Failure is a common reported cause of loss. Like fires and explosions, a "failure" begs for an explanation: Why did it fail? The term failure may be applied to a system when certainly it was only a small part that precipitated the system failure. Though a small failure in a larger system may not lead to immediate impairment, eventually if the failure has compromised an indispensable step in the overall system, very small failures can shut down an entire plant. When things get really out of hand, failures may lead to fires and explosions, or just to a flooded basement. We investigate failures such as:
We have experience in the failure of industrial structures like tankage, shells, plates, beams, columns and trusses. These are common components in industrial superstructures.
We choose not to work in building structural failures because typically the cause of the the failure is known to the client and the client is more interested in returning the building to habitation. There are other engineers who do this work. We are dedicated to forensics. If we are asked to determine the cause of a structural building failure, we would typically refer the reconstruction aspects and focus on forensics.
When something physically snaps, there are always two aspects — loading and strength. Strength may be compromised by age-related wear and tear, cracks and material-level flaws. Compromises to strength may be detected and addressed in inspection and maintenance. Loading, however, is more influenced by design, and normal and extraordinary usage, and misuse. Internal loads may be determined by the system itself through automatic and abnormal control — it may be possible for a machine to damage itself. When one is dealing with very capable machinery, there are frequently end-point or limit switches that automatic controls use to stop an actuator at the safe end of its cycle. A failure in such a switch may leave the actuator attempting to drive beyond the end point, potentially until something snaps. Though it looks like a broken piece of metal, it may be more of a control or process failure. We have experience in physical / mechanical failures in moving machinery.
When a material is not used in a structure or mechanism, it can still fail to perform its designated function. For instance, we have experience in failures of release agents and chemical additives.
We have experience in control failures. Control failures are most interesting because the loss or damage usually manifests in an area remote from the controller. The failure of a control may appear to be a process or system failure.
Process and system failures may occur when the design of the process or system relies on a single element, and that element fails to perform that function. For example, the thermostatic switches allowed a particular industrial oven to maintain temperature control. The sensors themselves need not fail, they may instead be insulated, obstructed from serving their function by an accumulation of process debris. If the sensors are no longer measuring the oven temperature this constitutes a failure in observability resulting in problems with controllability. The temperature of the oven may veer out of control and this may lead to a fire. A similar process failure in both small and large HVAC systems — we have experience in both — can lead to a freezing failure of the system. We have experience in process and system failures.
A design will assume a part will be capable of a certain level of performance. The material or manufacturing process may occasionally produce flawed parts that are insufficiently capable. A flaw in a part might lead to a failure in the system. How common and detectable or unavoidable the flaws are might be important to resolving the matter. Alternately, the fundamental formulation of a system is lacking -- under certain operating conditions failure cannot be avoided. We have experience with several systems that, prior to the claimed loss, have each suffered multiple small fires resulting from failures where the root cause was the same uncorrected flaw. The flaws, design errors or operating conditions that might make them manifest as a loss are important to understand for a case involving contractual or tort liability.
Electricity powers the majority of stationary equipment. When something along the flow of electricity fails, the equipment stops. It may be a failure in a motor, or cabling or switchgear. Everything has its limits. Any component might fail. Electromechanical components from switches to motors have mechanical, environmental and electrical limits. A failure may result from any of these or a combination. Contacts and switches wear with use, and their failure may result in the failure of the system. If the failure is obvious and proximate to the cause, or the system is simple, the investigation may not be that complex. It may be as simple as "find the charred circuit element" — it probably burned out.... but why ? The answer might be simple "it wore out" or might be more complex.
Generally the closer the failure is to the utility, the more disruptive it is, the more energetic it is, and the more likely there will be at least a small fire. Because a misdirected or excessive flow of electricity has such potential to cause fires and damage, regulations are in place to avoid losses. These regulations dictate safety gear such as fuses and breakers. These measures do not, however, prevent all losses. Inspections and maintenance are needed. Components with a limited lifetime have to be replaced from time to time. Unfortunately, deterioration may cause failures and electrical fires, and deterioration-related failures are not prevented by circuit breakers and fuses.