Industrial Safety

Confined spaces are widespread in workplaces. Their hazards can be subtle, often invisible, frequently misunderstood, and potentially deadly. In this article, industrial hygienist, Ron Schaible, CIH, provides an overview of confined spaces and the relevant hazards.

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.

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.

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 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 the safety considerations in robot design, installation, programming, and operation.

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.

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.

In this article, Mechanical Engineer, Brian Kelly, 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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

In this article, mechanical expert, Matt Lykins, provides an introduction to industrial truck inspection and repair, including some of the relevant standards.

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, 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.

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

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 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, published by the American Society of Safety Engineers, Nancy Grugle and Ron Schaible were interviewed on the topic of sleep deprivation, shift work, and occupational safety. The article discusses the nature of sleep deprivation in workplace settings, why it is a problem, and steps that employers should take to reduce sleep deprivation and promote safety.

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.