News

Tian (Tam) Shan, P.Eng. is a structural engineer with a BA in Structural Engineering from the University of Zhejiang in China. Tam has extensive experience in structural design including residential, commercial and industrial buildings. His commercial building design experience includes several large projects including the Hong Kong International Airport. Tam's focus here at Sintra is structural failure investigations and assisting our clients in determining the cause of structural failures and providing scope of reparation.

John Towler, P.Eng., CFEI has recently joined our Calgary office as a Senior Forensic Engineer. John brings over 30 years of engineering experience to Sintra Engineering. His career experience has been diverse: Aerospace, Oil and gas, electrical product development and manufacturing, and power generation – including wind turbines. A recent highlight of his career was a multi-million dollar root cause failure analysis investigation of a generator excitation system on a gas turbine.

At Sintra, John specializes in failure analysis, equipment malfunctions, as well as the evaluation of engineering reports from other firms. Whether the loss is catastrophic, involves multiple parties, or is multi-faceted, John’s level of experience and expertise can add value beyond technical insight.

Bill Shaver, forensic engineer at Sintra Engineering, recently presented at the FIAA Hot Wheels Vehicle Fire Investigation Training Seminar in Rocky Mountain House Alberta. The seminar consisted of three days of hands-on training covering: determination of area of origin, ignition sources, arson, recalls and a live burn demonstration.

Bill Shaver is a Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI), a Certified Vehicle Investigator (CVFI) with the National Association of Fire Investigators (NAFI), and a Red Seal Automotive Journeyman Technician. Bill is Sintra Engineering's lead fire investigator on vehicle and heavy machinery fire losses.

Natalie Klostranec, P. Eng., has joined our Calgary office, giving us in-house electrical forensic engineering expertise. Natalie graduated with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering with an electrical specialization.

Her recent professional experience includes project management duties for a variety of clients in Alberta’s Oil and Gas Industry including the preparation of cost estimates and proposals, electrical design, project scheduling, Energy Management consulting, Scope of Work preparation, equipment procurement, and project commissioning.

Natalie can provide insight into electrical systems and components that have failed or have been attributed as the cause of a failure or fire loss. Her extensive knowledge of electrical systems has permitted her to understand a wide range of electrical systems ranging from simple residential distribution circuitry to larger utility based equipment.

Sintra Engineering would like to thank all of the participants and sponsors in the Insurance All Industry Charity Golf Tournament at the Blackhawk Golf Course. The sold out tournament was a success, raising over $8,000 for the tournament benefactor, the Terra Association for Pregnant & Parenting Teens.

Thanks everyone and see you again next year!

Casie Yuen, EIT, M.Sc. has joined Sintra Engineering’s Edmonton office. Casie is a structural engineer with a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering and a M.Sc. in Civil Engineering specializing in structures and solid mechanics. She is involved with structural investigations and providing scope of reparation.

Sintra Engineering would like to congratulate Chris Miller on the completion of a Masters of Business Administration degree at the University of Alberta.

We are actively looking for talented engineers, with exceptional analytical skills, to assist in our efforts to provide outstanding technical insight and customer service to our clients.

Current Career Opportunities:
Edmonton
Structural Forensic Engineer
Senior Electrical Forensic Engineer

Calgary
Senior Structural Forensic Engineer
Property Loss Forensic Engineer/ Fire Investigator

Please see the Employment page for further details.

Andrew Happer, M. Eng., MBA, P. Eng., CFEI, presented research findings at the 2009 SAE World Congress. Sintra Engineering has conducted research into the travel path of left turning vehicles at intersections.

In Alberta, left turn across path scenarios were the third highest improper driver action leading to a casualty collision and accounted for 13% of all casualty collisions in 2007. When reconstructing collisions involving left turning vehicles, assumptions have to be made with respect to the path taken by the left-turning vehicle, where the vehicle stopped and how it accelerated.

Our research attempts to determine the travel path of left turning vehicles at signalized intersections. The findings will provide us with more accurate assumptions of the vehicle dynamics when reconstructing these types of collisions.

Our Calgary office is moving effective December 15th.

Please note our new address:
2435-42 Avenue NE
Calgary, AB
T2E 8A3

Our phone and fax numbers remain the same.

Brett Hazlett has joined Sintra Engineering in its Calgary office. Brett is a materials engineer with a BASc in Metals and Materials Engineering from the University of British Columbia. Brett will be involved in product failure and general property loss investigations including fires. Outside of work, Brett competes internationally as a world class hang glider.

Brett's addition brings us closer to our goal of offering full service forensic engineering to clients in the Calgary insurance industry. Our Calgary office now offers a more complete slate of forensic engineering investigations including accident reconstruction, fire investigation, heavy equipment investigations, and product/component failure analysis.

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.