Sometimes engineering work relies on analyzing the smallest parts of systems. This is certainly true with Elevator Engineering. Berkeley Engineering and Research has provided expert witness testimony in a number of elevator cases.
A recent case tested our vocabulary as well as our engineering skills. At issue was an elevator failure from an international supplier and a heavy reliance by the building's original engineer on something called "homologation" and what the engineer called "scraps of pieces of paper to run calculations." The engineer took someone's word for it and the elevator had an accident.
What we found missing in that engineer's work was FEA (Finite Element Analysis). The difference between what should have been a long life elevator and the accident that happened was the use of threaded bolts--same size bolts, except that the threads created conditions under load that led to failure.
The report presented in court included lots of charts and complicated statements like: "2.23 times calculated ave (8,544 lb) due to structural configuration, non-symmetric attachment diagonal brace to center lug."
The technical presentation could have overwhelmed a jury, but instead we identified for them where the error had occurred and were able to state clearly "All the homologation errors were easily found using proper engineering standards of care."
