Multi-discipline Engineering Consultants Clancy Consulting now members of the Federation of Forensic and Expert witnesses

Expert Witness

Established in 1972, Clancy Consulting is an independent, multi disciplinary engineering practice with 10 regional offices, employing Civil, Structural, Mechanical, Electrical and Geo Environmental Engineers and Surveyors, providing engineering design, building surveying and advisory services across the built environment.

Our mission is to provide high value and sustainable multi-disciplinary services, respected for excellence and innovation and for contributing to the improvement of the built environment, whilst fostering strong working relationships with our clients and providing a stimulating and diverse place of work.

Clancy has been listed eight times in the Building Good Employers Guide as one of the top 50 firms in the industry.

Our Engineers are frequently called upon to assist Courts and other judicial bodies to resolve disputes. This assistance can range from informal review of documentation through to the production of an Expert Witness report compliant with Civil Procedure Rules, or a Single Joint Expert Report. Clients include Solicitors, insurance companies, Loss Adjusters and individual property owners, and we have long standing relationships with many of our clients.

It is an unfortunate fact of life that disputes of various kinds abound within the UK Construction Industry. Many theories have been advanced as to why this is – the 'first-past-the-post' tendering system, low profit margins, intense competition, complex supply chain mechanisms, lack of Professional Regulation, skills shortages etc but there is little indication that dispute numbers are falling.

It is of vital importance that any Expert Advisor/ Witness appointed not only has considerable experience of the matters at hand but is also able to assist Solicitors considering the merits of the claim, explain their views etc in a clear, concise way and, are able to effectively deal with what can often be hostile cross-examination in Court. Our engineers have given evidence in court, in mediations and at public enquiries.

Clancy Consulting have worked closely with NHBC for over 15 years, investigating some of their largest and most complex claims, which have involved all types of building defects, and typically relate to apartment blocks.

Following investigation and diagnosis of the cause of failure, our Engineers worked closely with NHBC's senior Claims staff, policy writers, and their in-house technical and legal teams to agree remedial schemes that ensured policy and technical compliance, offered pragmatic and cost effective repairs and minimised the impact work would have on residents.

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We then specify and Project Manage the works. Technical knowledge, good communication, pragmatism and ‘soft skills’ are necessary throughout the process to ensure we can work effectively with all parties involved.

As a result, our Engineers have seen the worst of what the building industry has to offer, which has given our engineers an in-depth knowledge of how to avoid such issues, how to deal with them and, above all how to incorporate good practice into our specifications and documentation to avoid them. It has also given us a most valuable insight into the workings of the Construction Industry against which we can form our views on why a dispute has arisen and where culpability may lie.

ServicesBuilding AppraisalBuilding Services EngineeringCivil EngineeringEngineering SurveyingGeo Environmental EngineeringStructural EngineeringTransportation and Highway Engineering

Only our most Senior Engineers with appropriate Professional qualifications and many years of design and construction experience can be considered for Expert Witness work. Additionally, they must possess excellent communication skills and present themselves in a confident manner.

Our philosophy is that only someone who has personally undertaken specific design tasks and overseen construction on site, can be considered for any role in Forensic Engineering, leading to possible Expert Witness appointments.

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Recent Expert witnessappointments include :

Collapse of a masonry retaining/boundary wall onto live Network Rail track.

Numerous appointments in relation to trees/subsidence.Numerous appointments in relation to vehicle impact damage.Personal injury as a result of the failure of a timber staircase.

Possible Carbon Monoxide poisoning in a sheltered accommodation from faulty boiler flue installation

Review of ventilation systems and fire damper installations in two Care Homes .

Fire damage assessment report on a Court building undergoing refurbishment in Central London.

Expert report with respect to overheating of a lightweight, highly glazed roof extension.

Major flood into the basement of a Grade 2 Listed property due to burst effluent pumping main.

Defending Consulting Structural Engineer on PI claim for negligent building foundation design.

SJE report on a dispute between a Main Contractor and Piling Sub-contractor regarding the value of the Final Account for the piling works.

Expert report on unsafe demolition working which led to personal injuries suffered by a machine operator.

Expert report on cause of a landslip in Central Wales.

We offer Expert advice in the following areas :

Structural failure and collapseInsurance investigationsSubsidence and foundation failureDamage by fire / flood / stormAll types of building defectsDefective materials and workmanshipSchedules Of ConditionBuilding servicesGeotechnical EngineeringConstruction accidentsPersonal injuryHealth and safety

Drainage, flooding and flood riskProfessional negligenceForensic engineering

Clancy consulting has been checked and verified for inclusion in

The Expert Witness Directory 2018.

The Directors and senior members of staff are registered with one or more of the following professional bodies :

Association of Project ManagementAssociation for Consultancy and EngineeringChartered Institute of ArbitratorsChartered Institute of Building

Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers

Institution of Civil EngineersInstitution of Engineering and Technology

Institute of Healthcare Engineering and Estate Management

Institution of Highways and TransportationInstitution of Mechanical EngineersInstitution of Structural EngineersRoyal Institution of Chartered SurveyorsTimber Research and Development AssociationUK Timber Frame Association

Surveying

Clancy Consultings Engineering Surveying department specializes in the inspection and investigation of all types of buildings and structures, defect diagnosis, specification and project management of remedial works and refurbishment. Many of our appointments are multi-disciplinary as we have the in house capability to diagnose all types of building defects.

Our engineers appreciate buildings and virtually all members of the multi-disciplinary surveying team have over 20 years engineering surveying experience.

Advice relates to industrial, commercial, residential, public, historic buildings and other structures, and we take pride in offering technically robust and pragmatic advise based on our extensive experience and a full understanding of our clients needs and aspirations.

We inspect buildings and structures for regular maintenance purposes, at change of lease or ownership, when issues become apparent, or at feasibility stage prior to development or refurbishment to advise on their general condition, any essential remedial work required, their load carrying capacity etc in advance of the main project design. Our main project teams provide full engineering design support where required.

For more information, in the first instance please contact richard.johnson@clancy.co.uk or call Rich on 07831 805763 www.clancy.co.uk