Architecture / Construction
Our Architecture and Construction Group includes Registered Architects and Registered Civil and Structural Engineers who are supported by our Electrical, Mechanical, and Materials Engineers. This group of experts have designed, built, and maintained residential, institutional, commercial, governmental, industrial, and manufacturing structures, facilities, and components.
Once these experts have determined the course of a construction defect or failure, it is oftentimes necessary to determine the liable party. Potentially liable parties can include designers, owners, users, contractors, subcontractors, and even local building inspectors.
Damage and injuries can also be attributed to product defects, improper safety design (including ADA), work zone procedures, improper usage, natural events, or deficient contract performance.
| First Name | Last Name | Title | CV Abstract |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timothy J. | Dickson, PE, SE | Civil/Structural Engineer | Civil/structural engineering; field investigations; laboratory studies; commercial and residential buildings and bridges constructed of reinforced concrete (conventional, pre-stressed and post-tensioned), structural steel, masonry and timber; foundation underpinning systems; earth retention systems using soil nail walls, segmental retaining walls and sheet piles; structural failures/collapses; water infiltration; roofing failures; building façade evaluations; work zone safety; windows, doors, floors, stairs, and ramps; fire, wind, ice, and snow damage; professional liability claims; preparation of construction documents; evaluation of field test-data; property loss; construction defects; natural gas explosion damage; building settlement; deteriorated concrete and masonry; building rehabilitation and renovation; high wind, tornado, and blizzard damage; precast concrete planks; structural steel frames; fatigue and static performance tests; jointless bridges; parking garage rehabilitation; bracing failure investigations. |
| Todd D. | Feliks, PE | Civil Engineer | Licensed Engineer in Michigan Hospital, healthcare, and educational building design and construction, including flooring, painting, lighting and ceiling replacement; building standards and safety code compliance, including ADA, ANSI, NFPA, BOCA, IBC, and OSHA; Professional Liability issues and Standards of Practice; clean rooms and operating rooms; project contracts, including shop drawings, submittals, bid and project documents, and change orders. |
| Larry | Fischer, RA, AIA, NCARB | Architect | All stages of planning, design, and construction supervision for healthcare, educational, corporate, commercial, industrial, and residential buildings; zoning compliance; ANSI and Life Safety Code compliance; ADA compliance; architectural professional liability issues and standards of practice; clean and vibration-free rooms; personal injury and property damage investigations. |
| Michael W. | Hayslip, ESQ., PE, CSP | Senior Civil Engineer | Licensed Engineer in Ohio Construction issues, including safety and health-training; developing, maintaining, and enforcing safety policies and programs; OSHA compliance; hazardous material transportation; field safety inspections; Workers Compensation claim management; corporate safety issues; carpenter; surveyor. |
| James R. | Heyl, PE | Senior Electrical Engineer | Licensed Engineer in Michigan Industrial equipment; material handling systems; automation and robotic systems; power supplies; control systems; computer and PLC programming; quality control and safety; manufacturing operations; facilities construction and maintenance; electrical fires and explosions for equipment, structures, and vehicles; switchgear and substations; automated machinery; safety, predictive, and preventive maintenance programs; conveyor systems; safety interlocks; safety violations; instrumentation systems; AC/DC motors; code compliance; marina electrical systems; underground electrical distribution; welding systems; test cells; lighting systems including sport facilities and roadways. |
| James R. | Hill, PE | Senior Mechanical Engineer | Licensed Engineer in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky, Arkansas, Wisconsin Building HVAC, plumbing, fire protection and electrical, including design, installation damage, malfunction, and personal injury; code and safety compliance, including ADA; maintenance requirements and implementation; hot water and steam boilers; air/steam turbines, compressors, pumps, fans, and vacuum systems; refrigeration and freezer defects; bakery and food processing equipment and facilities; power and lighting systems; locker rooms and restrooms; ventilation and indoor air quality requirements. |
| Blaine J. | Hoffmann, MS, OSHM | Safety Expert | Workplace safety, training, investigations, accident investigations and audits; legal aspects of safety and health; training and development programs; written program development; interpretation of OSHA general industry and construction industry, healthcare industry standards; VPP program management; MSHA training and regulatory interpretations; 40-hr HAZWOPER; Arc-Flash (NFPA 70E). |
| Dennis Michael | King, FAIA, FESD, LEED, AP | Architect | Construction property damage, defects, and personal injury; architecture construction claims; premises/professional liabilities; construction operations; construction marketing; project management; claims arbitration; dispute settlement; LEED Green Buildings; energy and environmental design. |
| Malcolm K. | Lim, PE | Civil Engineer | Civil/structural design; field investigations; nondestructive testing; high rise buildings; balconies; bridges; piers; power plants; pipes and tunnels; decks; structural distress; excessive displacement; excessive vibration; partial or total collapse; roofing systems; roadway pavements and runways; parking structures; materials testing; concrete products; document control; record creation and maintenance; international standards; corrosion; welding; quality control; certified SCUBA underwater inspections; impulse radar; ultrasonic testing; tunnel linings; garage barrier safety; post-tensioned beams; concrete degradation. |
| Matthew J.A. | Nousak, PE | Metallurgical/Materials/Welding Engineer | Mechanical, metallurgical, materials, and/or welding failures; refractories; pressure vessels; process piping; machine design; petroleum, petrochemical, chemical, offshore, and shipping industries; dredging equipment; tanks; fabrication; foundry facilities; facility startup; melting operations; heat treating; automotive, machinery, and boiler castings; suspension bridges; turbine blades; steam drums; corrosion; boat hull rivets and plates; crane collapses; casing and drill string testing tools; induction hardening; offshore oil platforms; vibration; shipyard fabrication; blast furnace; shielded metal arc welding; gas metal arc welding; gas tungsten arc welding; flux cored arc welding; submerged arc welding; electroslag welding; plasma arc welding; laser beam welding; resistance welding; torch brazing; furnace brazing; soldering; standard physical testing methods (e.g. tensile, hardness, impact); non-standard testing methods (e.g. CTOD, drop-weight, fatigue); failure analysis techniques (e.g. metallography, scanning electron microscopy, microprobe chemical analysis); annealing; quenching; tempering; carburizing; carbonitriding; nitriding; solution annealing; stress-relieving and normalizing; hazardous waste storage tanks; ASME Code SC VIII-1 and VIII-2 and API design. |
| Ethan | Parker, PE | Civil Engineer | Licensed Engineer in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and West Virginia Vehicle crash reconstruction, including automobiles, trucks, buses, trailers, motorcycles, water craft, and trains; analysis of mechanical and structural failures, including foundation, wall and roof collapses; vehicle defects and failures, including hydraulic/air brakes, steering and suspension, drive trains, and tires; mold remediation in homes, schools, and commercial buildings; vehicle fires and explosions, including arson; product defects, including mechanical and electrical failures; water infiltration, hail, and wind damage; roadway incidents, including road design and visibility analysis; design analysis; building code compliance; fire investigations; steel structures; glazing and roofing systems; conveyance systems; crane runways; traffic flow and accident patterns; signage and traffic signals. |
| Clinton | Parks, PE | Products & Equipment Expert | Licensed Engineer in Ohio, Virginia, Louisiana, and North Carolina Specialized machinery; medical products; hydraulics and pneumatics; control systems and electronics; rotating and pressurized process machines; seismic analyses; product safety; structures and structural analyses; commercial products; boilers; refrigeration systems; finite element analysis; pulp and paper industry; wood science; design for manufacturing and assembly; regulatory compliance; operational and maintenance training; field support. |
| Robert J. | Schutz, PE, PS, CBO | Engineer/Surveyor | Construction/survey claims; premises/professional liabilities; building codes, including mechanical, fuel gas, plumbing, electrical, environmental, and energy; land use law; environmental management; building materials and installation; preparation and review of residential, commercial, and government construction documents; water and sewer utilities; gas line construction/installation; roadway projects; engineered wood products; building and roof structural designs; topographic mapping; swimming pool design; mobile home park designs; disaster mitigation; aircraft hangars; code training and certification; damaged and dilapidated structures; examiner and field inspector; foundations; roadway projects; planner/sanitarian/epidemiologist. |
| Rick A. | Smith, PE | Senior Mechanical Engineer | Licensed Engineer in Ohio Industrial power plants and processes; thermal and combustion systems including boilers, furnaces, and ovens; CFC management; HVAC systems; air pollution control; process and power piping and equipment; cathodic protection; pump failure analysis; heat and fluid transfer processes, including energy conservation. |
| Chad | Walker | Safety Expert | Construction and industrial equipment safety operations and procedures, including cranes, loaders, bulldozers, backhoes, fork lifts, skid steers, and aerial lifts; safety program training and maintenance; safety equipment requirements and orientations; employee safety and health issue investigations, reviews, and responses; OSHA and JSHA compliance; unsafe working conditions; safety audits; emergency response drills; emergency action plans. |
| Michael T. | Williams, PE | Civil/Environmental Engineer | Licensed Engineer in Michigan, Indiana, New Mexico Civil/sanitary design including water distribution, sanitary and storm water sewer systems, pump stations, and wastewater treatment plants; administration, inspection and testing for construction of storm sewers, wastewater collection and treatment facilities, activated sludge systems, aerated lagoons, oxidation ditches, sequencing batch reactors, and secondary/tertiary treatment systems; inspector/technician training; site surveying and safety plans; project certifications; failures and malfunctions including foundations, retaining walls, roofs, structural failures, appliances, furnaces, swimming pools, spas, saunas, plumbing systems, hydraulic systems, fire suppression systems, environmental releases, and environmental remediation systems; hydrogeological investigations, aquifer tests, design and permitting. |