Investigating Fires Involving Biomass ...
Hawkins has investigated many fires associated with biomass boilers, but over the past few years I have noticed an increase in instructions of fires relating to their use. ...
Read MoreToo Hot! Keep Your Cool With Part ...
In an effort to mitigate the effects of climate change, the government published Approved Document Part O just before Christmas, which provides guidance for complying with ...
Read MoreA State of Flux
Chemical flux is ubiquitous in the formation of most plumbing systems. Flux is an aggressive, acidic paste that is applied to the surfaces of copper pipes and fittings prior ...
Read MoreDroning On...
Over the past few years, drones have become increasingly common and are now frequently used by both hobbyists and commercial operators. Under the pre-2021 regulations, commercial ...
Read MoreCarriage of Coal: Gas Monitoring ...
This article was also published in Issue 9 (page 52) of The Marine Insurer. Click here to read more about their publication and see other issues.When transported or stored ...
Read MoreFull Numerical Analysis Part 3: ...
Technical Content: HighRead Time: 15 minutesWith the rapid advancement of computer technology, full numerical modelling is now routinely carried out in geotechnical engineering. ...
Read MoreIce, Ice Baby
Winter sees a seasonal increase in escapes of water in both domestic and commercial properties due to the freezing of water pipes. The UK Water Regulations state that “All ...
Read MoreSpark Ignition: Electrical Fires ...
This article was also published in Issue 41 (page 43) of The Expert Witness Journal. Click here to read more about their publication and see other issues.Forensic investigations ...
Read MoreScreed Failures
This article discusses the different types of sand and cement floor screeds, their uses and some of the causes of failure. BS EN 13318 defines a screed as: A layer or layers ...
Read MoreFull Numerical Analysis Part 2: ...
Technical Content: HighRead Time: 15 minutesWith the rapid advancement of computer technology, full numerical modelling is now routinely carried out in geotechnical engineering. ...
Read MoreAcceleration from Rest in the ...
The time taken by vehicles to manoeuvre from rest, for example at junctions or traffic lights, is often of fundamental importance in understanding whether different actions ...
Read MoreBLEVEs - The Hidden Danger of Back ...
Back boilers are often located within a chimney breast behind either an open fire or range cooker, and they are typically installed during a house’s initial construction. ...
Read MoreIntroduction to Full Numerical ...
Technical Content: High Read Time: 15 minutesGeotechnical engineering involves the design and construction of structures interacting with soil and rock, such as retaining ...
Read MoreForensic Accounting - The Need ...
Many accountants have been accused of being creative. Whilst this word is either used to tease the profession, or maybe insinuate skirting with accounting regulations, there ...
Read MoreInvestigations Into Steel Structure ...
Hawkins has investigated many cases involving failures of steel structures. Our knowledgeable and experienced team of forensic investigators can establish the cause of a ...
Read MoreInvestigations Into Steel Structure ...
Steel is one of the most commonly used construction materials, due to its wide availability and good strength-to-weight ratio, both in tension and compression. The development ...
Read MoreThe Effect of Mandatory Decennial ...
The recent introduction in Saudi Arabia of mandatory insurance for decennial liability may result in the UAE expediting its own proposals for a similar law. But what is Decennial ...
Read MoreDubai Building Code
Dubai Municipality has released the first edition of its unified building code, the Dubai Building Code (DBC). The code was announced in Autumn 2020 with the aim of setting ...
Read MoreFailures of Plastic Welded Pipes ...
Plastic welding is a technique that many people seem to misunderstand. To the casual observer, it seems to be quite simple; you heat a plastic surface until it softens, push ...
Read MoreGetting Pyrotechnical: This Article ...
We are all probably very familiar with fireworks, especially the type commonly used in gardens on Bonfire Night, or those seen when watching professional displays at weddings ...
Read MoreArson: A Burning Desire
Arsonists can cause not only serious injury and death, but also destruction to property and disruption to business.Arson can be a huge financial burden on insurance companies, ...
Read MoreThe Power Generation Game
The process of turning mechanical energy into electrical power is pretty fascinating.You may remember turning a magnet near a coil and seeing a light bulb illuminate at school? ...
Read MoreHanging by a Thread: The Maintenance ...
To both optimise the life of the rope, and minimise the risk of failure, the rope needs to be carefully selected for its operating environment, as well as maintained appropriately ...
Read MoreHarmonious Chemical Safety: Understanding ...
At the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, 1992, the rapidly expanding global trade in chemicals was highlighted for posing unnecessary risk to both people and the environment, ...
Read MoreAutonomous Emergency Braking – ...
There is a common misconception among drivers that active safety systems, such as Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), will work under all conditions and always avoid collisions. ...
Read MoreTrial By Fire: Investigating Faults ...
Batteries have become ubiquitous in our everyday life, from the vehicles we drive to the personal devices we carry everywhere. They come in many forms and are almost unrecognisable ...
Read MoreInvestigation of Wind Induced Failure ...
Whether it be wind, snow or rain, the weather can have a significant impact on buildings and infrastructure, causing structural damage or flooding. While damage from snow ...
Read MoreWearing a Helmet When Cycling Might ...
One might think that in today’s Health and Safety conscious society there would be universal support for the wearing of cycle helmets. However, amongst the cycling community, ...
Read MoreWater Damage in Basements Part ...
It is widely reported that climate change will result in an increased flood risk in the UK, with wetter winters and more intense summer thunderstorms. Almost every other ...
Read MoreWater Damage in Basements Part ...
Basement construction has become more common, both in new developments and beneath existing buildings, as basements provide an increased floor area for the same footprint ...
Read MoreProtecting Against the Dangers ...
The practice of assessing arc flash for the determination of PPE requirements was first developed in the US petrochemicals industry, and has since been formalised into a standard ...
Read MoreAn Absolutely Cracking Material: ...
Although not commonly considered a ‘structural’ material like concrete, steel, timber or masonry, glass is more and more prevalent in buildings, whether in facades, roofs, ...
Read MorePressure, Pushing Down On Me
Everyone knows what an explosion is, but what about its opposite, an implosion? An explosion occurs when a large amount of energy is released into a small volume in a very ...
Read MoreImproving Building Investigation ...
Sometimes building owners, asset managers or maintenance teams have to face a harsh reality when it comes to managing, maintaining and monitoring their assets. For example, ...
Read MoreChlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride ...
In recent years, Hawkins has increasingly been asked to investigate escapes of water originating from chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) pipework. CPVC is a type of thermoplastic ...
Read MoreAs Bold As Brass
Brasses have been used for many thousands of years and can be used for decorative structures such as the Benin ‘Bronzes’ (actually made of brass) or, more recently, for ...
Read MoreUnder Control: The Challenges of ...
Control systems are an intrinsic and abundant part of modern life; they control everything from personal aspects of our lives, such as our central heating and the engines ...
Read MoreThe Importance of Understanding ...
On UK roads in 2018, a total of 160,597 personal-injury road traffic collisions were reported to the Police, with at least one fatality recorded in 1,784 of those collisions. ...
Read MoreAn Analysis of Failed Biomaterials ...
A biomaterial, much like any other engineering material, can fail in a multitude of ways; the most common failures are attributed to poor design, poor installation, failing ...
Read MoreOpen at Your Own Risk: Business ...
Have you heard about Business Email Compromise? If it hasn’t happened to your company yet, you’re one of the lucky ones.The development of the Internet and email in the ...
Read MoreInvestigations into Ground Related ...
Geotechnical engineering is a sub-branch of civil engineering, focusing on the engineering behaviour of rocks and soils, often in relation to soil-structure interaction. ...
Read MorePit Happens!
During 2012, a large five-star hotel and conference centre began experiencing what started out initially as relatively minor escapes of water, which were dealt with easily ...
Read MoreThe Human Side of Investigation ...
When I joined Hawkins in February 2008, I was both nervous and excited about starting a career in fire investigation. I discovered it as a possible career path whilst studying ...
Read MoreThatch Fires and Wood Burning Stoves ...
Hawkins investigates around 30 fires each year involving thatched properties, although the number of incidents can vary significantly from year to year. Fires involving thatched ...
Read MoreCalcium Oxide and its Exothermic ...
Hawkins is routinely appointed to investigate the cause of fires occurring at farms. This particular case study discusses some unusual aspects that caused an exothermic ...
Read MoreFailure of Synthetic Fibre Lifting ...
In the period between 2017 and 2018, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reported a total of 144 fatal injuries, and 71,062 non-fatal injuries, in the workplace under the ...
Read MoreFire Safety Design, Construction ...
Following the Grenfell Tower fire disaster in 2017, the government commissioned an independent review of Building Regulations and fire safety. In the final report by Dame ...
Read MoreAn Introduction to Functional Safety ...
The concept of Functional Safety is used in designing and specifying Safety Instrumented Systems for the process, nuclear and other industries. This Insight provides an overview ...
Read MoreFlexible Braided Hoses: Down to ...
Flexible braided stainless steel hoses (flexihoses) are generally used for the connection of taps and WC cisterns to the incoming water supply. The flexible nature of the ...
Read MoreThe Use of 3D Laser Scanners in ...
3D laser scanning is a way of capturing a physical object’s exact size and shape, so that it can be viewed in the ‘computer world,’ as a three dimensional digital representation. ...
Read MoreInvestigations into Ground Related ...
Geotechnical engineering is a sub-branch of civil engineering, focusing on the engineering behaviour of rocks and soils, often in relation to soil-structure interaction. ...
Read MoreAcoustics - When Buildings Fail ...
Acoustics engineering is often referred to as “the dark art” by those in the design and build industry - often for good reason. Some of the technicalities of the language ...
Read MoreFires in Heritage Buildings
The British are known worldwide for our love of tradition, which goes hand in hand with our fascination with heritage buildings. Varying enormously in scale, complexity ...
Read MoreManagement of Lifting Operations ...
The HSE publishes data each year on fatal and non-fatal injuries to workers that occur in the previous period. Regrettably, some of these injuries occur because of unsafe ...
Read MoreThe Science Behind Flooding Investigations ...
Main image: Flooding in King’s Lynn (photo by Gordon Hatton, licensed under CC 2.0). Approximately one in six UK properties is at risk of flooding, and the annual ...
Read MoreInvestigations into Ground Related ...
This case shows that even well planned and executed site investigations cannot guarantee that all geo-hazards are identified prior to the construction stage. The case involved ...
Read MoreBulk Coal Cargoes
Common problems associated with the transportation of coal in bulk include self-heating and methane production. Self-heating can lead to fires, and the production of carbon ...
Read MoreLiquefaction
Cargo liquefaction may occur if the material properties of ores or other bulk cargoes are not investigated sufficiently prior to loading, or the IMSBC requirements are not ...
Read MoreAvoiding leaks from heating oil ...
Hawkins is often instructed to investigate escapes of oil products such as kerosene heating oil and diesel from storage tanks, and pipelines in domestic and commercial situations, ...
Read MoreFire in a Road Sweeper - The False ...
Hawkins was instructed to investigate the cause of a fire in an electric road sweeper which occurred at a council depot approximately ten minutes after a service engineer ...
Read MoreArc Mapping
A fire’s area of origin can be difficult to determine when it has been burning for a considerable time or if it has involved a large area. Patterns of fire damage used ...
Read MoreFireworks: The Science Behind the ...
As you ooh and aah at the dazzling explosions of a fireworks display, there are three things going on that you probably wouldn’t guess: the chemists who made those pyrotechnics ...
Read MoreDOMESTIC CLIENTS UNDER CDM 2015 ...
The most important UK regulations relating to all types of construction work changed dramatically in 2015.The construction industry has always had a high rate of accidents ...
Read MoreStainless Steels
Iron is one of the most common and important metals on earth and forms the basis of the most widely used group of metallic materials, steels. Steels can be manufactured cheaply, ...
Read MoreFires Caused by Hold Lights in ...
In the last few years there has been a change in bulk cargo ship design relating to Australian ladderways. The ships we have seen were all built in China, with the Australian ...
Read MoreWarehouse Racking Collapses - Cause ...
Modern logistical requirements have driven companies to store as much stock as possible in the minimum amount of space, whilst trying to keep material and operational costs ...
Read MoreSelf-Heating of rags soaked in ...
Hawkins has investigated numerous fires where the most probable cause has been the self-heating of rags, cloths or other similar materials that were impregnated with drying ...
Read MoreThe cost of stress corrosion cracking ...
Broad estimates put the cost of corrosion to 1 to 4 % of GNP in the USA. Whilst an accurate figure would be elusive to even the most rigorous rationale, it is fair to say ...
Read MoreFires and Explosions at Sea
Hawkins investigated the cause of a fire and explosion on board a container ship on behalf of an insurer of various cargo interests. One of the key questions, as always, ...
Read MoreLosses in power generation equipment ...
Dr Wright has investigated a number of failures of gas turbine blades that resulted in very extensive damage. This is because the release of one blade triggers a cascade ...
Read MoreEvent Data Recorders in passenger ...
An Event Data Recorder or EDR is a function or device installed in a vehicle that records technical vehicle and occupant information for a brief period of time (seconds, not ...
Read MoreSwimming Pool Slip Incident
In July 2009, a guest at a large hotel in Swansea slipped and fell whilst walking on the surround of the hotel’s swimming pool. Minutes afterwards, after recovering from ...
Read MoreA Useful Result for Local Authorities ...
St Margaret’s Church in Uxbridge is suffering from decay of the stone walls some of which is serious. The church authorities were advised by their conservation experts ...
Read MoreFire at Burger Manufacturer
The manufacturer of beef burgers suffered major damage at their factory when a fire broke out in the control panel of a defrosting unit. However, one of the main concerns ...
Read MorePotters Bar Derailment Investigation ...
On 10 May 2002 the 12.45 Kings Cross to King's Lynn train derailed just south of Potters Bar station. Seven people died; six on the train and a pedestrian struck ...
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