IT'S NEVER TOO
LATE TO LEARN
22 March 2024
An excellent Zoom presentation by Hannah Prouse on a 16-tonne mobile crane rollover. 34 people participated - a very good coverage cranes generally. Full recording (43 minutes) available here - you may this Passcode (copy it in case): HaM3N+C?
22 February 2024
A full house (42) at the Auburn Hotel, Hawthorn, for convivial drinks, welcomes to several first-time guests, a good dinner, and excellent presentations from Bill Gleeson on the Lithium Ion Big Battery fire in Victoria, and Peter Freere on Wind Turbines - how their performances differ and why they are hard to test.
Recordings are available via the links below, after these photos.
Your Committee spent a convivial hour and a half before the meeting, discussing many things:
L to R: President Geoff Fletcher, Vice President David Lake, webmaster Mark Dohrmann, Secretary and Past President Patrick Irwin, Grant Gatland (who flew from Adelaide), Peter Hart, Kelvin Genn and Treasurer Margarita Vargas (who drove to Melbourne from Wagga this same day).
Dr Peter Freere opened the batting:
Margarita Vargas (Treasurer) and Patrick Irwin (Past President, now Secretary) - President Geoff Fletcher behind:
Do listen to and watch our two presentations via these Dropbox links.
Amateur recording now has good audio with a new wireless mike, and we're working on local lighting to adjust contrast:
Peter Freere on Wind Turbine Testing (20 minutes) - watch it here
Bill Gleeson on the Lithium Ion Big Battery fire (38 minutes) - watch it here
The March meeting (Thursday 21) will be on Zoom.
We have some fabulous speakers who have agreed to present to us this year. All will be revealed. No, not Taylor Swift.
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23 November 2023: electrical switchboards fires and faults
A recording of the FESA Zoom presentation from last Thursday November 23 on "Electrical Switchboards - fires and faults" by Peter Hart and Martin Mulcahy is available here. Note: you will need to copy then enter this passcode to play the recording: +8+Jb+pv
October 2023 - building collapse and lessons for engineers
FESA member Geoff Fletcher spoke on the 2013 collapse of a multi-storey building in Dhaka, Bangladesh. 34 members and guests were present at this interesting talk, which was preceded by our AGM.
The collapse killed over 1,100 people and injured some 2,500. It is claimed to be the deadliest accidental structural failure in modern history. Geoff, an engineer, outlined incompetence, shortcuts, greed, lack of review, and third world low-paid garment manufacture factory stacking, But just what does "accidental" mean? Numerous people faced murder charges as a result, from a litany of failures - negligence, recklessness and corruption in administrative, design, construction and operational controls. The public suffered - and their need for engineering competence and ethics (in any discipline) has never been so great!
Geoff's main takeaways for ALL engineers were these:
- Check your own character before starting your calculations and computer! Uncompromised ethical standards are always paramount.
- No “something” is better than a bad “something”!
- Be careful with whom you get into bed!
- NEVER fear inspection / verification / 3rd party reviews. Encourage it!
- NEVER progress past an unexplained, unsolved problem.
- You mght get away with breaking the laws of the State, but never the laws of physics.
- You get not what you EXPECT, but what you INSPECT.
- Imagine one day being cross-examined in Court re your actions!
A good evening of networking and a fine meal rounded things out well. The presentation was professionally recorded and is available here now.
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21 September 2023
Dr Reza Javaherdashti spoke to FESA via Zoom on 21 September (from Croatia) on Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC), with a focus on off-shore engineering due to its importance for Australian industry. MIC refers to the influence of micro/ macro-organisms on the kinetics of corrosion processes on metals, caused by adhering to the interfaces (usually referred to as “biofilms”-which, in fact, is a wrong terminology).
The presentation focussed on the necessity of understanding MIC mechanisms as per API 580/581 and how forensic engineering methods may or may not be useful in dealing with failures stemming from MIC mechanisms. During the presentation, some interesting aspects of MIC (such as EMIC) which are very important to interpret high corrosion rates were presented.
Some facts and figures about its importance from a corrosion science and engineering point of view as well as the names of some important bacteria associated with MIC were briefly explained.
A one-hour recording of the presentation is here. If needed, the Passcode is tGb1E^cz
Reza also gave us the following links to Youtube clips, giving further information on the topic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCmgrcXJ_8w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA5Da4GOTnQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2YfNbiffs4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKw85VokBBg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_zcCaioMyg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSfgJtUoPUM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z848Cv2Sdm8
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24 August 2023
45 people attended a presentation on Waterproofing by Karl Wootton. It was a very informative talk, well illustrated, with practical illustrated examples.
The talk (37 minutes plus 4 minutes introduction) is here. The Q & A session was not recorded by request - candour, confidentiality, etc.
27 July 2023
42 people attended a Zoom presentation by slips, trips and falls expert Richard Bowman, who spoke in helpful detail about surfaces, gait, falls, standards, protocols, expert evidence - with good examples.
His session has been recorded (50 minutes plus Q & A) and is available here:
Passcode if needed: *E?Q%uW5
22 June 2023
60 members and guests attended to hear barrister Tim Sowden speak helpfully on Effective Expert Evidence. He addressed rules of evidence as they affect experts; things you can, can't or must do; what gives a barrister confidence in an expert; hot tubbing; recent leading cases affecting experts; subpoenas; and numerous interesting questions from the floor.
Tim's Powerpoint slides are here; and separately, here is his 38 minute presentation.
An excellent night of conversation, questions and answers, discussions, networking and as usual, a fine meal and drinks.
27 April 2023:
Engineer Ted Metcalfe delivered a presentation to 30 present on Professionalism, Ethics and Protecting the Public
Ted explained the tradition of the Iron Ring and other reasons why professional engineering practice is different in Australia from that in Canada. He presented some of the findings from his study of failure of Complex Engineered Systems, using the Dreamworld Tragedy and the Longford Gas Plant Explosion to illustrate the role of Royal Commissions and Coronial Inquiries in learning for engineers. (It’s usually not engineering incompetence that causes the failure). He went on to describe the recurring role of systemic regulatory failures, the consequences of commercial pressures on engineering outcomes, and gave an overview of the continuing importance of Professionalism and Ethics.
Lively question and discussion spells covered a range of interesting themes.
The session was recorded in two parts. The sound is pretty average, but the screen displays are very clear. Some shaky amateur camera work, too. Just turn up the volume, and you'll get the whole presentation.
Part 2 (also 26 minutes) is here.
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30 March 2023
Australia’s Regulatory Structure for the Safety of Equipment Supplied to the Market
Jean-Marie Ntahonkiriye, Senior Engineer
Market Intelligence and Enforcement, Energy Safe Victoria (ESV).
and Dr Peter Hart, ATTAR.
This ZOOM presentation was rescheduled to Thursday 30 March (5:30 pm) and described the regulatory structure that applies to equipment that is supplied to the Australian market. It was mainly about Australia’s regulation of low voltage electrical equipment. First, FESA member Peter Hart (below) gave a brief overview of the regulatory structure as it applies to consumer goods, plant equipment, mechanical equipment intended to be installed in buildings and on and off road vehicles.
Peter then introduced Jean-Marie Ntahonkiriye of ESV, who provided a detailed presentation focusing on low voltage electrical equipment.
A recording of the evening is here (cut and paste it into your browser if it fails to link):
Passcode%3A%2520V%243F%236R%26
23 February 2023
The House with No Piers
Lawyer Bronwyn Weir gave a presentation applauded by all 56 present. She spoke passionately about a report she authored for the NSW Building Commissioner, detailing details of the ordeal of a couple who built a home in rural NSW in 2009.
Premature cracking in the walls led them into a initiating a dispute in NCAT which consumed them for almost five years. One of the key issues on which expert evidence was given was whether piers had been constructed as documented in the approved engineering design. The court accepted the builder and his expert engineers’ evidence that the piers had indeed been constructed, and the court found against the owners. They were ordered to pay the builder’s costs which together with their own costs were in excess of $300K. They appealed and lost. As the matter was concluding David Chandler was appointed as the first NSW Building Commissioner. They told him their story and he visited their home, during which time a comprehensive excavation was carried out to show that in fact no piers had ever been constructed. Chandler was determined to shine a light on what had happened to these people and hence the report was commissioned. The system failed these owners. The conduct of some of those involved lacked competency and integrity – a hallmark of the state of Australia building and construction industry.
Bronwyn discussed these during her presentation, providing a snapshot of where building regulatory reforms are at, five years on from the Building Confidence Report. Animated discussion followed, expressing dismay with the system, with the evident incompetence and lack of integrity of some of the lawyers and enginners. The builder was deregistered.
Bronwyn Weir has been a lawyer for 25 years. She runs a small legal practice advising all levels of government on regulatory and compliance matters.
Our 56 guests had a cracking night. Lots of connections.
A recording of the presentation (57 minutes) is available here. Note: the tail end of Bronwyn's talk is in this separate file. Her complete Powerpoint slide presentation is here.
We have also received Basic Expert's presentation by Jonathan Barnett, Jonathan Duler and Oscar Salt on lithium ion batteries and electric car fires.
You can access their presentation slide set here.
24 November 2022: four great presentations, and our AGM
44 members and guests met for convivial drinks at the Auburn Hotel, Hawthorn, Melbourne.
The AGM was then run efficiently over just a few minutes. No elections were due. In his report (here), President Patrick Irwin announced the cessation of the "Corporate" member category, and the benefits to members by replacing it with conventional membership status. The accounts were received and adopted (click here to read them).
Thanks were extended to all office bearers, especially hard-working Secretary Geoff Fletcher, and member Mark Dohrmann, who was presented with FESA Life Membership for his 23 years' continuous service to the Committee on backroom membership management, our website and communications.
Four excellent short presentations followed.
Robust discussion followed each speaker. Click on their name to see their talk - they vary from 8 to 14 minutes.
Peter Hart outlined cases where a truck chassis rail had failed in different ways. Scary! And poor design by major manufacturers.
Nick Jenkins described elevators and the obligations of designers under the Plant Regulations. Getting stuck in a door is problematic, but not illegal.
Patrick Irwin explained the fortuitous discovery of key facts in preparing a building case involving millions of dollars, and what ethical and professional steps needed to be taken to revise his opinion and so assist the court.
John Culvenor warned us about the Government's "free" program offering incandescent light replacement with LEDs. There's no obligation on suppliers to ensure that light levels and quality are retained. Look for lumen equivalence, not wattage.
The usual good hotel menu pleased the throng:
Coffee followed, with much conversation, meetings and getting to know people. A happy and safe Christmas was wished for all members and their families.
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27 October 2022: Electric Vehicles - fire safety challenge
Three speakers from Basic Expert presented to 34 members and guests on the global problem of fires in electric vehicles - lithium ion batteries being the cause. Whether charging, driving or just parked, these fires occur. The passage of time increases the degradation of the batteries and the likelihood of spontaneous combustion. Fires cannot be extinguished with water, and create an inflammable vapour cloud. Events are under-reported (there is an average of seven EV fires a day in China) with zero literature, data, guidance, time, or money to do more … this topic is relevant to any practitioner with an interest in risk, engineering failures, or the safety of our built environment…
The speakers - Jonathan Duler, Oscar Salt and Jonathan Barnett - covered the historical context of how EVs have slotted into our built environment and lifestyles, but how badly this has gone wrong, by way of case studies for some particularly severe incidents.
The recording of the presentation (1 hr 10 minutes) is too big to load on to this site, but we hope to soon have a link here to the presenters' slides, and which you can access.
Cyber crime, fraud and forensics
29 September 2022
Jason Conley of Envista Forensics , a forensic examiner since 2003, gave a very interesting presentation on the characteristics of cyber threats and investigation procedures, with examples. Jason's accounts of industrial espionage, intellectual property theft issues, breach of contract and fraud-related investigations dealt with spam, phishing and theft, with tips on risk management. He presented to FESA from London - a great effort in the early hours.
Recordings of the presentation are available here (note the passcode for each)
The presentation: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/ewpqLZtoRUGUGkAZWyfUJpnC7JQlhCQvCdTUoqhkcspIp_ttuaSTtuyK9Qny-Gle.aSx0lcox_2_GX1BP Passcode: m9R2=7K#
Questions and answers: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/TMRmqBT_Vep9SQDJ-JsujoyXgdjbC4OuK_p2nJec8lL8XFe6apmcpBwqE60_JZFZ.eQtYlGmrq5lFtjoy Passcode: e?0^6DY4
Expert Evidence - August 25 2022
An excellent meeting at the Auburn Hotel, Hawthorn, with an outstanding presentation by Justice Jim Delaney (Victorian Supreme Court) on Expert Evidence.
Jim spoke clearly, concisely and authoritatively about all relevant aspects of experts' taking instructions, report writing, hot-tubbing, conclaving, and giving evidence at court. His talk was filled with tips and practical examples. An excellent and lengthy question and answer session followed.
The meeting was very well attended, with extensive networking and introductions. Welcome to all new members!
You can download Jim Delaney's 44 minute presentation here (His Honour preferred not to have the questions section recorded).
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July 28 2022 (by Zoom): a presentation by Mark Roberts BEng(Hons), MIET, SAE-A on the subject
The Humble 12V Battery - Friend or Foe?
Mark presented on the humble 12V lead-acid AGM battery. Whether you drive a fancy electric vehicle or the traditional internal combustion version, chances are you have owned or had the pleasure of replacing one of these batteries before. But are they more than just a giant AA battery? Mark covered the unique intricacies of 12V AGM batties and, in particular, what transpires when your vehicle's 12V lead-acid battery is pushed beyond its normal operating conditions. As dangerous as its lithium cousin?... there's potential!
Prior to his indoctrination into the forensics engineering industry, Mark functioned as a 12V & 48V Energy Management Engineer within Bentley Motors in the United Kingdom. Responsible for the integration and project management of all 12V Energy Containers and 48V Supercapacitors within Bentley's ICE and PHEV vehicle architectures, Mark spent the majority of his time in Germany and Sweden, prototyping and validating future vehicle projects.
June 23 2022
An excellent dinner meeting at the Auburn Hotel, with 41 attending. Several new people made welcome.
First, FESA member and engineer Tom Dohrmann (a professional mechanical engineer who has worked in automotive design, ergonomics and forensic investigations for sixteen years) spoke on the complexities of converting a new US muscle-ute (the F150, selling here soon) to right hand drive.
Ten minutes with a spanner? Not at all. Tom took us through the fascinating range of new mechanical parts and systems where information sharing was permitted, and described how Ford's methods enhance ride and reliability. Tom is a part of an Australian engineering design team punching above its weight globally. Great to see that the work has created 150 jobs in a brand new new manufacturing facility.
Second, FESA member Peter Paras, a Chartered Professional Engineer with thirty-five years of structural and civil engineering consulting experience, explained his work as a mediator in building disputes.
Peter is an accredited mediator (NMAS), a panel Conciliator at DBDRV (Domestic Building Dispute Resolution Victoria) and a Member of the Building Appeals Board of Victoria, where he carries out conciliations and mediations. He spoke clearly about the concepts and the processes of mediation – how it works, what issues arise, how resolutions are achieved, and the benefit that forensic/expert reports have with disputes at mediation. Vigorous discussion arose, including the obligations of an neutral engineer-mediator when (for example) two parties reach a compromise which the mediator knows is technically flawed.
Both these presentations are being separately recorded, with all their presentation slides, and will be made available to financial memberson the FESA website.
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April 28 2022 meeting (at the Auburn Hotel):
Member Geoff Fletcher spoke first to 34 members and guests about the 1907 collapse of the Quebec bridge over the massive St Lawrence river, with 86 lives lost. It collapsed again in 1916. An insight into egos in engineering.
This presentation was very well illustrated, with video and fascinating forensic clues outlined.
You can watch Geoff's presentation (from three minutes in) here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/UzYEIWgoSlGqBrDAo-3z3Uxf0BH9pyUwXUpKyNRiHfbiZ8reUnvVZoa9gTwWOYvt.2TEg_dM0h3iGy3cw?startTime=1651136697000 Passcode (required to view): 1?!qP%7T
A second presentation entitled " Who is responsible for the safety of your electrical switchboard and its supply cables?" was by mechatronics engineer Nicholas Jenkins, about a recent argument about who owned the electrical assets in a building. Very interesting issues of liability here.
Nick was standing in for his colleague Peter Hart (regrettably unwell) and did a great job, presenting clearly and dealing capably with questions.
Nicholas' presentation of Peter's material can be viewed in its entirety here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/UzYEIWgoSlGqBrDAo-3z3Uxf0BH9pyUwXUpKyNRiHfbiZ8reUnvVZoa9gTwWOYvt.2TEg_dM0h3iGy3cw?startTime=1651138996000 Passcode: 1?!qP%7T
The evening was widely judged a great success, and our Zoom/streaming effort (15 participants) seems to have worked much better.
Our March meeting On 24 March, FESA member Dr Gary Martin MIEAust CPEng CMatP presented to 28 people on Zoom on Acoustic Emissions testing theory and practice. Gary gave a very clear and well illustrated presentation on using the analysis of acoustic emissions (ultrasonic vibrations that arise from plastic deformation, crack growth and corrosion) as an efficient non-destructive test method for many materials. The emissions are picked up by piezoelectric sensors that convert the vibrations to electrical signals that can be processed, classified and interpreted. This technique may be used to predict the likely future failure performance of the test item. This talk introduced us to Acoustic Emission, including the physical basis and its advantages compared to other Non-Destructive Test techniques. The presentation covered the application of Acoustic Emissions monitoring to assessing the structural integrity of Elevating Work Platforms, of pressure vessels, metallic and fibre composites, storage tanks as well electrical transformers. Great illustrations made it all the more clear. Very well received - a topic new to most of us, and closely followed. February meeting We opened the FESA year at the Auburn Hotel, Hawthorn on Thursday 24 February with a full-house dinner, discussion and talk on "Working with lawyers - tips, tricks and traps", presented by engineer Patrick Irwin and lawyer Leslie Schwarz. They took us through several steps of the process, from initial enquiry, appointment, engagement, appearance work, invoicing and payment. Over 40 people made up an enthusiastic audience, with lots of conversations, questions, introductions and networking. Left: Les Schwarz Right: Patrick Irwin
We had a crack at streaming the event by Zoom - not very successfully - uncertainties with the microphone, camera and network. Apologies to the patient 14 who logged in - we will improve! |
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