By Homer R. Peterson II, P.E., CSP Falls to Lower Levels Through Holes and Skylights OSHA uses the term “general industry” to describe all industries that do not involve agriculture, construction, or maritime work and defines “construction work” in Section 29CFR§1926.32(g) as “work for construction, alteration, and/or repair, including painting and decorating”. Fall hazards associated… read more
By Terri Mead No Panacea SaaS (software as a service) systems appear to be the panacea for organizations wishing to reduce their overall IT costs and the burden of managing IT departments. In some cases, companies have completely outsourced their IT functions to external service providers. Making it someone else’s problem seems ideal when one’s… read more
By Terri Hanson Mead IT System Failure Between 30% and 60% of IT related system projects fail. This doesn’t consider partial successes or disappointments associated with system implementations. Most IT related system projects don’t have clear criteria for success so the definition of failure is subjective. The costs of these failures could be in the… read more
By Jean Renard Ward Digital Rights Management (“DRM”) and secure software systems may be at issue in litigation concerning patent rights. An expert witness on Digital Rights Management technologies, especially in light of the long history in this area, may be helpful in these matters. More than one person has commented that DRM does not… read more
By Jean Renard Ward “Haptics”, “force sensing” and “proximity sensing”, especially on personal devices like smartphones, may be at issue in intellectual property litigation. In such cases a force sensing and haptics expert witness may be required. If you look up a dictionary definition for “haptic”, it just means “relating to the sense of touch”(i)…. read more
By Dr. Chris Daft Medical devices — engineering inventions to improve human health — have more than a century of history, with the global medical device market size predicted to exceed $500 billion by 2020. Most products in this market share a common feature: network connectivity. Figure 1 shows a typical example: even something as… read more
By Dr. Chris Daft What is Machine Learning? Machine Learning (ML) was once a technological “problem child” lurching through endless booms and busts. But now it has become the driving force behind several of the largest companies in the world. How did this happen, and how is it connected to the work of an expert… read more
By Dr. Chris Daft Patents, which are time-limited periods of exclusivity granted in return for disclosure of an invention, have contributed greatly to the expansion of technology in modern times. But sometimes seeking a patent either does not work, or is not in the best interest of the inventors or their company. Holding trade secrets… read more
By Dr. Chris Daft What Medical Device Software is What is medical device software? And why would its “standard of care” be an important subject? In simple terms, medical device software is a component of, or an accessory to, a piece of electronics that interacts with the human body (see figure 1). Figure 1: A… read more
By Dr. Chris Daft First, the Wearables Wearables – small electronic devices worn next to clothing to record personal data – have insinuated themselves into the lives of millions of people. After Google Glass, Fitbit and the Apple Watch, the marketplace has become crowded and designs are maturing. Capabilities such as the ability to measure… read more
