Industrial Safety

The experts at Robson Forensic investigate many industrial mishaps to understand how they occurred and who is liable. The results of these incidents are gruesome, sometimes deadly, and often preventable. Through the course of their training, education, and experience, our engineers and industrial safety experts have developed expertise in machine guarding and the relevant workplace safety standards.

While machine guarding and design is second-nature to many of our technical experts, we understand that most of our clients have not undergone any formal training on the topic. This article is intended to provide a 101 style overview of machine guarding, including the common hazards and relevant standards. We intend to publish additional articles that provide a deeper-dive into various hazards and machine types.

The forensic investigation of an industrial explosion and fire can often reliably determine causation and liability by following the trail of chemical compounds, industrial processes, and engineering controls [that were in place]. In this webinar video, Michael Klein provides an overview of the hazards, processes, procedures, training, and compliance measures that figure prominently in explosion and fire cases.

Attendees will learn how and why explosions occur; regulations and industry standards that are intended to mitigate the hazards and risks; and where to start when facing a new case or insurance claim.

The experts at Robson Forensic investigate many industrial mishaps to understand how they occurred and to determine the responsibilities of the parties involved. These investigations involve a range of engineering issues from in-running nip hazards to falling objects and maintenance procedures. Through the course of their training, education, and experience, our engineers and industrial safety experts have developed expertise in conveyor systems and the relevant workplace safety standards.


This article provides a 101 style overview of conveyor safety and is one part of a series on machine guarding and industrial safety.

Pinch point and in-running nip hazards are associated with some of the most gruesome machine accidents we have investigated. Absent proper guarding, these design features have the potential to entrap a worker and pull them further into the machinery.

In this webinar video, Mechanical Engineer Jack Green, P.E. provides an overview of machine guarding by focusing more narrowly on pinch points and in-running nip hazards. His discussion includes an overview of the design safety hierarchy, common machine arrangements that result in these hazards, and some of the approaches taken by design engineers to prevent injury. Information will be conveyed through prior case examples in a way that will be applicable to a broader range of industrial mishaps.

In this article, industrial engineer, Harry Ehrlich provides a brief technical synopsis of an incident he was retained to investigate involving an apartment building trash compactor. In this case, an otherwise safe piece of equipment became unreasonably dangerous when a “workaround” was adopted that bypassed vital safety equipment. While the information is specific to a particular incident, the principles discussed, regarding safety guarding and workarounds can be applied to many incidents.

Confined space working conditions have certain inherent risks and specific requirements for worker safety. To the uninformed, the hazards can be subtle, often invisible and misunderstood, but potentially deadly. When investigating confined space fatalities, it is necessary to understand the specific hazards in that environment, the operating procedures that were in place at the time of the incident, and the hazard recognition/mitigation process that was followed.

In this article, Certified Industrial Hygienist and Certified Safety Professional, David Breitigam discusses some of the information that attorneys and insurance professionals should understand when involved in these cases.

In this case a worker in a copper tubing processing plant became trapped in a machine while trying to clear a jam. Robson Forensic was retained by plaintiff’s counsel to investigate the incident.

With this slide deck, Michael Klein provided a Continuing Professional Education course on the safety considerations in robot design, installation, programming, and operation.

In this article, Industrial Hygienist and Workplace Safety Expert, Ronald Schaible, CIH, CSP, CPE provides an introduction to the hazards of manually transferring powders into industrial process vessels. His discussion includes an explanation of the hazards as well as industry safety practices for protecting workers.

This article explains how rotary airlocks work, what hazards are present, and what the standards are for safely guarding them. The experts at Robson Forensic have investigated many incidents involving these and other industrial system components.

In this case, Robson Forensic expert, Bart Eckhardt, P.E., opined that the machine manufacturer failed to provide an interlock for the power take-off shaft guard and that the manufacturer failed to ensure the power take-off shaft guard was with the machine when the equipment was resold to the plaintiff’s employer. The absence of a shaft guard exposed the plaintiff to an unreasonable hazard and was a cause of his injury.

With this slide deck, Michael Klein provided a Continuing Professional Education course on protective measures and complementary equipment that are used to safeguard machinery and equipment.

Facilities Engineer, Brian O’Donel was retained by plaintiff’s counsel to investigate an incident in which Donald Adams III was injured in a portable toilet that tipped over, leaving him paralyzed. Mr. O’Donel’s opinion supported the plaintiff’s argument that the portable toilet was installed in an unsafe manner and failed to include/utilize stabilization spikes that would have prevented the unit from tipping.

In this article, machinery experts at Robson Forensic provide an introduction to hydraulic systems and the hazards they present. Hydraulic systems are used everywhere, from forklifts to landing gear to industrial systems and the largest earth-moving machinery. Some of the most complex and critical life safety hydraulic systems are found on board ships and aircraft. Expertise in those environments translates well to industrial applications on terra firma. Required to be powerful and reliable, hydraulic systems are not, however, immune to malfunction and failure.

A significant portion of our machine guarding investigations involve situations where machine guards need to be removed and/or workers must place their hands within a machine’s point-of-operation. The scope of these investigations will typically go beyond an evaluation of mechanical or electrical guards to include administrative protections such as lockout/tagout procedures.

In this article, industrial engineer Harry Ehrlich provides an explanation of lockout/tagout within the context of industrial safety.

In this webinar Robson Forensic’s Certified Industrial Hygienist & Certified Professional Ergonomist, Ron Schaible, offered practical keys to recognition, evaluation and control of injury risk from work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs).

With this slide deck, Michael Klein provided a Continuing Professional Education course on lockout tagout procedures.

In some portion of industrial truck investigations, the cause of the crash can be linked to a failure in the braking system. Brake failure on vehicles in industrial or construction environments can lead to significant damages and injuries if a person is struck or run over, property is damaged, or the operator is injured.

In this article, Mechanical Engineer Stanley Jaworski, P.E. describes the types of braking systems used in industrial trucks, failure modes that can occur, and the requirements for maintenance, inspection, and safe operation.

Sliding gate systems present a variety of hazards that can cause significant injury if not properly guarded and maintained. Whether motorized or manually-powered, these systems typically include heavy moving parts, pinch point hazards, and wear components that require periodic inspection and maintenance.

This article provides an introduction to the design and physics of cantilevered sliding gates. It also discusses known hazards and describes potential mechanisms of failure by revisiting the fact pattern from an actual case investigation. The experts at Robson Forensic have investigated a broad range of incidents involving physical security features, such as sliding gates, barrier arms, and overhead doors.

In this paper, Certified Industrial Hygienist, Ronald D. Schaible, presents an overview of what risk is, its relationship to hazards, and how it can be assessed and used to make intelligent business decisions. He also discusses how risk may be perceived by employers, workers, and those that help decide matters involving litigation – jurors.

In this article, Certified Industrial Hygienist and Workplace Safety Expert, Ron Schaible provides an overview of risk assessment and hazard analysis.

The workplace safety experts at Robson Forensic are retained to investigate a broad range of workplace injuries covering industrial, commercial, and transportation facilities.

In this article, Electrical Engineer, Kenneth J. Kutchek, P.E. provides an introduction to electronic machine safety guards. Designed to enhance the safety of industrial processes and machinery, the adequacy of these systems is frequently contested in casework involving industrial mishaps. This discussion provides an overview of the safety hierarchy of hazard control, and the various ways electronic machine safety guards are utilized to mitigate hazards.

In this article, Mechanical Engineer & Rail Systems Expert, Steve Noonan, P.E., discusses the incidence of injuries involving overhead doors. His discussion includes an overview of overhead door anatomy, an explanation of the hazards, and a description of safety precautions to protect users from injury.

Failures that allow the stored energy within the spring of an overhead door to be rapidly released can cause devastating injuries, often to unsuspecting or untrained personnel. Failure of the overhead door balancing system can cause the door to rapidly close under its own weight. The experts at Robson Forensic are experienced in investigating and testifying in overhead door cases and a broad range of other matters involving facilities safety.

In this article, certified industrial hygienist, Ron Schaible, CIH, discusses Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in the workplace, with an emphasis on the importance of establishing and complying with appropriate PPE protocols.

In this article, Mechanical Engineer, Stanley Jaworski, P.E., provides an introduction to industrial truck inspection and repair, including some of the relevant standards.

The failure of a product or system to turn on/off or respond to input can lead to a broad range of injuries or property damage. Whether it be a seemingly innocuous device like a coffeepot, or a heavy duty industrial cooling system, the root cause of a failure can often be traced to electrical controls.

So what are electrical controls, and how do they potentially factor into your casework?

This webinar simplifies the topic of electrical controls, starting with the basics and building up to examples of actual incidents caused by control failures. Experts from our electrical engineering group provide insight on evaluating these cases and guidance on discovery questions to ensure that adequate information is available for proper forensic analysis.

“Electrical control” is a specialized discipline of electrical engineering where, to put it simply, electrical circuits and programmable electronics are engineered to turn machines and consumer products on and off. That is an over simplification but after all the engineering design, functional requirements, safety requirements, testing, and many other required activities are completed, the product or machine will turn on and off in accordance with desired parameters.

In this article, Electrical Engineer Jeffrey Kobilka explains what some of those devices are, how they can fail, and how an electrical controls engineer could be beneficial to your case.

In this article, Robson Forensic experts in Human Factors and Industrial Safety discuss some of the risks associated with shift work and other non-traditional work schedules.

Temperature controls can factor into litigation in a variety of cases including the loss of perishable goods, lost product in manufacturing or processing facilities, fire damage, or personal injury matters involving scalds and burns. In this article, Electrical Engineer, Kenneth J. Kutchek, P.E. and Mechanical Engineer, René Basulto, P.E. provide an introduction to temperature control as it relates to expert witness investigations.

Their discussion includes an overview of temperature control systems, the major components, and potential failures.