An owner hired an engineering, procurement, and construction contractor to build a petrochemical plant, but the pre-commissioning activities delayed the planned startup by months. Baker & O’Brien reviewed the pre-commissioning activities, the schedule, procedures, and industry practices to provide opinions on the causes of the delay and the responsibilities of the owner and contractor. As part of the arbitration, we produced a technical expert report and several joint expert reports.

Introduction: A steel mill plant operator was not certified and authorized to operate a crane when his load struck an aerial lift supporting a welder within the crane operating envelope. Baker & O'Brien investigated the safe work practices and human factors involved in the incident, including the issue of competence. The opinions in our expert report included the error mode for the intentional but mistaken action.

A laboratory technician at a synthetic butadiene rubber manufacturing plant alleged that his exposure to the probable carcinogen while collecting and analyzing product samples from reactors caused his blood disorder. Baker & O’Brien assessed his exposures based on his regular work activities by reviewing the reaction rate/product composition data and modeling near-air dispersion. Our expert report, which compared calculated exposures from empirical data to nationally recognized exposure studies, refuted the opposing expert’s opinions and facilitated the resolution of the dispute.