The 4N6 of Engineering Failure Investigations and Why Accidents Do NOT Happen

So which belief is true: ‘accidents happen’ or ‘everything happens for a reason’? Behavioural sciences show that in the world of interpretation, human judgement is powerfully affected by how problems are initially framed. As humans, we are prone to subconsciously anchor on preconceived notions and then tend to find what we are looking for during an investigation.

The function of an engineered artifact is to deliver the desired fit, form and function to society. It is the purpose of engineering to postpone failure of an artifact for a safe design lifetime. The lecture will highlight the practice of forensic engineering investigation and illustrate methods to assess potential sources, causes and solutions for prevention of failure of engineered products, and of the investigation itself.

BIOGRAPHY:

Doug Perovic is a Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto. A renowned authority on forensic engineering and failure analysis, Dr. Perovic has led many investigations in Canada and the United States, often serving as the voice of the profession in the media on high profile cases. He developed and teaches the only undergraduate and graduate university level Forensic Engineering courses in Canada and recently championed the Certificate in Forensic Engineering Program at U of T. Dr. Perovic is the Celestica Chair in Materials, a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Senior Fellow at Massey College in the University of Toronto and Co-director of the Ontario Centre for Characterization of Advanced Materials.