Hawkins & Associates

One of the few certainties in life is that iron will rust. The same can be said for some types of steel, as steel is an alloy that typically contains up to 97% iron. Dr Giuseppe G Scatigno, was recently featured in the Marine Insurance Journal with his article: 𝘏𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. Giuseppe explains how corrosion occurs and discusses some of the common methods used to protect corrosive steel products in the shipping industry, as well as the tools that an investigator would use to determine the cause of corrosion. Giuseppe’s article also includes a recent case study and explains that by performing inspections and analysing data, such as ICCP data and ultrasonic thickness testing, a forensic investigator may be able to determine how and when degradation started. This can help the ship owner and insurer to understand where the liability lies, ensuring that the claim is handled quickly and effectively. Giuseppe’s article can be read in full below, where you will also find details of how to contact a Hawkins expert if you have an incident involving corrosion or a potential materials defect. https://lnkd.in/eRTHKQVB #HullCorrosion #Marine #TheMarineInsurer #SteelCargo #Shipping

We are delighted to announce that, Road Traffic Collision Reconstruction Expert Adam Barrow, has joined our team of road traffic collision investigators in our London office. Adam graduated from the University of Manchester with a degree with honours in Biomedical Sciences and a Master’s degree in Biomechanics, and brings over 12 years of experience in collision investigation and road traffic safety research. Adam is experienced with collision reconstructions and investigating vehicle crashworthiness, occupant and vulnerable road user protection, injury biomechanics, safe-system failure analysis and network operation safety. His expertise has seen him lead research into active and passive safety technologies, develop road safety strategies, and contribute to international vehicle safety regulations. This included leading the National Highways Fatality Research Programme which was awarded the Prince Michael of Kent International Road Safety Award. Find out more about Adam’s experience via the link below. It is a pleasure to have Adam on board. https://lnkd.in/eau33D3R #RTC #VehicleCrashWorthiness #CollisionReconstruction #RTA #RoadTrafficSafety

Joining our presenter Ben Adams at Onshore Energy Conference London, will be power and energy experts: Simon Batt, Gerald Deshais and Amir Hajdaei, along with Business Development Manager Graeme Drysdale. Be sure to visit them and discuss how Hawkins can investigate losses ranging from traditional thermal and nuclear power plants, through to wind, hydro and solar generation. Catch Ben presenting his focus session on the challenges of managing aging plants at 11.05am. We are pleased to be sponsoring the conference again this year and look forward to seeing many of you there. #OEC2024 #PowerGeneration #OnshoreEnergy

The UK gas fleet is aging. Gas-fired plants typically have a lifespan of between 20 and 30 years but many plants which were built over 30 years ago are still in operation, although most will have had some form of mid-life refurbishment, and some will have been converted for other uses.   Electrical Engineer, Ben Adams, will present: 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘴 at the Onshore Energy Conference London this November. Ben will discuss the challenges of managing aging plants based on his experience of working with the previous generation of coal stations. Ben will highlight the risk of damage from auxiliary systems, asset management pressures of operating older plants, and share case studies on auxiliary failures of aging power plants. Ben’s presentation will take place on Tuesday 5th November at 11:05 am. #AgingAssets #PowerGeneration #OnshoreEnergyConference #OEC2024

In the maritime industry, tanker vessels are chartered to carry various products and as part of this remit, the shippers are required to conduct sampling to ensure that the cargo being loaded is of suitable quality and meets a particular specification or contractual requirement. In his article, Master Mariner Stewart Horan, explains some of the technical aspects of the sampling of hydrocarbon products (such as petroleum, fuel, and oil) in tanks, different types of sampling methods used to obtain a representative composite sample of a tank for analysis, and the trend of including the bottom sample. Stewart’s full article is available to read on the Hawkins website via the link below. https://lnkd.in/eH_7dZri #HydrocarbonProducts #Marine #Shipping

Insider threat is a malicious threat to a company that stems from people who have legitimate access to company assets, such as current and former employees, as well as contractors and partners, in which they cause harm to the business, either intentionally or unintentionally. It can involve theft of information, fraudulent transactions, or sabotage of systems. The consequences for a company can be devastating as it often leads to both reputational damage and regulatory fines. Digital forensics plays a key role in identifying who was involved in an insider threat matter, and how it occurred. As October is National Cyber Security Month, why not take a moment to read Digital Forensic Expert, Callum Hogan’s article: ‘𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵? 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵’. In his article, Callum discusses the three types of people who commit insider threat, the type of data that is usually taken, how and when it occurs, as well as the preventative measures that can be taken. You can read Callum’s article in full via the link below. https://lnkd.in/etsYiFSF #CyberSecurityMonth #InsiderThreat #DigitalForensics 

We are delighted to sponsor Vespka AS’ monthly Shipping Drinks this Halloween. Hawkins experts, Dr Andrew Moncrieff, Dr Nick Carey, Dr Tom Peat and, John Gow will all be attending the event in Oslo on Thursday 31st October. If you are at the event, come and have a chat Andrew, Nick, Tom or John, who will be on hand to explain how Hawkins can assist support you in the mitigation of risks with failure prevention guidance and risk assessments, and root cause analysis and post-failure remediation advice following an incident. We look forward to seeing you there. 

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are technologies designed to help drivers operate vehicles safely. Given that human error is a major cause of road incidents, ADAS aims to automate, adapt, and enhance technology to improve safety and the driving experience. As ADAS continues to evolve, more advanced systems are becoming available, often with the ability to facilitate more advanced levels of automated driving. Collision Reconstruction Expert, Robert Taylor, has undertaken research into Advanced Emergency Braking Systems (AEBS), which is a type of ADAS. His research is the first of its kind to evaluate the performance of AEBS in a sample of 10 cars commonly used in the UK, and can be used to compare system performance to the reactions of humans, to determine which is the most likely to have braked in the event of a collision.  Robert documented the results in his research paper: 𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘌𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴 and presented this at the 32nd Annual Congress of the European Association for Accident Research and Analysis (EVU) in Kufstein, Austria. He provided an overview of the test methodology, which included using EuroNCAP certified equipment and the Dynamics Pad facility at UTAC Millbrook, and a summary of the key findings. More details of his research paper can be found through the link below. https://lnkd.in/eShzi38N #ADAS #AEBS #RTC #RTA 

Always a pleasure to welcome the Fire & Rescue Services to our offices for electrical fire training with Hawkins’ expert Dr Nick Carey. Thank you all for attending, we hope everybody found the training and practical exercises valuable. Surrey Fire and Rescue Service If you’re interested in finding out more about our electrical training courses, please visit our website or contact us. https://lnkd.in/euRtgprR #ElectricalFires #ForensicInvestigation #FireInvestigation #Training

Historic buildings stand as a physical record of past events, including changes in material, technology, and culture. Their construction and behaviour are significantly different to modern buildings. This is often misunderstood and can lead to unsuitable repairs and unsympathetic alterations. In his webinar, Structural Engineer, Jamie Paterson, will review typical issues affecting historic buildings and the techniques that can be used to investigate them. You can sign up for Jamie’s free webinar taking place at 9.30 am BST on Thursday 31st October via the link below. https://lnkd.in/e9CVqK3B #StructuralEngineering #HistoricBuildings #BuiltEnvironment