Role & Responsibility of an Expert Witness
Arising from a recent expert witness commission, the legal counsel directed R2A’s attention to Makita (Australia) Pty Ltd v Sprowles [2001} NSWCA 305 (14 September 2001), which provides an excellent review of the role and responsibility of an expert witness, at least in NSW.
Have you ever wondered ‘What is engineering due diligence’ and what is it that ‘R2A does’?
As due diligence engineers we often get asked what is engineering due diligence and what it is that we actually do at R2A. To be honest, this has been a really difficult question to answer. Due diligence is a legal concept and often construed to only mean compliance in the engineering context which is not the case. Previously Richard has used throw away lines like ‘we align the laws of nature with the laws of man’ that is, ‘we make lawyers useful’. Although these are outcomes of what we do, they didn’t quite answer the question of ‘what engineering due diligence actually is’.
The role and responsibilities of an Expert Witness
Arising from a recent expert witness commission, the legal counsel directed R2A’s attention to Makita (Australia) Pty Ltd v Sprowles [2001} NSWCA 305 (14 September 2001), which provides an excellent review of the role and responsibility of an expert witness, at least in NSW.
Due Diligence vs Risk Management
We desire that our world be prosperous and safe. And it seems that due diligence has become essential to these outcomes. Due diligence (or care) is a legal concept, derived from the societal need to ensure fairness in dealings between human beings. It has been variously defined, for example:
The diligence reasonably expected from, and ordinarily exercised by, a person who seeks to satisfy a legal requirement or obligation1 and,
A minimum standard of behaviour which provides against contravention of relevant regulatory provisions and adequate supervision ensuring that the system is properly carried out.2
Such legal obligations can be created by statute law, for example the Model Work Health and Safety Act (2011)3 or from the common law as a defence against negligence4.
Diversity Means Business
The Women in Engineering National Committee (WIE NC), working with large engineering employers, have developed a solutions based approach focusing on delivering better business outcomes to enable industry to evolve and successfully compete in a changing environment.
Many of our members work in organisations that have had singular success in recruiting, retaining and celebrating female engineers in their workforce.
As a response to numerous approaches from industry to provide advice and guidance on how to set up a successful in-house professional women’s program, the WIE NC undertook a project to develop an industry blueprint of successful in-house professional women’s programs.
A paper was developed following a round table discussion with industry partners, that have programs that successfully encourage gender diversity in an organisation through initiatives that attract, retain and celebrate women in the engineering profession.