Forensic engineering is a branch of engineering that focuses on the investigation of product failures, accidents, and other incidents. The goal of forensic engineering is to figure out what happened and why it happened when something went wrong. Forensic engineers work for a variety of companies, including consulting firms, local governments, and legal firms, and they perform a wide range of tasks in the field and in the lab.
Many people associate forensic science with the study of human bodies. In fact, the word “forensics” comes from the Latin word forensis, which means “public gathering place,” and was first used to refer to a court of law in the 1800s. People who work in the forensics field examine information related to court cases in order to learn more about the facts of the case so that the court can make an informed decision.
People usually want to know why an engineered product fails. To reconstruct the chain of events that led to the failure, a forensic engineer can examine the product, run a series of tests, research the conditions under which it was manufactured, and so on. On a basic level, forensic engineering is used in product development and quality control to investigate when something goes wrong internally in order to prevent it from happening again.
When it comes to product liability, forensic engineering is used to gather data that can help or hurt a case. People who have been injured or have lost money as a result of the failure of an engineered product, such as a ball bearing or a bridge, may be able to seek compensation in a court of law if they can show that the failure was caused by the manufacturer’s negligence. Companies that are brought to court in such cases, on the other hand, use forensic engineers to gather their own information in the hopes of overturning the case or reaching an out-of-court settlement.
Bridges, buildings, and other structures may collapse; mechanical components may fail; failures at public works facilities such as dams and power plants may be investigated; and any other type of failure of an engineered item may be investigated using forensic engineering. The work may entail laboratory analysis to determine which materials will be used, as well as on-site inspection, interviews with those involved, and research into similar failures that have occurred in the past.