Sean Moran's Blog, page 2

How Good Is Good Enough: Negligence, Competence, And Quality: SPED

I'm preparing a talk for the Society of Piping Engineers and Designers at the moment, covering my experience as an engineer and expert witness with respect to issues for designers such as negligence and competence, quality management, good and best engineering practice. I've written quite a bit about different aspects of this before, and had quite a few assignments which involved forming opinions about these things. This is however the first time I have put all of the different aspects together.

What Is An Expert Witness?

My latest blog post over in the independentexpertengineer website is about what expert witnesses are supposed to be doing. I'm afraid I don't see a lot of this. I see an awful lot of people who are supposed to know better trying to act as advocates for their clients.

Sewerage And Drainage Expert

I added a page to the website today about my work as an expert witness in sewerage and drainage. 
I have done a few jobs which were only to do with sewers and drains, but more commonly, I am expected to comment on a system which encompasses the collection, treatment and discharge of either storm (surface or drainage) water, sewage (wastewater), industrial effluent of a mix of all three. 
This includes the sewerage which is supposed to securely convey these waters to a treatment facility or discharge point, and any pumping stations, storm overflows, flow control measures and so on on such a system. 

Process Plant Commissioning Engineer Training Course

I had an enquiry this morning for me to deliver the course on process plant commissioning I have been giving for more than 25 years now. This is our most popular course, but there are a number of others., the second most popular being our industrial water and effluent treatment plant design and operation course.

Expert Witness Journal : Independent Expert Engineer

 

My expert witness journal article on being an independent expert engineer working as an expert witness in water engineering can be read here

Expert Water Engineering Practitioner: Terminology

I have added a new page to the website with selected quotes from the dictionary of chemical engineering practice which I wrote to assist with terminology around what a Professional, Chartered, Qualified, Competent, Responsible, Authorized, Certified Engineer looks like (see photo for one example).

As well as offering clarity on this point, this dictionary of chemical engineering practice should be of use to anyone seeking to understand what the terminology used by chemical and water engineers means within the profession. 

Whilst it is of course for the courts to decide what terms mean, doing so without understanding the differences between everyday or legal language, and the terms used within the profession is prone to gross misunderstanding. I have been engaged in expert witness cases which hinged entirely on the meaning of such terms.

Water Engineering Expert Witness Sludge Treatment Experience

Dr Sean Moran is a Chartered Engineer (a qualified, experienced, engineering practitioner), who is also a highly experienced expert witness. 

His specific expert witness training is as follows: 

Excellence in Report Writing Bond Solon

Writing Expert Reports (Advanced) 

Successful Communication at Experts’ Meetings

Expert Witness Report Writing

Cross Examination Skills

All of these skills have been used in practice, over the course of around 70 engagements as an expert witness in water engineering over thirty years. He has produced at least one advisory report, or more commonly CPR part 35/19 compliant expert report for each of these engagements. He has on a number of occasions taken part in formal meetings of experts, mostly, but not exclusively with one other expert. He has served as a Single Joint Expert (SJE). He has provided expert evidence in Courts from magistrates to the High Court (mostly the latter, specifically Technology and Construction Courts), and been cross examined on that evidence.

Civil Procedure Rule(CPR) Part 35 Compliant Expert Witness Report: Sewage Treatment Plant Nuisances

I'm currently working on a CPR Part 35 Expert Witness Report in a case to do with odour and noise nuisance arising from a small rural sewage treatment plant operated by a UK water plc. These rules, and the accompanying practice directions are supposed to govern the preparation of all expert reports, though I see many reports which clearly do not.

Practice direction 35 states under "Expert Evidence – General Requirements :

2.1 Expert evidence should be the independent product of the expert uninfluenced by the pressures of litigation.

2.2  Experts should assist the court by providing objective, unbiased opinions on matters within their expertise, and should not assume the role of an advocate.

2.3 Experts should consider all material facts, including those which might detract from their opinions.

2.4 Experts should make it clear –

(a) when a question or issue falls outside their expertise"

I'm afraid I see a great many reports from other engineers, (or sometimes "engineers") which breach one or more of these directions. The only way the "experts" who produce such reports get away with it is because 98% of cases never get to the point of trial. In the meantime, their "helpful" attitude ensures that they will never be short of work from litigators looking to get an edge with a report from a hired gun.

Environmental Engineer Expert Witness

Many of those who share my field of expertise call themselves environmental engineers, though they are more usually a specialized type of civil engineer, rather than a specialized type of chemical/process engineer as I am. I have consequently added a page on that part of what I do which falls into this common area, the treatment of water, wastewater, semi-solid sludges and solid wastes.

Consulting Engineer Water Process And Hydraulics Expert

I'm finally getting started on a long-delayed set of expert witness instructions to do with nuisance at a municipal sewage treatment plant. 

I have added a new page to the website about my experience as a water engineering consultant here