Expert Details
Construction Safety Engineer, Hazardous Materials Management, Emergency Response, Certified Safety Professional (CSP)
ID: 735824
California, USA
Expert currently directs a safety consulting and OSHA compliance training practice, having served in that organization's consulting operations since 1999. Expert's practice spans EHS audits of manufacturing operations, public works projects, educational and high-tech facilities, heavy civil construction, logistics and transportation, and maritime intermodal containerized cargo operations, and Expert has conducted onsite safety inspections and/or investigations of more than 5,000 properties throughout California. Expert also leads an emergency services division specializing in confined space rescue and hazardous materials response, and has trained thousands of industrial and construction workers on mandatory Cal/OSHA safety courses in both English and Spanish.
Since 2010, Expert has served as a designated subject matter expert in state and federal court proceedings, providing hazard assessments, post-injury investigation and case analysis, and expert reports across civil litigation involving premises liability, transportation and heavy equipment accidents, hazardous materials incidents, confined space and technical rescue operations, and regulatory standard-of-care disputes. Expert has authored more than 30 published articles and delivered numerous conference presentations and webinars on occupational safety, confined space rescue, and construction safety topics, and holds long-standing positions on national safety standards development committees, including the ANSI/ASSE Z117.1 Confined Space Safety Accreditation Standard Committee (since 2007) and the NFPA 350 Confined Space Safe Work Practices Standard Committee (since 2016) — both of which help shape design and operational safety criteria underlying federal and state OSHA regulations.
Education
| Year | Degree | Subject | Institution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year: 2006 | Degree: Bachelor Science | Subject: Occupational Safety & Health | Institution: Columbia Southern University |
| Year: 2003 | Degree: Graduate Certificate | Subject: Safety Management | Institution: University of California, Santa Cruz |
Work History
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years: 1999 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Principal Safety Engineer | Department: |
Responsibilities:Provides safety consultation and support services in equipment safety management, commercial transportation, heavy trucking, warehousing, loading docks, intermodal freight, powered industrial trucks, and material handling equipment operations, along with associated personnel training. Conducts investigation and analysis of heavy equipment accidents in civil construction, safety analyses of public works projects, and chemical inventory audits for high-tech industrial facilities. Delivers professional development sessions on confined space safety and technical rescue, and has presented to a national safety association's conference and expo on tank truck confined space safety. Holds Confined Space Rescue Technician and Hazardous Materials Technician credentials through state emergency management/fire marshal authorities. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2004 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Emergency Response Division Administrator | Department: |
Responsibilities:Chief Administrator for a team of technical rescue specialists, and emergency medical technicians.Duties: personnel recruitment-management, administration of emergency medical and technical rescue equipment, OSHA documentation. Clients: government agencies, contractors, manufacturing operations, universities, public works, and maritime operations. Scope: confined space rescue (standby), high‐angle rope access, emergency medical support, hazardous materials response. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2000 to 2003 | Employer: Walters & Wolf Precast | Title: Safety Manager (Superintendent of Safety) | Department: Architectural Precast Concrete Division |
Responsibilities:Responsible for EH&S program development, bilingual safety training, site inspections, safety meetings, site-specific safety plans, hazard assessments, fire and life safety code audits, environmental auditing (air and water sampling), and interagency liaison with regulatory bodies (OSHA, EPA, regional air quality management district). Developed a company-wide bilingual EH&S program and managed compliance for a substantial material handling and rigging equipment fleet (marine gantry cranes, overhead bridge cranes, a carry deck crane, powered industrial trucks, ATVs, aerial work platforms, scan climbers, loaders, and semi-trucks/trailers). |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1999 to 2000 | Employer: Nielson Dillingham Builders | Title: Construction Safety Inspector | Department: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, |
Responsibilities:Prime Responsibilities: Coordinate daily safety huddle for all construction trades, administer the DuPont Stop Program, ensure compliance with LLNL safety and Federal OSHA regulations, oversee incoming contractor site specific safety plans, conduct safety and environmental inspections of active work zones. Specialists and trades included carpenters, HVAC-steamfitters, plumbers, roofers, electricians, and materials handling operators (aerial lift, forklift, manlift). |
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Additional Experience
| Expert Witness Experience |
|---|
| Expert has served as a designated subject matter expert (SME) in state and federal court proceedings since 2010, providing occupational safety and health litigation support across a wide range of civil matters. Expert's designated SME casework spans subject areas including premises liability (serious injury); hot asphalt paving and batch plant operations; commercial vehicle ("big truck v. auto") injury cases; hazardous materials and explosion-related injury; material handling equipment, crane, and forklift incidents; maritime intermodal containerized cargo and powered industrial truck operations; FMCSA/OSHA regulatory standard-of-care disputes; heavy civil construction, heavy highway, and bridge work; earth-moving equipment and critical lift operations; semi-tractor trailer, logistics, and warehouse/loading dock incidents; confined space and technical rescue operations; slips, trips, falls, and elevated work platform incidents; and tank truck, hazmat, and extra-legal load matters. Expert's litigation-related duties include performing operational hazard assessments, onsite inspections, post-injury investigation and case analysis, examination of documentary, photographic, and video evidence, and developing expert opinions and conclusions regarding employee training, fitness for duty, and regulatory compliance (OSHA/EPA/FMCSA). Expert produces a range of expert report types, including declarations, pre-mediation reports, rebuttal reports, supplemental reports, and Rule 26 reports. |
Career Accomplishments
| Associations / Societies |
|---|
| • American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) • National Safety Management Society (NSMS) • United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC) • International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) • International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) • American Federation of Musicians (AFM) • California State Firefighters Association (CSFA) • National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualifications (ProBoard) |
| Licenses / Certifications |
|---|
| • Certified Safety Professional (CSP) — Board of Certified Safety Professionals • Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM) — Institute of Hazardous Materials Management • Certified Instructional Trainer (CIT) — Board of Certified Safety Professionals • Construction Health and Safety Technologist (CHST) — Board of Certified Safety Professionals • Certified Hazard Control Manager (CHCM) — International Board of Safety Managers • California Registered Environmental Assessor (REA) — Cal/EPA Department of Toxic Substances Control • California Licensed Commercial Driver (CDL, Class A) with hazmat, tank vehicle, and multi-trailer endorsements — current • California Licensed Security Guard (BSIS) — current • Federal OSHA Construction Outreach Trainer (English and Spanish) • Confined Space Rescue Technician — Cal-EMA / California State Fire Marshal • Hazardous Materials Technician — Cal-EMA / California State Fire Marshal • California Certified Hazardous Materials Reference Specialist — Cal-EMA / CSTI • ProBoard Hazmat Assistant Safety Officer (ASO) — Cal-EMA / CSTI • Certified Traffic Control Supervisor (TCS) — American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) • Certified Flagger Instructor (CFI) — ATSSA • Certified Material Handling Equipment (MHE) Instructor — United Brotherhood of Carpenters / Ives • Clandestine Laboratory Safety Certification — California Department of Justice • Class B License with Air Brake Certificate (Canada) — historical |
| Publications and Patents Summary |
|---|
| Publications: More than 30 published articles (2001–2023) in peer-reviewed and industry trade publications, including a national occupational safety professional journal, a construction industry trade newspaper, a forensic science magazine, an industrial safety and hygiene publication, a fire service trade magazine, and bilingual (English/Spanish) safety education materials developed for a roofing industry safety program. Recurring topics include confined space safety and technical rescue, Cal/OSHA regulatory updates and standard-of-care topics, construction and roofing worker safety, hazardous materials handling, and crime scene/emergency response safety. Presentations/Webinars: 8+ conference presentations and webinars delivered between 2009 and 2019 to organizations including a national safety professionals' association's national conference and regional chapters, a construction employer safety forum, a hazmat conference, and a major academic medical center, on topics including confined space hazards, tank vehicle confined space safety, technical rescue fundamentals, Cal/OSHA confined space standards, construction hazmat inventory management, and highway work zone safety. |
Fields of Expertise
OSHA 29 CFR 1910.146, DOT regulatory compliance, accident investigation, ADA, ADA accessibility, ADA compliance, aerial lift, aerial work platform, air monitoring, asphalt, batch plants, CASp, certified access specialist, certified safety professional, civil construction, commercial motor vehicle, confined space, construction accidents, construction expert witness, construction inspection, construction safety, CSP, DOT, earthmoving equipment, emergency response, excavation competent person, fall prevention, fall protection, fitness for duty evaluations, flagger, flatbed trailer, forklift, hazardous materials, hazmat, heavy industry, heavy trucking, high-angle rescue, highway safety, hot asphalt injury, industrial accidents, industrial safety, lowboy trailer, occupational safety and health, OSHA, paving and grading, permit required confined space, pipeline safety, public works, regulatory compliance, rope access, safety, safety inspections, safety training, shipping docks, site safety officer, slips trips falls, technical rescue, traffic control, traffic flagger, trucking, trucking injury, underground, warehouse, workplace injury, Intermodal Containers & Cargo, Powered Industrial Trucks (PIT)