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Mechanical Engineer, Safety, Forklift, Forklift Operator, Telehandler, Aerial Lift, Bucket Truck, Boom Lift, Scissor Lift, Telehandler, Trailers, HAZMAT Trailers, Towing, Refuse Trucks, Garbage Trucks, Scaffolding, Heavy Equipment, Hydraulics, Hydraulic Equipment, Standards, Regulations, OSHA, DOT, ANSI, Design, Tanker, Scissor Lift Crushing Operator, Fatal Farm Tractor Transmission Failure, Skid Steer Body Motion Crushing Operator’s Feet, Visibility Issues Of Heavy Equipment Causing Fatal Rollover, Inadequate Forklift Wheel Guard Causing Foot Injury, Inadequate Blender Component Suit Involving Hundreds Of Tests On Blenders, Shaving Razor Patent Suit, Farm Sprayer Tractor Visibility Issues Causing Motorcycle Crash, Fatal Large Glass Sheet Hauling Trailer Structural Failure, Inadequate Bulldozer Safety Systems Allowing Fatal Operator Motion While The Equipment Is Moving, Essential Oil Diffuser Patent Suit, Hand Tool Patent Suit Involving Destructive Strength Testing Of A Hand Tool, Wheel Chock, Mold Design Ip Infringement And Breach Of Contract, Fatal Forklift Impingement, Arm Crushed And Burned When Caught In Packaging Machine, Multiple Patent Suits Surrounding Containers For Hauling Sand

CERTIFICATIONS

Expert is a Mechanical Engineer who has earned the following certifications:

  • Mechanical Professional Engineer (P.E.) licensed in Utah
  • Certified Safety Professional (CSP) from the Board of Certified Safety Professionals
  • Certified Fluid Power Hydraulic Specialist (CFPHS) from the International Fluid Power Society (IFPS)
  • IVES Certified Forklift Operator Trainer for counterbalance forklifts, rough terrain forklifts, and MEWPs, Trainer
  • Certified Rigger – Level 1 from American Crane & Safety
  • Mobile Crane Inspector Training from the Crane Institute of America
  • Managing Crane Safety Training from the Crane Institute of America
  • Amusement Ride Inspector – Level 1 by the National Association of Amusement Ride Safety Officials (NAARSO)
  • Certified in Lockout/Tagout OSHA compliance from the Utah Safety
  • Design Certifying Engineering (DCE) for hazardous material tanker
  • Certified Lift Truck Operator Trainer from the Utah Safety Council
  • Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) – Class C with HAZMAT endorsement

EDUCATION

Expert attended college at Brigham Young University-Idaho in Rexburg, Idaho where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering and graduated in December of 2007. While at BYU-Idaho, Expert took part in the local chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) serving as the Treasurer. Expert also worked as a computer lab assistant and teacher’s aide, assisting other students in learning engineering concepts and answering their questions about the lesson material. He also received many scholarships, including multiple Mechanical Engineering Department Scholarships.

 ENGINEERING WORK HISTORY

Private Engineering & Design Company, Feb. 2008 – Present

He has worked as a mechanical engineer for a Private Engineering & Design Company in Utah since February, 2008. As part the consulting engineering work. He has completed many design, analysis, testing, prototyping, and certification projects. The following are some of the key areas and engineering projects he has worked on while employed the Private Engineering & Design Company.

Aerial Lift Trucks

He has worked extensively in aerial lift truck design. This work has included designing aerial lifts from the ground up. He has done everything from designing and sizing components, running stress analyses, laying out the hydraulic circuit, specifying hydraulic motors and actuators, creating detailed drawings, and testing and troubleshooting prototype units.

Hazardous Material Tanker Trailers

He has worked extensively with the hazardous material tanker trailer industry as a Design Certifying Engineer (DCE). His work included verifying compliance to the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations regarding the repair and modification of hazardous material tanker trailers. He has also performed detailed analyses of full trailer designs to verify the strength of the trailer in various loading situations.

LNG Tank Testing

He has completed testing of liquid natural gas tanks to verify compliance with Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) standards. This included managing and performing the safe operation of drop tests and flame tests.

Custom Equipment Design, Fabrication, and Installation

He has designed one-of-a-kind systems including a hydraulically operated lift for moving an 8-foot by 15-foot LED video wall and speakers from the basement, through the floor, to the main living room of a large residence. This project included designing the telescoping lift mechanism, designing the hydraulic system, fabricating the lift components, assembling the lift, testing the lift, and installing the lift at the residence. He also oversaw and approved the design of the electronic controls, machining, and installation.

THE FOLLOWING IS A SAMPLING OF OTHER PROJECTS THIS EXPERT HAS WORKED ON AT THE PRIVATE ENGINEERING COMPANY

Design Projects

  • Reverse engineering a pick-up truck dump mechanism.
  • Designing aerial lift trucks, both modifying current models and designing new models from the ground up.
  • Designing automated refuse truck lifting arm mechanisms.
  • Reverse engineering a refuse truck body.
  • Designing a liftgate spring assist mechanism.
  • Design of fiberglass boom molds for making aerial lift truck booms.
  • Designing small consumer products such as an emergency radio and a battery powered squirt gun with a back-pack water tank.
  • Designing a bicycle type device for propulsion in water.
  • Designing multiple iterations of a modular mining equipment simulator room.
  • Designing the mechanical components of a sample recovery, amplification and testing apparatus for disease and diagnostic testing.
  • Designing multiple iterations of a hanging scaffolding system.
  • Designing several mechanical aspects of a 2 cubic yard biogas harvesting system.
  • Designing several pieces of equipment for pickleball training and practice.
  • Designing a pool filter cleaning device.
  • Designing hydraulic equipment for drill pipe handling and EMI inspection.

Analysis Projects

  • Utilizing finite element analysis (FEA) to analyze several aerial lift models for compliance to applicable ANSI standards.
  • Analyzing several spreader bar designs for compliance to ASME Below the Hook (BTH) standards.
  • Utilizing FEA to analyze large personnel support structures used for maintenance access to large aircraft.
  • Utilizing FEA to analyze the design of a chandelier for strength and code compliance.
  • Analyzing the design of propane and diesel heater trailers for compliance to U.S. DOT regulations.
  • Utilizing FEA to analyze the design of a rebar and scrap steel hauling trailer.

Testing/Troubleshooting Projects

  • Helping to design and rollout a fiberglass winding operation, including working for several weeks at the client’s site to assist with winding, extracting, break testing, and burn-out testing of the fiberglass booms produced by the new process.
  • Pressure testing and analyzing hydraulic issues with a 10-foot diameter casing rotator.
  • Drop testing liquid natural gas (LNG) tanks from 10 ft and 30 ft heights to verify compliance with SAE J2343 standards.
  • Flame testing liquid natural gas (LNG) tanks to verify compliance with SAE J2343 standards.
  • Testing and troubleshooting issues with the hydraulic systems on multiple models of aerial lift trucks.
  • Cycle testing tarping mechanisms, fiberglass booms, and trailer hitches.
  • Running a battery of tests on many household blenders of different configurations.
  • Testing of safer alternative designs.

Prototyping Projects

  • 3D printing scaled down parts of a large statue.
  • Utilizing 3D printed parts to prototype a bicycle type device for propulsion in water.
  • Building prototypes and production models of a modular mining equipment simulator room.

Design Certifying Engineer Projects

  • Over 30 projects involving the review of repairs and modifications to hazardous material tanker trailers to ensure compliance with U.S. DOT regulations.
  • Assisting hazardous material tanker repair facilities in obtaining their ASME R-stamp certification that authorizes them to repair hazmat trailers.
  • Reviewing and approving welding procedures used in the repair and modification of hazmat trailers.
  • Performing axle load analysis for trucks and trailers to maximize payload by determining optimal mounting position of hazmat tanks and axles.
  • Running fill level calculations in order to create fill level calibration charts.
  • Performing the LNG tank drop and flame tests noted in the testing section above.

3D Scanning Projects

  • Using a FARO 3D laser scanner to get measurements of accident scenes and equipment.
  • Utilizing point cloud software to knit 3D scans together and gather accurate measurements for analysis.

Sentient Corporation, May 2007 – Feb. 2008

Sentient Corporation specialized in small business government contracts involving the analysis, diagnostics, and prognostics of mechanical bearings, such as ball bearings, roller bearings, and the like. His work at Sentient Corporation included:

  • Bearing test monitoring.
  • Preparing test fixtures for operation.
  • Test fixture design.
  • Test fixture fabrication.
  • Safety shield design and fabrication.
  • Equipment selection and purchasing.
  • Inspection and documentation of tested bearings and grease using a microscope and camera.
  • Writing reports.

BE Aerospace, May 2006 – August 2006

B/E Aerospace was an after-market aircraft modification company. Has worked with a team of engineers converting old passenger airplanes into cargo airplanes. His responsibilities on the team included using 3D CAD systems to model complicated key frame structures of the airplane and then incorporate them into the overall model assembly. He also provided support in reviewing, converting and updating legacy 2D drawings.

Skinner Construction, May 2000 – Sep. 2000 & Oct. 2002 – Jan. 2003

Hal Skinner Construction was a concrete contractor specializing in pouring concrete foundations for homes, banks, and potato cellars. Worked as an assistant to the owner. As part of his duties, he assisted the owner in laying out footing forms according to the building plan, determining the appropriate aluminum form sizes to use for constructing the walls, constructing the forms, pouring the concrete, and inserting anchor bolts into the wet concrete at the designated intervals. Was trained on, and operated skid loaders and other heavy equipment used on the job sites.

EXPERT WITNESS WORK HISTORY

This expert has been retained as an expert in product liability and patent cases. As part of his work as an expert he has performed inspections, performed tests, and written detailed reports. He has also testified in deposition and at trial.

As part of his work at the Private Engineering, he has been retained in over 44 product liability and 3 IP cases. This work involved reviewing documents and helping to prepare reports. He has also performed many tests and inspections in connection with these lawsuits.

The following is a sampling of the expert witness projects he has worked on:

  • Rear loader garbage truck container swinging into operator (multiple cases of similar circumstances).
  • Vacuum truck lid explosive decompression killing the operator.
  • Hand caught in poorly designed home-use concrete mixer.
  • Belly-dump trailer doors crushing the operator’s legs.
  • Laundry rack falling off a liftgate and crushing the operator.
  • Rolling pallet rack braking system failure.
  • Fatal dump truck brake booster repair failure.
  • Horizontal boring machine turnover.
  • Construction elevator control system failure.
  • Refuse truck packer panel track failure.
  • Box trailer wall construction patent suit.
  • Ventilation hood installation failure.
  • Air pressure in a concrete pumping truck hydraulic cylinder causing fatal damage to repairman.
  • Small track-hoe tip over.
  • Fatal folding chair seat failure.
  • Tilt-bed tow truck operator error.
  • Rough-terrain forklift tip over.
  • Fatal hydraulic cylinder rupture.
  • Scissor lift crushing operator.
  • Fatal farm tractor transmission failure.
  • Skid steer body motion crushing operator’s feet.
  • Visibility issues of heavy equipment causing fatal rollover.
  • Inadequate forklift wheel guard causing foot injury.
  • Inadequate blender component suit involving hundreds of tests on blenders.
  • Shaving razor patent suit.
  • Farm sprayer tractor visibility issues causing motorcycle crash.
  • Fatal large glass sheet hauling trailer structural failure.
  • Inadequate bulldozer safety systems allowing fatal operator motion while the equipment is moving.
  • Essential oil diffuser patent suit.
  • Hand tool patent suit involving destructive strength testing of a hand tool.
  • Wheel chock mold design IP infringement and breach of contract.
  • Fatal forklift impingement.
  • Arm crushed and burned when caught in packaging machine.
  • Multiple patent suits surrounding containers for hauling sand.
  • Tanker trailer explosion severely burning operator of nearby tanker trailer.
  • Unexpected motion of straight truck at dock causing forklift to fall off dock and injure operator.
  • Mechanical failure of amusement ride hydraulic controls causing injuries to rider.
  • Fingers crushed in pneumatic snap machine.
  • US International Trade Commission denying import of certain road milling machines based on allegations of patent infringement.
  • Fall from diesel fuel tanker trailer.
  • Applicator for liquid antiperspirant becoming dislodged causing severe injuries to user’s eyes.
  • Improper liftgate motion causing severe injuries to operator.
  • Faulty CNC router E-Stop causes unexpected motion during repairs, injuring the repairman.
  • Paintball gun discharge injures eye of customer.
  • E-bike endo (flip) causes severe head injuries.
  • Poorly maintained carwash bay results in truck falling into drainage pit.
  • Load suspended by a crane knocks framer off the top of a framed wall.
  • Forklift attempting to dislodge pallets from flatbed tipped pallets onto truck driver.
  • Ski jump air bag picked up by wind dropped skier to the ground.
  • Forklift operator killed by load tipping over.
  • Lift operator fell from top shelf while lanyard not attached to lift.
  • Harvest worker injured after lift machine components failed.
  • Chain hoist failure caused pipe to crush worker’s hand.
  • Untrained helper injured by garbage truck packer panel.
  • Teenage boy burned while pouring methanol fuel from a metal can.
  • Heavy drill choke fell on maintenance technician’s foot.
  • Construction worker fatally backed over by sweeper truck.
  • Forklift operator ran over coworker’s foot.
  • Trailer brake booster allowed trailer to cross into oncoming traffic.
  • High pressure hose failed and whipped operator.
  • Hydraulic press failed and crushed operator.
  • Cable hoist hook failed and killed operator.

OUTDOOR DISPLAY OPERATOR WORK HISTORY

This expert is licensed to supervise the setup, safe operation, and clean-up of professional fireworks displays. He has worked on 83 shows, primarily through Vortex Fireworks Productions of Salt Lake City, Utah. He has personally been the “Head Pyro” for 42 shows.

As part of his work in the fireworks industry, he has obtained his Class C Commercial Driver’s License (CDL), with the HAZMAT endorsement, to allow him to transport fireworks over the road.

TEACHING

He has taught a class titled “Hydraulics Safety on the Job Site” for the February, 2020 Utah Safety Conference & Expo. The conference was hosted by the Utah Safety Council, a chapter of the National Safety Council.

PUBLICATIONS: Available upon request. 

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