Rajen Lavingia. Principal Consultant. Expertise. Experience. BEng MEng PhD (Civil Engineering) SIIRSM. Concrete Technology and sustainability

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1 Dr Principal Consultant BEng MEng PhD (Civil Engineering) SIIRSM Expertise Concrete Technology and sustainability Investigation of Structural Failures Building Structures Transmission Towers Structural Engineering Scrutiny of structural analysis and design Soil investigation and foundation design Computer Applications in Civil Engineering Construction Health and Safety Slips and Trips Experience Dr Lavingia is a civil engineer with broad technical knowledge and professional experience of working in Fortune-100 as well as start-up organisations in the civil structural and telecom industries. Apart from the professional experience, he has experience of delivering lectures at undergraduate and postgraduate courses at civil engineering institutions in India, USA and UK. Dr Lavingia has prepared expert witness reports involving a variety of civil engineering related matters. He has investigated deficiencies in the design of structures as well as professional negligence of designers and/or contractors in the failure and malperformance of a variety of structures. Dr Lavingia has also been involved in the past in several international arbitrations relating to engineering matters in the delay, disruption and cost escalations of a variety of infrastructure projects in different countries in the Europe and the Middle East. He has given evidence in the court and attended mediations. +44 (0) Issue 001 1

2 Professional Qualifications and Memberships BEng (Distinction), Gujarat University, India Diploma, Software Engineering, India MEng, Texas A&M University, USA PhD (Civil Engineering), University of Dundee, UK National Certificate in Construction Health and Safety, NEBOSH, UK Specialist Member, International Institute of Risk and Safety Management, UK Member of the Editorial Advisory Panel, Forensic Engineering, ICE, UK Member of the ICE s Health and Safety Expert Panel, UK Graduate Member, ICE, UK +44 (0) Issue 001 2

3 Selection of Experience Structural Engineering Malperformance of Structures Subsidence in a house, Scotland, UK: Prepared an expert witness report addressing the potential reasons for the subsidence of foundations. cofferdam and construction sequence as part of a multi-million dollar international arbitration. Subsidence of houses in Saudi Arabia: Review structural design and geotechnical investigation report. Subsidence of a floor in a tenement building, Scotland, UK: Prepared an expert witness report addressing the potential reasons for the subsidence of floor. Design and construction deficiencies in a roof structure, England, UK: Presented findings at a mediation which paved the way for a satisfactory settlement. Deficient design of a structure for oil and gas industry, Scotland UK: Presented the findings at a mediation which paved the way for a satisfactory settlement. Deficient design of a structure for recycling industry, Scotland UK: Carried out detailed investigation of the design and construction deficiencies and prepared an expert witness report. Excessive deflections in a shed for a car wash facility, Scotland UK: Prepared an expert witness report based on site visit and preliminary structural analysis. Failure of a roof, Scotland UK: Quality of work carried out by the contractor was addressed in the expert report. Deficient design of a structure for oil and gas industry, Scotland UK: Carry out structural analysis and design, review design of foundations. Fire in a warehouse, England, UK: Carried out structural analysis of the flue system to assist the lead expert in preparing his expert witness report. Failure of a steam turbine, England, UK: Carried out analysis of vibration and turbine power data. Delays and Cost Escalations Cost escalation in the construction of a sewage treatment plant, Qatar: Review value engineered structural analysis and design of various buildings of the plant. Nuclear power station, Europe: Investigated comments issued by the approving authority on the quality of concrete used in the construction of nuclear power station. Upgrade of an international airport, Europe: Addressed the quality of concrete used in the upgrade of an international airport in Europe. Also assisted in quantifying claims related to earthwork quantities. Structural Failures Construction of a cofferdam in Abu Dhabi, UAE: Review structural analysis and design of Excessive deflections in a shed for a car wash facility, Scotland UK: Prepared an expert witness +44 (0) Issue 001 3

4 report based on site visit and preliminary structural analysis. Collapse of an extension to a Victorian building in England, UK: Attended a meeting of five structural engineering experts and presented findings to the legal team. Collapse of a boundary wall, Scotland, UK: Prepared a desktop expert witness report on the probable reason for the collapse of a Victorian wall and gave evidence in the Court as an expert witness. Failure of a boundary wall, Scotland, UK: Prepared an expert witness report commenting on various aspects of the footpath and their effects on the stability of the boundary wall during reconstruction of the footpath. Collapse of a Scaffold, Scotland, UK: An expert witness report addressing the deficient design of the scaffold structure was prepared. Failures of Elevated Water Storage Reservoirs (ESR), India: Detailed structural analysis and destructive testing of the concrete of various structural elements was carried out. Civil Engineering Derailment of a train, Scotland, UK: Prepared an expert report addressing maintenance of earthworks as per Network Rail s maintenance standards. Failure of a railway bridge, Scotland, UK: Monitored dismantling of the bridge and platform above and progress of installation of the replacement bridge. Concrete Technology Multi-storey concrete structure in Dubai Marina, UAE: Review concrete mix design, quality of concrete delivered, interpret concrete core test results as part of a multi-million dollar international arbitration. Cracked concrete floor, Scotland, UK: Detailed investigation of the structural system was carried out to understand the reasons for the vibrations in the floor. Cracking of concrete floors, Scotland, UK: An expert witness report was prepared addressing the reasons for cracking in a large number of aprons. Defective concrete in manholes, Scottish Isles, UK: Prepared an expert report on the quality of concrete and workmanship in the construction of manholes. Personal Injury Slip in a school, Scotland, UK: An employee fell outside the kitchen in a school. It was alleged that she fell on a squashed grape lying on the floor after the children has finished their lunch. Carried out a slip test to investigate the slipperiness of the floor and prepared and expert witness report. Collapse of a sewer and road, Scotland, UK: Likely causes for the wash out of the sub-base and eventual collapse of the road were addressed in an expert witness report. Slip in a lift, Scotland, UK: Prepared an expert witness report on the suitability of lift floor material in a healthcare centre following a slip accident. The +44 (0) Issue 001 4

5 report also addressed the system for mopping the floor. The case was settled out of court. Slip on external steps, Scotland, UK: An employee slipped on external steps which were wet following a spell of rain. Prepared an expert witness report addressing the slipperiness of the steps. Slip in a corridor, Scotland, UK: Carried out a site visit, analysed slip testing data and prepared an expert witness report on the suitability of floor material in a newly refurbished corridor in a medical equipment manufacturing facility following a slip incident. The report also addressed the issues related to the floor cleaning regime in place. Fall from a scaffold, Scotland, UK: An employee fell on the first day at the construction site while descending from a scaffold. A desktop report was prepared addressing duties of various parties. Collapse a scaffold, Scotland, UK: A platform of a scaffold on a construction site collapsed and a worker fell from the third floor to the ground below. It was opined that the lack of adequate number of structural members provided during the erection of scaffolding led to the incident. The case was settled out of court. Fall from a scaffold, Scotland UK: A hop-up platform of a scaffold on a construction site overturned and a worker fell to the ground below. It was opined that incorrect erection of scaffolding led to the incident. Gave expert witness evidence in Glasgow Sheriff Court. Trip over an uneven paving surface, Scotland UK: A member of the general public tripped over an uneven paving surface while walking along a walkway. An expert witness report was prepared addressing the system of safety inspections and how soon the defect could have developed. Gave evidence in Glasgow Sheriff Court. Collapse of a staircase in a scaffold, Scotland UK: A scaffold was erected at a construction site to facilitate various activities. While a supervisor was descending from the third level to the second level of the scaffold, the staircase gave way and he fell by more than 5m. Expert witness report commenting on the installation of the scaffold and the staircase was prepared. Trip on a scaffold, Scotland UK: A steel fabrication supervisor tripped on a gap in scaffold on a construction site and fell to the level below. It was opined that the scaffold did not conform to the various health and safety regulations. Trip over a large pothole in the road, Scotland, UK: A member of the general public tripped over a large pothole while accessing the door of her parked car. An expert witness report was prepared addressing the system of safety inspections and how soon the defect could have developed. Trip over a hole in a football field, Scotland UK: A member of the general public was walking through a football field. As he walked along the grassed embankment his foot encountered an uncapped hole of goal post in the ground causing him to fall. Expert witness report addressing the local authority s responsibilities under Occupiers Liability (Scotland) Act. Trip on a footpath, Scotland UK: A member of the general public, while going from a car park and walking in the dark on a footpath, tripped over an unprotected side of the footpath. An expert witness report was prepared addressing the system of +44 (0) Issue 001 5

6 safety inspections, how long the defect was likely to be in existence and whether the defect was an actionable one. +44 (0) Issue 001 6

7 Employment History Finch Consulting Limited Principal Consultant Present Cadogans Senior Engineer University of Dundee Research Assistant K.K. Corporation Senior Structural Engineer SchlumbergerSema Telecoms Project Support Consultant Landmark Tower Corporation Structural Engineer (0) Issue 001 7

8 Selected Publications R. K. Lavingia, D. Neville; Proceedings of the ICE - Forensic Engineering; Volume 168, Issue 3; August 2015 R. K. Lavingia; Editorial; Proceedings of the ICE - Forensic Engineering; Volume 166, Issue 4; November 2013 R. K. Lavingia, J. McCullough, I. Hall; Dreamspace: dreams turned into nightmares, a case study; Fifth International conference on forensic engineering, London, April 2013 R. K. Dhir, P. Chana, S. Caliskan, R. K. Lavingia (Editors); Concrete for Fire Engineering: Proceedings of the International Conference, Dundee, July 2008 H. E. Ross, K. K. Mak, R. K. Lavingia; Safety of Driveways in Close Proximity to Each Other - Research Report; Texas Transportation Institution; (0) Issue 001 8