When a building services dispute reaches a lawyer, an adjudicator or a court, the parties need an engineer whose opinion is independent, technically sound and prepared in a form the forum will accept. Underscore Projects provides expert witness and forensic engineering services on hydraulic, fire protection, plumbing and building services matters, with reports prepared to the Expert Witness Code of Conduct under the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules for use in court, arbitration, expert determination and adjudication.
Our forensic work begins with the evidence: site inspection and testing, review of the design documentation, specifications, standards, shop drawings, commissioning records and correspondence, and establishment of what was required, what was built and where the two diverged. From that we form an opinion on cause, on whether the work met the standard expected of a competent practitioner, and on the reasonable cost of rectification, and set it out in a report that states the facts relied on, the reasoning and the limits of the opinion, so that it can be tested in cross-examination. We also provide defect investigation and reporting, support through expert determination, mediation and adjudication, and independent assessment of construction claims, variations and back-charges; each is described on its own page within this section.
Our team’s decades of combined tier-one construction and consulting experience mean our opinions are grounded in how services are actually designed, procured and installed, not only in what the standard says. We are engaged by building owners, contractors, subcontractors, insurers and their legal representatives, and we take instructions on the basis that our duty is to the tribunal. If you need an independent engineering opinion on a hydraulic, fire or plumbing matter, talk to Underscore Projects.