Engineering

Careers in Forensics: Forensic Engineer

Forensic Engineer - Duties, Certification, Education & PayForensic engineers study physical systems that have failed in some way, in order to better understand why they failed.

Background Needed to Be a Forensic Engineer

Forensic engineering is a specialty within engineering, and so a forensic engineer at the very least will need to have a bachelor’s degree in engineering. A graduate degree is recommended. Appropriate areas of engineering that can be especially valuable for a forensic engineer include civil engineering, electrical engineering, materials engineering, mechanical engineering, and traffic engineering.

A forensic engineer will then need to obtain an engineering license. Further training from organizations such as the American Society of Civil Engineers is available to hone one’s skills. Often a certain amount of continuing education is required to maintain one’s license.

In order to better convey their findings in court, forensic engineers will sometimes have a background in law or communications.

What Does a Forensic Engineer Do?

Forensic engineers piece together a series of events to see what went wrong and why.

For example, a forensic engineer might investigate a traffic accident and use the physical evidence of tire marks and the location of broken glass and other debris to understand whether one of the vehicles was traveling at an illegal and unsafe speed, whether the brakes failed, etc. Or the forensic engineer might investigate a fire to ascertain where and how it started, thus making a case for or against arson.

Forensic engineering also comes into play when investigating such matters as building and bridge collapses. The forensic engineer will look for structural flaws, examine maintenance history, study the effects of untoward events such as earthquakes on the structure, etc.

Often a forensic engineer will be called upon to testify in court, for both criminal and civil cases, such as wrongful injury suits and patent disputes.

Career Prospects for a Forensic Engineer

Forensic engineers may be self-employed, work for small or large businesses, or work for government agencies. It’s common for forensic engineering to be part time work, for forensic engineers to be hired on a case by case basis as needed. They might then spend the rest of their time working for private employers or universities on other engineering projects.

Forensic engineering jobs have been on the rise in recent years, and that trend is expected to continue. Early in their career, forensic engineers typically make $40,000 to $60,000 per year. With five years or more of experience, they might make $60,000 to $80,000. With ten years or more experience, they might even top $100,000.

Sources:

Karen Murdock, “Forensic Engineer Training.” eHow.
Dale Nute, “Advice About a Career in Forensic Science.” The Florida State University College of Criminology & Criminal Justice.
“Forensic Engineer.” Forensic Science.
“So You Want to Be a Forensic Scientist!” American Academy of Forensic Scientists.…

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Engineering

How to Install an Engineered Wood Floor

Installing a floating floor is an easy home project even for those who believe they have few if any home project skills. The basic tools required are a measuring tape, pencil, chalk line, chop saw or miter box with hand saw, dead blow hammer, carpenter's wood glue, utility knife, 1/4 inch spacers, and jamb saw.

After deciding on the type of floor you are going to float engineered or laminate, I prefer the engineered wood floor. It is real wood on top of several plywood layers that provide strength and resistance to warping and cupping. Additionally the engineered floors are factory pre-finished with a very durable baked finished and come in many wood species and varieties of finishes and styles. Finally, in the event they become marred they can be sanded and refinished. The first step is to measure the square footage needed for the area of the room and add at least another 10% to account for waste during installation. Once the flooring is delivered to your house allow it to acclimate to the house environment for at least 72 hours for increased stability prior to installation.

The next step is to assess the subfloor of the room in which the new flooring is going to be installed. After removing all of the old flooring or carpeting and its padding, be sure to remove all remaining nails, tacks or staples. Any that are left may show through in the new flooring. Examine the subfloor for level, squeaks and general condition of the wood. My advice is that if your are not sure that the subfloor is in very good condition then take the extra step of laying a 1/4 inch additional layer of plywood on top of the old subfloor being sure that it is level and that the seams are staggered and do not end on any of the seams of the old sublfoor. This is necessary for strength and stability. I recommend using an adhesive as well as screws for an additional level of certainty as well as to avoid squeaks in the future. Once this is done you are ready to install the flooring.

Most of these floors require an underlayment that provides a protective barrier from moisture, sound reduction, and also lessens the possibility of squeaking. This usually comes in rolls. Simply roll out a length from one end of your room to the other. Lay out a second piece and overlap the first piece by 3-4 inches. Continue this process until the entire room is covered. Each area of overlap is taped together to make a single uniform piece of underlayment.

When deciding which wall to begin laying the floor down, most people select the longest wall because they believe this enhances the look of the floor. However it is really your choice. One can start on a smaller wall. The next thing to do is to make a chalk line that is straight and level. You cannot assume that your wall is true. The chalk line is your reference line for laying the first course of flooring. It should be slightly more than the width of a floor board but no more than 1/4 of an inch wider. I'll explain the reason for this later. Be sure to double check that your chalk line is straight because if it is not then every course of boards placed afterwards will not be straight.

It is extremely important when laying the floorboards that no two seams in adjacent rows end up touching each other. This can easily be avoided by doing the following. Measure the length of the wall your are starting with. Figure out how many full boards can be placed in that row. As an example lets say your room wall is 14 feet and your boards are 4 feet. Then you can have 3 complete boards with a 2 foot piece of board to make up the 14 feet.
From an entire board, measure a two foot piece from the right side (this is to retain the tongue and groove locking mechanism), before cutting the board subtract another 1/2 inch and then make your cut. Place a spacer and abut the cut board flush to the spacer add glue to its groove and place the next board being sure that it interlocks securely, repeat with each succeeding board until the entire row is complete by placing another spacer between the last board and the wall. Note that you may have to use the dead blow hammer and a spare piece of flooring or a tapping block if one is provided to insure that the boards are perfectly interlocked. By adding one foot to the length of the first cut board start the second row using as many full boards as possible. Start the third row by adding another foot to the length of the first board. Then repeat the pattern starting with a two foot piece less the 1/2 inch. This insures that no seams will ever overlap a joint in any two adjoining rows. Important as a matter of precaution after your first three courses are placed take time to inspect that all rows are square, if they are not now is the time to make corrections and not later when much more of the floor has been laid. Complete the process. That extra 10% will come in handy as row starters or finishers. The 1/4 inch gap that is left along each wall is covered by a shoe moulding of 1/4 round style. The gap is necessary to allow for expansion of the floor. The shoe moulding can be bought in widths of 1/4,1/2 or 3/4 inch so that the gap between your wall and the edge of the flooring will be covered. Finally in laying the floor one most certainly will encounter doorways. The jamb saw is a special tool that is not expensive that allows you to cut out the bottom of a jamb so that a piece of the flooring will slide easily underneath it avoiding the need to make a very difficult intricate cut. Simply place a piece of scrap flooring near the jamb and lay the saw on top of it. Cut through the jamb, Your piece of flooring should easily slide under the cut jamb.
Install a transition piece to link the new floor to an adjacent room or hallway.

Your engineered flooring installation is now complete and you have the satisfaction of knowing that you did it yourself.…

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Internet

5 Ways to Make Money On Instagram

There are several ways to make money on Instagram, but it’s important that you only use methods that don’t violate the terms of service agreement of the site.

This includes anything that asks you to buy, sell, or try to alter the way that the site works in any way.

While a lot of people have made some quick and easy money through ads on the right side of the page, there are limits to what can be done, so you should only dabble.

The best strategy is still to build your followers and turn them into buyers by promoting the products that they want or love.

You can get a better feel for how to do this by reading the rest of this article.

Sponsored posts:

Some companies will pay you to promote their product on your page.

You don’t have to do all of the work, but some companies will throw in an extra post for free if you do.

For example, if you like pizza, they might send you a sponsored post on a monthly or quarterly basis.

You can also make money through sponsored stories, which allows you to write about someone who uses their product and give an honest review.

Photos and videos:

This is the bread and butter of Instagram marketing, you can read more at SMM World.

People enjoy visual content, especially on a site like Facebook where there is so much content already there for you to look at.

Take a lot of pictures from different places and post them to your account.

If you are into videos, make sure to post some to your page as well.

People love watching videos, so you’ll definitely have people following your updates if you can provide them with something interesting to watch.

The trick is to provide content that people will want to see on a regular basis, so keep your page updated all the time.

Business feeds:

You can set up a business feed that shows customers the latest products and deals that you’ve found on the web.

Most of the time, these feeds are updated manually by Instagram staff, but you can help them do this by adding links to your products on your page.

Business feeds can turn into huge profits for you, especially during the holiday season.

With so many people shopping on Black Friday and Christmas, make sure that you are one of the first people to show up with deals on these holidays.

Private messages:

You can make money through private messages on Instagram.

You can send other Instagram users messages that will only be seen by them.

You can sell anything that you want on your page, and you can even put coupon codes so that people can save money when they buy products off of your shelf.

Make sure that you read the guidelines carefully before you start sending messages so that you don’t get in trouble.

Engagement levels:

When you follow people on Instagram, you’ll increase your chances of them following you back as well.

The best way to attract followers is to make sure that your page is fun and engaging.

People love interacting on social media, so if you want to make money, make sure that you keep your page updated at all times.

If you constantly stay away from updates, then you’ll only have a handful of followers.

Tips:

There are also many tips that you can find on the internet to help you make money.

One of the most popular ones is using coupon codes.

Coupons are great because they can save you some money on whatever you’re purchasing.

Make sure that you research each code thoroughly before you try it out on your page.

Instagram may seem like a gimmick at first, but you can make real money on it.

There are many different ways that you can go about making it work for you, though it helps to have a clear plan in mind before you get started.

Follow the above-mentioned tips and you should be able to make a lot of money off of your page in no time at all.

It’s a great way to share your pictures and let everyone know what you’re up to.…

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Engineering

Is test and tag a profitable business?

We’ve all seen the commercials and ads for test and tag businesses.

In this blog post, we’ll explore whether or not these companies are a viable option for business owners.

First, let’s look at what these types of companies do: they’re in charge of testing homes’ plumbing systems to ensure that there is no leakage from pipes or fixtures.

Next, we’ll examine the pros and cons of starting a test and tag company so you can determine if it would be a good fit for your own personal goals.

Finally, we will discuss how much money you could expect to make with this type of company once it has been up-and-running for five years based on different factors such as location, number of employees, etc.

In Australia, when we talk about the testing and tagging industry, we could be talking about a $100 million business or one that earns around $5 million to $10 million – depending on who you ask.

It’s difficult to define exactly how much revenue is brought in by companies involved with this sector because there could be many not-for-profit organizations running testing and tagging programs for schools, sporting clubs, and other groups barely turning over any profit.

However, there are certainly plenty of commercial operators making a tidy sum from their businesses.

For example, Brisbane-based company Toxguard runs tagging programs for thousands of children each week and has various outlets spread throughout the country.

This type of business is also supported by businesses such as Service First, which supplies equipment to firms in this sector, including cash registers and point of sale systems.

Mark Hewitt is one individual who has worked hard to carve out his own business in test and tag.

His company’s official name is National Electrical Safety (NES) Services, but he recognizes that these sorts of companies need an edge over their competition to ensure they can survive.

Mark tells us more about how he set up the business below:

“When I first started my electrical tester training course I had no idea there were so many opportunities out there for people with the right skills.

I had always worked in construction so I never really considered being a tester or testing company as an option, but now I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“I was able to use my electrical skills along with my qualifications to get my business off the ground.

Once you know what the industry is about and how it works, then opportunities will start to become apparent through your own research into the specific test and tag companies.

Being a sole trader didn’t seem appealing at first because of the lack of security.

But when you find something you love doing it’s all worthwhile.”

“My advice to anyone thinking about setting up a test and tag business would be not to rush into things too quickly, if you decide to start a test and tag business in Australia, call your service something like “Testing and Tagging Melbourne“.

No matter what your market segment maybe, the whole idea of electrical safety compliance is pretty simple: make sure equipment used by others has been safely tested and indicate that it meets Australian Standards.

In manufacturing, there are two types of testing, Factory Mutual (FM) and Heavy Industries Science And Technology Association (HISTA).

With FM you are required to test or check that all installations comply with Australian Standards at least once every six months.

Has varied depending on the type of equipment being used in your business – whether it’s power tools, forklifts, or other plant equipment.

The main advantage of hiring an electrical tester is that you don’t have to buy your own test and tag equipment.

However, if you do decide to set up your own business as a testing company then there are various forms of equipment needed such as lockout gear, plug testers, and earth fault loop impedance testers.

You can get all the necessary equipment from Service First Electrical.

Mark Hewitt says it’s important to stay close with customers so they know exactly where their maintenance funds are being spent.

This also provides the opportunity for businesses to create good relationships with clients so they can be given higher priority in any emergency situation.

“It’s really important to keep your finger on the pulse when it comes to industry trends because this way you will always be the first to hear about market opportunities.

For example, if you’re in the area of power tools then it would be wise to know what other types of equipment companies are using.”

“All information is good info when it comes to this business, so I’m always on the lookout for new opportunities.

If there’s one thing that I’ve learned it’s you shouldn’t try and tackle all your problems by yourself.

Sooner or later these things will come back and bite you if not resolved properly.”

“You’ve got to stay ahead of the game even though the basic idea might seem simple enough.”…

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Family / Posts

What Car Should I Buy: A Beginner Guide!

What car should I buy for a beginner?

There are several cars you can start with, starting with an economical small car towing a light trailer behind a truck.

It is best to find at least two cars that are affordable and will get you on the road.

Once you know how safe a car is to drive, you can work your way up to a more powerful sports car.

The type of car you should buy depends on your style of driving, safety concerns, your wallet, and your needs as a driver.

When you consider what cars to buy for a beginner, the first thing you need to consider is the safety rating of the vehicle.

Is it worth buying or should you stay away?

How safe is it?

This question is most important when it comes to four-door sedans.

If the car has a low rating, it may not be worth buying, especially if the car will be used for transporting children.

A safe driver can get good grades in school, but that doesn’t mean you can take your car out on the highway without knowing how to drive it.

In fact, some people who are involved in an accident don’t even know how to fix their cars.

That is why it is so important to purchase a safe car.

There are so many different makes and models available on the market today that finding one that has been well maintained can help you avoid any costly repairs in the future.

Before you even begin thinking about what car to buy for a beginner, you want to think about what level of driving you plan to do.

Are you just learning to drive for pleasure or do you have a goal of becoming a safe, dependable driver?

Even if you want to become a safe driver, you can start by selecting a safe car from the beginning.

This is a great way to begin learning how to drive because you won’t have to worry about losing money if you get into an accident or have an accident that costs you lots of money.

The first and best thing you need to do is find out how safe the car you want to purchase is before you even begin looking.

You should first try to find out how much damage each vehicle has been through.

In most cases, vehicles that are sold for cheap are known to be unsafe because they have been abused.

Ask friends or family members if they can recommend any reliable dealers who sell cars for cheap.

If you don’t have anyone who can give you advice [click here] you can always check online to see what other people have said about various dealers.

Another way to find out about the safety of a particular car is to ask around your community.

People living around you will be able to tell you if a car is safe to drive or not.

Of course, you have to take their word for it, but it’s a good idea to ask around.

What car should I buy for a beginner to help them become a safe driver?

It would also be a great idea to find out from your local police force if they know of any reliable dealers in your area.

Ask them for advice.

What car should I buy for a beginner to help them become a safe driver?

If you are new to driving, you should get a vehicle that has a high safety ranking.

High-ranking cars are known to have a reduced chance of having accidents, which means that they are less likely to cost you a lot of money in repairs.

Now that you have found out what car should I buy for a beginner, you should make sure that you are ready to go out and drive it.

You never know when you might have an accident, and it would be horrible if you had an accident while on your first trip with your new car.

You never know when something may happen that could have unforeseen consequences.

That is why it is important to make sure that you are insured because if you get into an accident without insurance, you could owe a lot of money and be unable to get any money to fix the car.…

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Fashion

Zipper Fashion Rosettes

Supplies:
Metal zipper
Fabric scrap
Scissors
Hot glue
White glue

You might have been saving zippers to sew into other garments, if those zippers go bad, but sewing zippers into clothing isn’t the only way to reuse them. Cut zippers up and use them in an unusual way to make embellishments for fashions and home decorating projects, rosettes for crafting, and other fanciful items. If you already have zippers, you won’t pay a penny for the rosettes, which can be used in many different ways.

Unzip a zipper and cut it, straight across, to remove the zipper pull, and to separate the two sides of the zipper. Since each piece has fabric stitched to it, it’s necessary to remove the cloth. Cut the stitches to remove the biggest part of it; use a lighter to burn off the rest. Remember to hold the zipper with a potholder because the zipper will get hot as you burn the fabric off.

When all of the cloth is off of the zipper it’s the easiest thing to turn it into a rosette. Simply lay it flat on a table and begin winding it around itself. Hold one end down, and wrap the other end around and around the stationary end. You’ll make a flat circle of zipper teeth, which is metallic and lovely. If you want the rosette to be larger than it is when you finish wrapping, use a dot of hot glue to hold the end in place, and start wrapping another zipper-half around it.

The rosette you make is a flat one but you can give it dimension by making another one on top of it. The top rosette should be a bit smaller than the bottom one. Add another rosette, and another, to create the depth that you want; make each rosette smaller than the previous one.

The zipper rosette will be easiest to attach if you glue a piece of cloth or felt to the bottom of it. Glue the finished flower to a purse, a garment, a lampshade, a mirror or picture frame corner, or even a hat. Attach it to a piece of fabric to make a curtain tie-back, or make a large zipper rosette, and turn it into a coaster.

Don’t like the metallic color of the rosette? Paint it! You can easily spray paint the zipper before you start, or paint the rosette when you’re finished. That gives you many options for coordinating colors on your fashions, or for your home decorating.

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