According to NAFE, the National Academy of Forensic Engineers, forensic engineering is defined as the ‘application of the art and science of engineering in matters which are in, or may possibly relate to, the jurisprudence system, inclusive of alternative dispute resolution’. In other words, when a structure/machine etc fails, forensic engineers are requested out to the scene to examine and investigate the items that failed or did not operate as expected, causing injury or damage to property.
Forensic engineering is the application of engineering principles to the investigation of failures or other performance problems. Forensic engineering also involves testimony on the findings of these investigations before a court of law or other judicial forum, when required.
Vital to the field of forensic engineering is the process of investigating and collecting data related to the materials, products, structures or components that failed. This involves inspections, collecting evidence, measurements, developing models, obtaining exemplar products, and performing experiments. Often testing and measurements are conducted in an Independent testing laboratory or other reputable unbiased laboratory.
One of the benefits of forensic investigations is the lessons learned from failures and the use of those lessons to improve codes, standards and practices to avoid similar failures in the future.
Forensic engineers have similar jobs to that of forensic scientists and crime scene investigators in ways that both are called to scenes to separate, collect and analyze evidence, work at both scenes of accidents and in a lab, determine a cause of a failure, write reports on methods of activities, and even testify in court. Forensic engineers often times work for both the defense and prosecution in cases.
HCE has years of experience in providing forensic engineering services to its clients:
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