possible. The standard is based on test results from 50 different bathtub and shower surfaces with such surface materials as porcelain enamel, acrylic, terrazzo, ceramic tile, synthetic castable marble, sheet molding compound, pressed steel, cast iron, and fiber glass reinforced plastic.

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Licking County, OH, Common Pleas Judge Thomas M. Marcelain has ordered the Career and Technology Education Centers of Licking County (C-TEC) to pay $3.8 million in damages for uncompensated work to Claggett & Sons Inc., the General Trades Contractor on a $30 million school addition and renovation. In the Judge’s ruling both sides were ordered back into court to address punitive damages and attorney fees, costs that could push the cash-strapped center’s bill even higher. Claggett attorneys also intend to seek interest for the company’s damages accrued since 2006.

The 27-page opinion includes numerous examples of where architect Kimball and Associates, of Pittsburgh, made major mistakes, did not act in good faith and “misled them,” including keeping “facts” from C-TEC’s construction manager, a maintenance director with no construction experience.

“The architect took advantage of the lack of knowledge of C-TEC in construction methods,” Marcelain wrote as he described problems such as ventilation pipes designed to go through a steel beam near the roof. The judge wrote that C-TEC’s witnesses, especially its architects, were not credible and that Claggett demonstrated construction delays were not its fault. He also noted board members were not aware the project was 90 percent complete and the school largely occupied when they voted to terminate Claggett.

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Bank of America Corp. received a blow from U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff in their civil trial with the SEC, as Rakoff granted a request from the SEC to forbid finance expert witnesses for Bank of America to use media reports to support their claims that shareholders were aware of the huge bonuses Merrill Lynch & Co. were offering their top executives.

The trial stems from the same judge who threw out a $33 million settlement between the SEC and Bank of America last year, clearing the way for the civil trial. In the case of two of the witnesses for Bank of America, they were going to use media reports as their primary evidence for asserting shareholders had knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the bonuses offered by Merrill Lynch.

For more, see americanbankingnews.com.

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The Ohio Supreme Court recently approved new rules governing pretrial procedures that will help ensure those convicted of crimes are truly guilty, according to Thomas Moyer, chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court. The amendment to Rule 16 of the Ohio Rules of Criminal Procedure will require greater sharing of evidence between prosecutors and defense attorneys before trial.

One of the major rule changes relates to witness statements, which prosecutors are currently allowed to withhold until trial. Under the new law, witness statements would have to be shared with defense counsel ahead of time, along with other information from police reports. Defense attorneys have complained for the past 35 years that county prosecutors in Ohio have had an unfair advantage because they could withhold certain evidence.

Defense attorneys would be required to hand over witness statements they have obtained. Their criminology expert witnesses would also be required to provide written reports before trial or else they would not be allowed to testify.

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Professional engineering expert witnesses may opine on ISO 9000. Here is a summary of ISO9000 from the ISO9000 Council.

The ISO 9000 Quality Manual

The standard requires companies to write an ISO 9000 quality manual that defines how each requirement of the rather broad ISO 9001:2008 standard is applied at the company. In a sense, the ISO 9000 quality manual is a company specific version of the standard.

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Trucking and transportation rules and regulations expert witness Michael K. Napier of Napier Diversified Services, Inc., answers the question “What are some of the causes of tractor-trailer collisions?”

There are many different reasons for accidents involving large trucks include negligence on the part of the truck driver or the other vehicles involved. Others include:

* Aggressive drivers * Unrealistic schedules * Failure to inspect tires, brakes and lights * Tailgating * Long work-shifts * Driver fatigue * Cell phone use * Failure to install blind spot mirrors * Jackknifing * Speeding and ignoring reduced truck speed limit

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Federal motor carrier safety regulations expert witness Michael K. Napier of Napier Diversified Services, Inc., answers the question “What are some of the dangers associated with large trucks on the roadways?”

* No-Zones – Large trucks have no-zones, or blind spots, that are located around the front, back, and sides of the truck. When a car is in the No-Zone, the truck driver is usually unable to see it. At these times, a large truck could turn into a passing car and a serious accident could result.

* Squeeze Play – Tractor-trailer trucks need to swing wide to the left in order to negotiate a right turn. When truck drivers make wide right turns; they are often unable to see smaller vehicles directly behind or beside them. When a car cuts between the truck and a curb, the car can be caught in a squeeze, and a serious accident can occur.

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Federal motor vehicle safety standards expert witness Michael K. Napier of Napier Diversified Services, Inc., answers the question, What is the applicable law that relates to the commercial trucking industry?

The FHWA is the government agency responsible for the issuance, administration, and enforcement of Federal Motor Carrier Regulations (FMCSR). The FMCSRs are found at 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Parts 325, 350, and 382-399. The Hazardous Materials Regulations for motor carriers are found at 49 CFR Parts 100-180. In addition, 49 CFR Part 40 regulates drug and alcohol testing requirements for motor carriers.

All carriers engaged in interstate commerce within the United States, even if from Mexico or Canada, must comply with these federal regulations. The laws of Mexico and Canada, which are less stringent than in the United States, do not apply to Mexican and Canadian trucks driving in the United States, although some interesting North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) issues are raised when trying to make the truck sizes and weights compatible between the countries.