Page Links for more information,  click on subject listings below

to top of page

to top of page

Table of Contents - Equipment and related - links to content on this page ? Our Work with Equipment, Machinery and associated systems, including instrumentation and controls,  Safeguards ,  Warnings  and  Codes and Standards ?  Experience & Qualifications in regard to Equipment and Equipment Systems ?  Our Forensic Engineering Work - number of  ? Cases  ? Reports  ? Affidavits  ? Testimonies   ?  Engineering Analysis of Equipment and Systems ?  Commonalities in Equipment ?  Examples of Equipment Analyzed ?  Equipment listed by Type/Category ?  Curriculum Vitae, CV, Resume' ?  Contact Us by Phone, Mail or Email  ?  Consult, before and after assignment ?  Fee Schedule Availability

?  Our Typical Work Activities and Products ?  Presentation of The Results of Our Work ?  Other Experience & Qualifications

?  Geographic Area available for Work ?  Links to Other Pages (left sidebars) ?  Also see  Industrial and Commercial Operations and Construction Activities , on another page. ?  Also see  Premises Accidents  for equipment-like fixtures in buildings, on another page. ?  Also see  Fires & Explosions  for equipment involved in fires and explosions, on another page. ? Also see  Combustion Hazards  for combustion equipment and systems causing fires and explosions or carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, on another page.

to top of page

Equipment by Types/Categories - links to content on this page

to general Table of Contents

The set of categories listed below are provided for the convenience of the user of this webpage in finding particular products and equipment, but are not the only way equipment can be categorized. Thus, if you are looking for a particular product or piece of equipment, you may find looking at the complete list of products and equipment or using Ctrl-F (Page Search) to be useful in this search. The products and equipment items listed on this webpage are examples of equipment and products analyzed. The listings on this webpage do not include all the equipment and products analyzed.

Equipment for: Equipment involved in: ?  Use by Public ?  Construction and Mining ?  Heavy Maintenance ?  Commercial and Light Maintenance ?  Fire and Explosions* ?  Carbon Monoxide (CO) poisoning*

?  Farm, Landscaping & Gardening ?  Industrial Operations ?  Buildings and Structure * including equipment installed in facilities

^^^ click on buttons to go to other pages covering these subjects  ^^^

to general Table of Contents to top of page

 click on  underlined words  to use links - if no word is underlined try hovering the mouse over words to see underlines

* also see the  Premises page  for more information about equipment installed with buildings and   structures (opens in a separate browser window) * also see the  Fire and Explosion page  and the  Hazardous Combustion page  for more information   about equipment involved in fires and explosions (they open in a separate browser windows)

E xperience and Qualifications of James D. Madden, P.E. in regard to accidents involving    Equipment & Machinery and mechanical Consumer Products* * these accidents are analyzed using the same engineering principles and experience 

to top of page

? over 175 incidents involving consumer products and industrial and commercial equipment  have been  investigated and reconstructed as part of the  forensic engineering work  during the last 30 years See more about our work with equipment and consumer products in the sections below . ?  took extensive  college coursework  in engineering design of equipment ? designed and specified equipment , and equipment systems, including instrumentation and controls,  warnings  and  s afeguards , during  17 years working in industrial operations and design engineering

? earned  2 Engineering degrees , Bachelor of Science and Master of Engineering, and took additional post-degree coursework, with coursework in physics, chemistry, mathematics, engineering mechanics, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering and normal psychology ? earned the  Professional Engineers license  (P.E.) by taking the National Council of Engineering Examiners' (NCEE) examination in Fundamentals of Engineering and the  Mechanical Engineering  and  Chemical Engineering  sections of the NCEE examination in Principles and Practices of Engineering ? designated a  Diplomate Forensic Engineer  by the National Academy of Forensic Engineers in accordance with the standards of the Council of Engineering and Scientific Specialty Boards (CESB) ? at the start of forensic work, completed  refresher and additional post-degree college credit coursework  and continuing education coursework in mechanical engineering, metallurgy and materials ?  attended the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) seminar on  product liability ?  attended  engineering seminars  presented by the National Academy of Forensic Engineers ? regularly attend additional  technical courses and seminars  each year to meet the requirements for continuing engineering education for the Professional Engineer's license ?  over  40 years of engineering experience , with:  ?  17 years experience in  industrial operations, engineering design  and  construction assistance ?  30 years experience in  forensic engineering , including:   ?  testifying in  over 90 depositions  and  over 75 trials ?  issuing  over 600 reports  and  over 60 affidavits ?  working on  over 1000 cases See more about qualifications of  James D. Madden, P.E. on the  Qualifications Page . See details of the forensic work throughout this website, and a summary on the  Employment Page . See details of the pre-forensic work on the  Employment Page  and the  Engineering Design Page .

back to "Our Work ..." to general Table of Contents to top of page

O ur  Engineering Analysis of Equipment and mechanical Consumer Products

to top of page

Our Engineering Analyses of Industrial and Commercial Equipment and mechanical Consumer Products cover  mechanical failure,  safety design  and safety features, particularly  safeguards (such as barrier guards, light curtains, dual operating buttons, fail-safe instrumentation, etc.)  and  warnings , with the intent to: 

?

determine whether industrial, commercial and construction equipment and consumer products involved in accidents were defective, in regard to safety, in: 

• their design 

• their manufacture

• their installation

?

determine whether such equipment had appropriate safeguards, such as barrier guards, light curtains, dual operating buttons, safety instrumentation, etc. ? determine whether such equipment conformed to appropriate: 

• accepted engineering practices

• codes and standards

• regulations, including state and federal regulations for safety

Our  reconstruction of accidents  involving industrial equipment and consumer products determines whether such equipment caused or contributed to the accident.  Work in this area also includes determining whether revision of the equipment or related equipment systems was feasible and required for safety. 

<< click for a description of the typical activities and work performed << click for examples of many types of Equipment analyzed

E xamples of  Industrial, Commercial, and Construction  Equipment We have Analyzed    •  including mining & extraction equipment, and farm, lawn & garden equipment, etc. 

to top of page

We analyze equipment that was involved in accidents for  mechanical failure,  safety design  and the presence of required safety features, particularly  safeguards ,  such as barrier guards, light curtains, dual operating buttons, safety instrumentation, etc., and  warnings . 

Examples of equipment which has been analyzed to date include:

? equipment for use by the public, or for which the public has access :    

to top of page to general Table of Contents back to Equipment categories return to Industrial Accidents page

• chairs

• coffeemakers

• vending machines

• display stands

• powered vehicular gates

• passenger and freight elevators

• material lifts used as elevators

• car washes, etc.

? construction, mining and heavy maintenance equipment:

• scaffolding

• hand tools

• front end loaders

• excavators and similar mobile equipment, etc.

? commercial and light maintenance equipment:

• clothes washing, cleaning and pressing equipment

• food preparation equipment

• floor buffers, etc.

? farm, landscaping and garden equipment:

• tractors

• farm trailers

• commercial lawnmowers

• harvesters

• trimmers, etc.

?  industrial equipment:

to top of page to general Table of Contents back to Equipment categories return to Industrial Accidents page

• forklifts/towmotors, and similar mobile equipment

• cranes, hoists

• banders

• grinders

• punch presses

• forming presses

• drill presses

• printing presses 

• conveyors

• filters

• industrial heating equipment

• wood-working machinery

• blow-molders, for plastics processing

• calanders, for rubber processing

? equipment installed with buildings and structures *:

• glass doors and panels 

• windows and window assemblies 

• interior and exterior steps, stairs and ramps, and their handrails and guardrails

• passenger and freight elevators and lifts used as passenger elevators

• interior and exterior balconies 

? equipment involved in fires and explosions *:

to top of page to general Table of Contents back to Equipment categories return to Industrial Accidents page

• automobiles 

• motorboats

• personal watercraft ("jet skis")

• incinerators in multi-story buildings

• trash chutes in multi-story buildings

• space heaters

• residential  furnaces

• industrial furnaces and boilers

• industrial process heaters

• hydrogen tankers (over the road trailers)

• gasoline storage tanks

? equipment involved incidents of carbon monoxide poisoning *: return to Industrial Accidents page

• gas-fired residential furnaces and heat circulation systems

• wood-burning residential furnaces and heat circulation systems

• gas-fired space heaters

* also see the  Hazardous Combustion page  for more information about equipment involved in carbon   monoxide poisonings  (opens in a separate browser window)

See the Consumer Products page for mechanical consumer products for equipment that might also be encountered in Industry, Commercial facilities, and Maintenance and Construction use.

O ur Typical Work Activities and Products, when warranted by the case Our work investigating, analyzing and reconstructing accidents, and presenting the results, may include any  or all of the following, depending on the needs of the case:  ? inspection of the accident site , such as a roadway, outdoor facilities, building or industrial facilities inspection of the involved equipment , in current condition, including in damaged condition (such as crashed vehicles); and when available for operation, during operation (such as industrial equipment) ? ? photography  and/or  video  of the accident site and involved equipment ? interviewing witnesses  (often during the inspection of the accident site, product and/or equipment) review and study  of case documents, evidence and applicable codes, standards, regulations and recommended practices ? ? testing  accident items and exemplar items (such as consumer products) drawings, calculations, graphical analyses, computer analyses , etc. as required to analyze and reconstruct the accident, and to present the engineering analysis and reconstruction ? ?  written  reports  and  affidavits , and  exhibits coordinating or interfacing with others while they are preparing  specialized exhibits  such as video animations and videos of demonstrations ? ? testimony in deposition ,  trial  and  arbitration

back to 'Engineering Analysis ...' back to 'Our Work ...' to general Table of Contents to top of page

P resentation of results of our work We present the results of our investigations, engineering analyses and reconstructions in  the client's choice of any, or all, of the following:  ? verbal reports,  by telephone or in face-to-face conferences ?  written  reports  and  affidavits ? deposition testimony,  including video deposition ? trial testimony  and arbitration testimony

F orensic Engineering Work by Senior Forensic Engineer James D. Madden, P.E.  James D. Madden, P.E., while performing  Forensic Engineering  work full-time for over  the last  30 years , for both plaintiff and defendant, has to date: ?  completed  over 1000 cases ?  written and issued  over 600 reports           ?  written and issued  over 60 affidavits ?  testified in  over 75 trials                  ?  testified in  over 90 depositions For more on qualifications see the  Qualifications Page .  <<< Click on the underlined text

to general Table of Contents to top of page

G eographic Area of Practice - North America 

Over the last 30 years we have regularly worked on accidents which occurred in  Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New York and nearby , including inspections of accident sites, equipment, and facilities, with reports and testimony. During these 30 years we have also worked on accidents which occurred in  other states , and equipment and facilities located in other states, with inspections of accident sites, equipment, and facilities,  from Utah and Kansas to Vermont and North Carolina,  with reports and testimony for these accidents, when applicable.

to general Table of Contents to top of page

Madden Accident Analysis &   Forensic Engineering MAAFE

Madden Accident Analysis & Forensic Engineering 1700 West Market Street, Suite 318, Akron, Ohio 44313, or 8803 Brecksville Road, Suite 7-216, Cleveland, Ohio 44141 phone: 440-838-0640 or 440-832-9540, fax: 440-838-1192 email address: [email protected]

MAAFE