Specialties & Experience of this Expert Witness

Additional Information

Providing Expert Witness and Failure Analysis services for design, manufacturing or assembly defects and preventable errors. Will uncover root cause(s) of product defects to identify culpable party. My credible and clear Expert Reports and depositions have been key in achieving successful out-of-court settlements for my fire subrogation clients. Expert in Failure Analysis and Forensic Engineering of automotive electrical fires and accidents caused by electrical, wiring or electronics due to defects, design flaws or assembly errors. M.I.T. BSEE (ME minor), UD Mercy (MIT curriculum) MS in Product Development and Systems Engineering, and UD Mercy EngD Doctoral coursework completed. Over forty years of automotive electronic and mechanical product design, development, manufacturing and field failure analysis experiences. A Six-Sigma Black belt trained strategic and systems thinker, achieved millions of dollars in cost and quality improvements by designing and launching various electronic modules and sub-systems, including Infotainment, Climate Controls, Electronics and Wiring. As a Ford Quality Supervisor, used my prior 23 years of design, warranty analysis and service experiences to coach electronic module and wiring engineers to improve their designs. Taught Ford and Supplier engineers industry standard engineering development and failure analysis methods (Failure Mode Effects Analysis; 8D; Pareto; Statistics; etc.) and ISO 9001 quality compliance disciplines. Trusted by Ford Management (1977-2017) to provide peer reviews and independent risk assessments for deciding approval or revision of selected designs for production. As a Ford Quality Supervisor in Electrical, I guided electronic module, wiring, connector, battery, starter and alternator engineers in development of Failure Mode Avoidance & Design Validation to avoid defects. I audited Field Warranty Data, including NHTSA investigations and recalls, for signs of emerging issues on wiring, instrumentation and climate control electronics. Worked with engineers using scientific methodology to identify proper cause(s) and develop robust fixes and preventative actions. Attended Supplier manufacturing process reviews, identifying plant improvements. An expert in Ford Development Process and Lead ISO 9001 auditor and trainer for Electronics. As a Design and System Engineer, I was Project Manager for cost, quality and timing of electrical product content on the 2000 - 03 Mustang and 1988-90 new car models. Led issues resolutions and presented action plans to management. Led team in the system design and validation of instrument cluster and climate control modules. Identified unacceptable failure modes of initial Sequential Fuel Injection system design and provided alternative system concept, which won the first Henry Ford Technology Award. Was Lead engineer for Ford's electronic carburetor control modules. Designed hardware and software of 'industry first' Two-Speed Accessory Drive and Diesel Transmission control modules. Developed industry first Lamp Outage detection system using vehicle wiring voltage drops. MEMBERSHIPS: SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) IAAI (International Association of Arson Investigators)