A “Toolbox” for Forensic Engineers

Preface
Case studies of product failure are the most valuable source of information
for manufacturers to improve their products. There is no better way in which
product designs can be changed so as to minimize if not eliminate premature
failure. Case studies are the mainspring of forensic engineering, which is why
we are opening our own case books to a wider audience than the insurers,
lawyers and private clients who originally commissioned them. Some of them
have already been presented to our post-graduate students at The Open
University (T839 Forensic Engineering), and elsewhere such as the annual
ANTEC conferences of SPE (Society of Plastics Engineers). We make
acknowledgment at the appropriate point in the text.
There are now several compilations of case studies, in the U.S., 1,2 Japan 3
and in Europe. 4 A start has also been made on the World Wide Web, where
ease of access makes this medium an ideal source for users. 5 All such modern
compilations include cases from around the world, simply because of product
globalization. Indeed, many of the cases published by the journal Engineering
Failure Analysis, for example, emanate from rapidly developing economies
such as those of mainland and offshore China, Malaysia and other parts of
South East Asia as well as Eastern Europe. 6 One serious problem with many
such compilations, however, is that they tend to ignore many vital aspects,
such as the litigation involved in a case, or the turning points in investigations.
We believe that these aspects are neglected at peril because if they focus on
just the technical details, they do not tell the story of what actually happened.
Product failures are more realistic when related as stories in chronological
sequence, rather than a logical way that makes one wonder why the products
failed in the first place. We have adopted the chronological approach because
it makes the technical matter more interesting, and so encourages the reader
to learn why products failed and what design changes are needed in the future
to prevent similar accidents. Traditional compilations are also limited by the
nature of the materials studied, nonmetallic materials being severely
neglected, despite their increasing importance in safety-critical and structural
roles. However, some case studies of plastic products have been published
independently in the last decade. 7,8
Chapter 1 reviews some of the conceptual tools that that have become
widespread in industry. Although these tools can help improve product
vii