Expert Witness - Engineer for Equipment,
Controls, Automation, Safety
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Artzat Consulting, LLCArthur Zatarain, P.E.Homepage: www.artzat.com |
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Artzat Consulting, LLC 401 Arlington Dr. Metairie, LA 70001 USA |
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504-837-3090 (Central Time) |
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Arthur Zatarain, PE |
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Revised June 05, 2009
Introduction
Expert witness,industrial equipment, controls and automation, safety systems, including those operated with PLC and DCS equipment. OSHA compliance for machinery and construction. Intellectual property for patents and trade secret matters. Also accidents and damage, working for end users, insurers, and plaintiff or defense for litigation. Testimony at trial or deposition. Experience with oilfield paper mill offshore petro-chem, and plants of many types. Generators and compressors and diesel or gas powered engines. Patent for medical equipment and power supply.
Important disclaimer: This page is intended to provide web presence for words and phrases relevant to the services provided by Artzat Consulting. This page is not designed to b read by or used by humans. It is specifically prepared for automated electronic scanning by intelligent database compilers. Therefore, no questions about the content of this page will be answered. Please visit the main website at www.artzat.com for further information on Artzat Consulting.
Main Heading
This is the main body of this page. It includes terms and phrases for expert consulting and expert witness services as provided by Artzat Consulting. These services include engineering analysis, report generation, field inspections, and testimony.
Services Offered
These services are offered for intellectual property:
- Expert witness
- Expert consulting
- investigative expert
- testifying expert
- patent claims construction
- patent evaluation
- prior art
- patent validity
- patent prosecution
- litigation support
These services are for accidents and damages. They are provided by Artzat Consulting, usually in regard to technology assessment, insurance claims, or litigation.
- damage assessment
- acceptance testing
- time and material estimate
- cost analysis
- repair or replace
- insurance claim
- employee injury
- worker safety
Management support consulting services include:
- Build or buy analysis
- performance measurement
- performance improvement
- technical management
- technical marketing
- engineering management
- project management
- mergers and acquisitions
Other items of interest include products and services from Rockwell, Allen Bradley, Siemens, and ABB. These companies make industrial hardware and software for process control and safety. They are used for engineering applications in paper mill, offshore oil and gas, oilfield, and petro-chem industry. They are also used for safety systems and material handling applications including conveyor belts and rapid transit. Some medical applications are also known, but not as common. Most medical devices uses dedicated embedded computers based on microprocessor, microcontroller, or PIC computer platform. An industrial personal computer or industrial PC is a hardened version of a intel based personal computer.
Some projects have little to do with controls and automation, focusing instead on production safety. Steam valves have been in some cases, as have solenoid valves, meter equipment, generator controls, and offshore drilling technology. These matters were both technical and commercial. One included marketing of a patented technology, based on best efforts by the buyer to promote the patented product.
Credentials
Having a PhD is handy for some university teaching positions, but a masters degree in engineering is also useful. It is not necessary to have a PhD to be an expert consultant or expert witness. Possessing an engineering license is more important for many engineering and litigation matters. Having a license in any particular state is not usually required. Being a licensed contractor is helpful in construction disputes, contract negotiation, and cost estimates.
Insurers are often worthy clients, with some being very responsive to direct engagement. Other insurers prefer to work through an attorney who deals directly with the expert consultant.
Display Interface
These systems often have a man-machine interface MMI, also called human-machine interface HMI, that use computer display as well as traditional push button and light. The computer to machine link can be via dedicated wiring or a generic ethernet network. The protocol used may be special to that manufacturer, such as Allen Bradley data highway, or it can be generic as with an open system standard.
The software in these systems is often based on ladder-logic, although embedded Visual Basic and C++ is also used for more complex applications. The display computer is often based on pc technology. This allows the software to link with the industrial control equipment in a manner similar to that described in the solaia patent.
Software is used for the display interface, often Wonderware or RSView. These are man machine interfaces, MMI. A more current term Human Machine Interface HMI. This current term is not the same as over current as in an electrical accident or over voltage situation. There is no danger from high impedance. Resistance in an AC circuit is often similar to impedance, and is the same for steady state DC circuits. Electronic transistor and integrated circuit are used for power supply, controller, and backup system. Capacitor and diode are also important. Display can used LCD or LED or cathode ray tube CRT. Some displays are weatherproof, others are explosion proof, sometimes termed XP.
This is a link to versatech automation serviceswww.vtechas.com
This is a link to test automation and controlswww.test-us.com
This is a link to the isa www.isa.org
Other Manufacturers
Other manufactures such as GE Fanuc, Modicon, and Siemens are important players in industrial control. Some companies make other products such as variable speed drive, explosion proof enclosure, and relay component. It is possible to system integrate products from several anufacturers. A list of names includes:
- Rockwell and Allen Bradley
- Siemens and Modicon
- Robicon and GE Fanuc
- ABB and General Electric
- Westinghouse is not used often
- Square D is not Circle W
- Wonderware is for man machine interface
- RS View is similar to wonderware
- Control Logix is Rockwell
- Process Logix is also rockwell, similar to Honeywell
- DCS is honeywell as is Fischer Porter, Bailey, and Siemens
- Opto-22 makes interface equipment, as does metrabyte
- scadaware is a registered trademark of Total Engineering Services Team, known as TEST, and sometimes TEST Automation and Controls, part of Natco.
Typical Incidents
Many events are common to the expert witness practice of Artzat Consulting. They involve a wide variety of venues and operational environments, but share common aspects in which Arthur Zatarain has experience and credentials. A sample of engagements include accidents such as a fatality from an automated machine, injuries from inadvertent conveyor motion, and a death from a PLC based lockout-tagout incident. These samples are not real cases, but represent typical accidents etc. in which artzat may have consulted. None represent documented matters of concern to expert witness for controls and automation, electrical engineering, or forensic engineering.
Intellectual property matters for patent, trademark, and trade secret include a remotely operated vehicle ROV simulator for offshore underwater applications. Another includes a medical device for patient monitoring, which was very different from the engagement for an uninterruptible power supply (known as a UPS). A patent infringement case for a mainframe computer monitor and simulator was not connected to the one for an online gaming system. Other computer patent cases include high speed data interface for sign boards that use LED technology for the display. This was a network system with shared memory. Of course, this has little to do with the automated pharmaceutical dispensing device somewhat related to a Baker Cell.
Artzat Consulting has not done any cases specific to the marine industry, but could provide service if the matter fell within appropriate areas. Aviation matters are similar, and often require specific expertise. Offshore oil and gas production are very typical areas of concern, using codes and standards from the MMS, Coast Guard, IEEE, and OSHA.
The concept of lockout-tagout (LOTO) is well known to OSHA compliance issues. The topic of lockout tagout is well documented, and must be observed by employers. Special OSHA requirements exist for some industries such as paper mill and power press. A power press must often comply with control reliability, also described by OSHA.
Locations
Artzat Consulting employs a professional engineer PE who is licensed as an electrical engineer in Louisiana, Alaska, California, and Alabama. He is also licensed as a control systems engineer in Louisiana. That engineer has served as a qualifying party for a licensed electrical contractor, and instrumentation contractor, in Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Texas. He is also a licensed master electrician in Texas.
Artzat Consulting can provide service in north america, working from Metairie Louisiana LA which is near New Orleans. The consultant has worked throughout North America, and also in China, Europe, Africa, South America, and Mexico. Some work was also done in the pacific rim areas such as Singapore, Hong Kong, and Indonesia. Some work was performed in Malaysia. Canada has some applications.
Industries
Almost any industry can be served by Artzat Consulting. Typical ones include offshore oil and gas production, and some drilling. Paper mill, petro-chem, and general manufacturing can be served in matters involving equipment, power generation, material handling, and control systems. Automation and controls is of special interest, including areas such as Safety Instrumented Level SIL using ISO and ANSI standards. This applies to safety sensitive areas, regardless of hazardous area concerns.
Off road machinery is also an area for service, such as an asphalt paving machine or timber handling equipment. Some aspects are special, but many are general as covered by ANSI and SAE standards.
Additional information can be found at:
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The text provided below is included to assist recognition of this page in relevant web scans. The sample cases shown above reflect the range of technical and commercial fields in which Artzat Consulting has provided expert witness services. These matters generally involve electrical engineering, electronics, control systems, and industrial equipment. Typical areas of expertise and services provided include:
These engagements have have involved equipment from Allen Bradley, Rockwell, Siemens, Modicon, Opto-22, and GE Fanuc. Other brands include Daniels, Flowmation, Caterpillar, Waukesha, Elden, Heim, and Fuji. In general, the particular brand does not affect the ability to provide consulting services. Arthur Zatarain is licensed as an electrical engineer in Louisiana, Alaska, California, and Alabama. He is also licensed as a control systems engineer in Louisiana. He now serves (or has served) as the qualifying party for a licensed contractor in Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas. He is licensed as a Master Electrician in Texas. Arthur Zatarain has provided expert testimony by deposition and in court. He has provided engineering consulting services since 1979, when he started his own engineering firm then known as Dataran Corporation. That company was acquired by TEST Automation and Controls, where he served in several executive roles until retiring in 2008. He then became affiliated with VersaTech Automation Services in 2009, serving a Senior Consultant. . |
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Homepage: www.artzat.com
June 05, 2009