News

Sintra Engineering has been invited by the Canadian Defence Lawyers to present on a forensic engineering topic pertinent to defence lawyers at the Defence Brief seminars being held in Edmonton and Calgary on October 16th and 17th.

Sintra Engineering is proud to be the official sponsor of the Canadian Defence Lawyers' 'Defence Briefs'.

Sintra Engineering has added to its complement of Certified Fire and Explosion Investigators (CFEI).

Rebecca Moss, M. Sc., P. Eng., CFEI, Michael Peck, P. Eng., CFEI, and Karen Dube, P. Eng., CFEI have all received their fire and explosion investigation certification through the National Association of Fire Investigators (NAFI).

This brings Sintra Engineering's total number of Certified Fire and Explosion Investigators to eight - the most in Alberta.

Sintra Engineering congratulates Andrew Happer, MBA, M. Eng, P. Eng., CFEI on completion of a combined Masters in Business Administration and Masters of Engineering degree program at the University of Alberta.

Andrew's thesis, which required an engineering and business component, was entitled “The Technological Commercialization and Development of a Motor Vehicle Sideswipe Collision Model based on Rigid Body Impact Mechanics Theory".

This brings the total number of graduate degree holders at Sintra Engineering to three, including Rebecca Moss, M. Sc., P. Eng., who holds a Master's degree specializing in Bio-mechanical Engineering and Jian Yao, Ph. D., P. Eng., who holds a Doctorate degree in Civil Engineering.

Carla Ladner, P. Eng., returns to our structural investigation group following her maternity leave.

Carla joins Jian Yao, P.Eng., Ph.D., to give Sintra Engineering expanded capacity to assist insurance adjusters and lawyers in resolving insurance claims involving structural related issues.

Mark Hughes, P.Eng., is on the faculty list of presenters at the Canadian Institutes's Motor Vehicle Accident Litigation conference. Mark's presentation will highlight the reasons for and benefits of retaining an accident reconstruction expert.

The conference will focus on winning strategies and practical tools for managing motor vehicle accident claims. It is being held on January 28 & 29th, 2008 at the Calgary Telus Convention Centre.

As a speaker at this event, Sintra's clients and colleagues are entitled to attend this event at a special discounted rate of 15% off the regular conference fee. If you would like to attend this conference and receive 15% off the registration cost, please contact us.

Mark Hughes and the staff of Sintra Engineering would like to thank all those who attended our 10th Anniversary celebration on November 1st. The gathering of clients and friends to toast 10 years in business made for a memorable evening.

We recognize that companies don't make it in business without loyal clients. Thank you for the trust you've put in us over the past 10 years. We look forward to assisting you in the claims resolution process for years to come.

Sintra Engineering, Alberta's largest full-service forensic engineering firm, is growing once again.

Sheldon Pierce, P. Eng. has joined the Accident Reconstruction group in our Edmonton office.

Mark Hughes, P. Eng. was featured in the October 2007 issue of Alberta Venture magazine.

The article focused on four forensic experts as part of their Focus on Small Business.

Bill Shaver, CFEI, CVFI, attended the 2007 NAFI Vehicle Fire & Arson Investigation training program in Lexington, Kentucky. Bill received his certification as a Vehicle Fire Investigator.

The investigation of fires in motor vehicles is a specialized aspect of fire investigation and requires specific knowledge and expertise. Internationally recognized fire experts presented illustrated lectures on fire investigation. Attendees participated in both classroom instruction as well as hands on full-scale burns and investigations.

The training focused on proper investigative techniques for motor vehicle fires as outlined in Chapter 22 - Motor Vehicle Fires of NFPA Fire Code 921 - Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations.

Mark Hughes, P.Eng. completed a training course in non-linear finite element analysis. Non-linear FEA is a complex computational software tool that allows engineers to predict the response of structures to given loading. This can be useful in cases where one must establish the amount of force required to disrupt or damage a structure's/component's integrity.

Sintra Engineering's Andrew Happer, P. Eng. has been sworn in as the Guardian of the Edmonton Pond in the Honorable Order of the Blue Goose International.

Mike Peck, P. Eng. has been has been sworn in as the Custodian of the Gosling's (COG) of the Calgary Pond in the Honorable Order of the Blue Goose International.

Andrew Happer, P. Eng. and Mike Peck, P. Eng. were invited to present at the Alberta Association of Insurance Adjusters Annual Convention held in Canmore in May. The presentation was titled: Detecting Hazards: Visual Problems Faced by Drivers. The material presented focused on the process that vehicle drivers must go through in order to identify hazards on the roadway. It also addressed factors that affect drivers’ abilities to visually perceive hazards during daylight and night-time conditions.

This seminar has been accredited by the Alberta Insurance Council for one hour of continuing education credit. If you would like Sintra Engineering to present this seminar over the lunch-hour at your offices, please contact us.

The month of May marks 10 years of business for Sintra Engineering.

In May of 1997, Mark Hughes, P.Eng., began Sintra Engineering with a goal of providing high quality technical investigations and developing strong client relationships. Fast forward 10 years and, while Sintra has grown to become one of the largest multi-disciplinary forensic engineering firms in Western Canada, we are still committed to those two guiding principles.

Thank you to all our clients who have trusted Sintra over the years to provide expert opinion in the claims resolution process.

Carly Fink, E.I.T., Mark Hughes, P.Eng., and Thomas Kamm, P.Eng., attended the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI) Annual Training Conference in Victoria, B.C. from April 29th - May 4th. This year's conference featured instruction on the best practices and latest knowledge in fire investigation, which included a full selection of top-level fire investigation courses.

Sintra is pleased to welcome Jian Yao, P.Eng., Ph.D., into the fold. Jian holds a Ph.D. in Structural Engineering. He has an extensive background in structural design in the construction industry in Canada and he is available to assist you in resolving your structural failure claims.

Rebecca Moss, P.Eng., M.Sc., attended the Biomechanics of High-Impact Injuries conference put on by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) at their Training Center in Ashburn, Virginia.

The course provided an outline of the state of knowledge on the biomechanics of impact to the main anatomical regions, the circumstances under which trauma is generated, the effects on injury tolerance of variations in the population (e.g., age and gender), and the consequences for protection during impacts.

Mark Hughes, P.Eng. , gave a presentation at the Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association's Expert Witness Seminar on 'The Role of Liability Experts in the Litigation Process'.

The following Sintra staff members have become Certified Fire and Explosion Investigators through the National Association of Fire Investigators (NAFI):
Thomas Kamm, P. Eng.
Andrew Happer, P. Eng.
Carly Fink, E.I.T.