Failure investigation

Determining the root cause of failure can be key to avoiding further costly mistakes, affecting both business performance and hard-earned reputations. Our asset specialists and laboratory facilities help manufacturers, operators and other stakeholders understand why the failure occurred, the contributing factors, and provide information to prevent similar future events from taking place.

Service details

We utilise our knowledge, expertise and analytical facilities to undertake forensic investigations and carry out root cause analyses of equipment from plant to component level. We routinely support manufacturers, owner operators, insurers, loss adjusters, lawyers and stakeholders across all business and industrial sectors.

Our fully equipped investigative laboratories for engineering failures cover:

• optical microscopy
• materials testing
• stress corrosion
• cables and electrical equipment
• medium voltage electrical testing
• environmental chamber
• scanning electron microscopy with energy and wavelength dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX-WDX)
• fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR)
• differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis (DSC-TGA)
• Ion chromatography (IC).

Deliverables

Our services include:

• single or joint expert witness testimony
• preparation of legal arguments
• site and laboratory based investigations
• root cause analysis
• capability on static, rotating, electrical and electronic equipment
• access to advanced analytical techniques with guided support from an expert operator e.g. SEM-EDX.