Forte Consulting and Investigations, LLC

08/05/2022

Part 3 of our 3-part series on Florida’s recent property insurance reform is entitled “Condominium Safety”. In this brief, we will look into the Surfside Condominium collapse of 2021, and offer explanations on how the current reform would have affected this occurrence, as well as how it will affect condominiums moving forward. Commentary provided by Forte Structural Engineer, Luis Pablo Torres, PE, PMP.

Florida residents and political action advocates anticipate that reform will help improve safety for condo-dwelling Floridians and stabilize the struggling property insurance market.

08/04/2022

In Part 2 of our 3-part series on Florida’s recent property insurance reform, we cover aging roofs. One major challenge experienced by Florida engineers is alleged storm damage to old or poorly maintained roofs, creating the conflict between preexisting damage vs damage from a claim occurrence. Special thanks to Christine M. Renella, from Zelle LLP for her contribution to this legal brief.

When it comes to settling a claim, insurers need to know what damages directly result from the claim occurrence versus those that are due to pre-existing, wear and tear or deferred maintenance.

08/04/2022

Welcome to our a 3-part series about Florida’s recent property insurance reform!
In Part 1 “The Contractor - Insured Relationship”, we discuss three issues Florida legislators are associating with the high frequency and severity of property claims and litigation in the state. Special thanks to Kelly Vogt, Partner at Clausen Miller P.C., for her contribution to this article.

Learn about three main areas that lawmakers believe are contributing to the Florida insurance crisis: Florida contractors waiving deductibles, contractor assignment of benefits and prevailing party fees, and the implementation of roof deductibles.

06/24/2022

Forte welcomes Luis Pablo Torres, PE, PMP as Senior Structural Engineer in the state of Florida. Luis is a Professional Engineer and Project Manager with more than 20 years of experience in planning, directing, and overseeing multi-million-dollar construction projects from concept to completion.
Learn more about Luis here:

Forte Consulting and Investigations is proud to welcome Luis Torres to our Florida team. Luis is a Professional Engineer and Project Manager with more than 20 years of experience in planning, directing, and overseeing multi-million-dollar construction projects from concept to completion. He has vast...

03/22/2022

A post in honor of Women's History Month!
Kitty O’Brien Joyner became the first woman engineer at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (later renamed NASA). She was also the first female to graduate from the University of Virginia’s Engineering Program when she gained admission after filing a lawsuit against UVA for only having men in their engineering school. C­heck out the link below to learn more about this amazing woman!

In her 32 years working for NASA, Kitty O’Brien Joyner helped usher its wind tunnels into the space age and proved that electrical engineering wasn’t just for m

02/22/2022

On May 22, 2021, a contractor working for the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT) noticed a gaping crack in a hollow steel girder, threatening the entire I-40 bridge span with collapse. This is a bridge that see approximately 41,000 vehicles per day.
How did the situation get this bad? Who was responsible for missing this obvious flaw?
A close analysis of an engineering report and interviews with state officials offer some insights.
Read more:

An in-depth analysis found repeated opportunities were missed over several decades to find a "fracture critical" flaw on the Mississippi River bridge.

02/08/2022

There’s a lot of technology and precision engineering behind the Winter Olympic Games. This is a cool video that shows some examples!

Winter Olympic Games rely on high-tech materials and precision engineering in events like bobsleigh, speed skating, half pipe, and ski jumping. Learn how in this ASME.org video.

01/18/2022

We had a great group of people volunteer with us on MLK Jr Day. We helped do some painting and shelving assembly for Habitat for Humanity of Chester County’s ReStore in Phoenixville. ReStores accept household donations to sell to the public and sales support Habitat’s construction fund. Check out your local Habitat online for volunteer opportunities!

01/17/2022

Today, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we promote and encourage our team to give back to the local community. As such, our offices are open with several employees out volunteering. We will still be checking email and can be reached via cell phone. Thank you for your understanding.

12/29/2021

Draught, wildfires, severe cold snaps, hurricanes - the United States experienced 18 billion-dollar weather disasters in the first nine months of 2021 (the most since 1980), totaling more than $104 billion. In addition to climate change, population growth and infrastructure expansion increase disaster costs by putting more assets in harm’s way. See the 2021 breakdown here:
https://lnkd.in/djnDS89P

12/23/2021

Forte wishes you and your family a very happy holiday season!

12/08/2021

Hip roofs and gable roofs are two of the most common roof types found across the country. Do you know the difference? Check out this brief explanation from one of our experts.
https://lnkd.in/eGSNu6_X