With three professional engineering licenses, Lewis Barbe is a specialist in Safety Engineering and provides expert witness consulting in product liability, railroad litigation, and workplace safety.

1. Safety
ESI’s safety experts are trained and
experienced in a wide range of safety
related issues. The capabilities of our
safety division encompass accident
prevention and forensic assignments
for both products and environments,
including analysis of the man/machine
interface and system safety analyses
to reduce and control hazards and
demonstrate compliance with federal,
state, local, and voluntary codes and
standards. We also conduct
evaluations of safety signs, as well as
safety information on products and
product literature. Our staff has
extensive experience in consumer, residential, municipal, industrial, construction
and on/off shore safety requirements. We are involved in numerous safety
standards development committees and take active leadership roles in these
areas. Many have direct experience managing product and personnel safety
programs in industry.
The Safety Group
members come from a
variety of disciplines and
industry experiences,
such as electrical,
chemical, environmental,
biomechanical, fire and
explosion, automotive,

2. aviation, process industry, product design, manufacturing, etc. Combined with
educational experience, and certifications, we have the technical and hands-on
experience to address the key safety areas of any incident situation as it relates to
product or system performance and how humans interact with them. In turn, this
allows us to be a better partner in discussing the general safety principles and
how they apply to specific product, process, or location. We regularly address the
interaction and role of designing for minimum risk, safeguarding, and warnings
and instructions
Areas of Specialization
 Accident Investigation/Reconstruction
 Accident Prevention Analyses
 Design Reviews
 Falls From Height & Fall Protection
 Field Safety
 Human Factors
 Ergonomics
 Instructions & Warnings
 Job Safety Analysis
 Lock Out / Tag Out
 Machine Guarding
 Product Hazard Analyses & Testing
 Risk Analysis
 Safety Regulation Compliance
 Safety Signs & Labels

3.  Slip, Trip & Fall
 Safety Standards & Audits
Representative Projects
Fall Protection
ESI was retained to investigate a fall from a significant height. One of the issues
was the performance of the fall protection system in use at the time of the
accident. ESI evaluated the components and assessed whether or not they

4. complied with safety standards, as well as reviewed the training and actions
of the individuals involved.
Power Tool
ESI was asked to evaluate the
effectiveness of a guard on a
commercially available electric table
saw involved in an accident. ESI’s
product safety and human factors
specialists reconstructed the accident
and performed specialized testing and
engineering analysis of the existing
guard and proposed alternatives.
Design Review
ESI was retained by a large furniture manufacturer to review the ease of user
assembly of a series of their products, as well as the potential for misassembly
that could be hazardous. ESI evaluated the human interaction with the product
pieces, as well as reviewed the instructions and associated warnings for possible
misunderstandings and the ability to create unsafe assemblies.

5. Product Hazard Analysis
ESI was retained to perform a
series of product hazard analyses
for a anufacturer of outdoor
consumer products. Using
software specifically designed for
this type of evaluation, ESI
performed a comprehensive
review of potential hazards and
the product failure modes.
Laboratory testing was also
conducted to further support and refine the analysis.
Outdoor Power Equipment
ESI investigated an accident where an individual
was injured while working with an industrial tree
chipper. ESI evaluated the machine with respect
to safety design features, the warnings and
instructions provided on the machine and in the
product manual, and the training received by the
injured party. ESI reported its findings and
opinions through courtroom testimony.
Industrial Equipment
ESI was retained to evaluate the “lock out – tag
out” procedures on a large piece of industrial
equipment and determine whether the machine
safeguarding present in normal operation
offered equivalent alternative protection for minor servicing operations.

6. Compliance with safety standards and federal OSHA regulations was a critical
issue in the project