Qualifications

Background

BS Mechanical Engineering, Summa Cum Laude
Texas A&M University 1979
Graduating rank: #2

Licensed Professional Engineer, Texas
Licensed Professional Engineer, Florida
Licensed Professional Engineer, North Carolina
Licensed Professional Engineer, South Carolina

Member American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
Member American Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE)
Treasurer ASM-International

John E. Scates, P.E., Carrollton, TX. 6/97-present
President/Owner

Product Failure Analysis

Mechanical failure analysis relating to water loss, including:

Water Filters - approx. 140 investigations.
Water Hoses - approx. 170 investigations.
Toilets and related components - approx 170 investigations.
Water Heaters and related components - approx. 200 investigations.
Appliances (dishwashers, water softeners, clothes washers, refrigerators / ice machines) - approximately 240 investigations.

Failure analysis of other misc. products, including vehicles and small fires encompass another 200 projects.

Accident Investigations

Accident investigations relating to doors, including automatic pedestrian doors, high speed vehicle doors, fire doors, and overhead doors.

Design

3 patents.
Proprietary product design and development for the overhead door industry including sectional doors, rolling steel doors, truck doors and door operators.
Ongoing participation in the door industry technical committees for building code and standards development.
Design assistance relating to hurricane-resistant door products.

Windsor Door, Little Rock, Arkansas. 5/93-5/97
Manager of Research and Development

Provided engineering expertise and testimony in litigation issues.
Active in the technical committees of DASMA.
Familiarity with Standard Building Code, Florida Building Code, NFPA 80, NFPA 105, and ASCE 7 windloading and fire codes.
Familiarity with UL-325 relating to garage door opener safety.
Fire door systems.
Co-development a photocell system for garage door openers.
Expertise in sheet metal products.
Experienced in finite-element analysis.
Proficient with Pro/Engineer software.

Overhead Door R&D/Engineering, Dallas, TX. 2/85-5/93
Manager of Structures

Provided engineering expertise and testimony in litigation issues.
Failure mode analysis on new products.
Custom product certifications for windload and oversize requirements.
Co-authored the corporate software for spring calculations.
Expert in track and counterbalance systems.
Lesser involvement with dock levelers, truck doors, high-speed rollup doors, and electric operators.

Drilco Industrial, Div. of SII, Midland, TX. 8/81-1/85
Product engineer

Design and manufacture of drilling equipment for mining and other non-oilfield applications.
Developed both "big hole" and "raise drill" bits ranging in diameters from five to twelve feet.
Experience in large weldments, threaded connections, non-destructive ultrasonic inspection, machining operations and heat treatment.
Briefly served as metallurgist at the on-site heat treating/carburizing facility.

John Deere Plow and Planter Works, Moline IL. 1/80-8/81
Product engineer

Contributed to the development of the largest planter built by John Deere including:

Hydraulic operation and leveling.
Stress measurement and reduction using strain gages, finite element and dynamic motion analysis.

Seminars / Short Courses completed

Finding and Preventing Product Failures (in plastics) (SPE 4/2003)
Plastics Fracture Analysis (SPE 4/2002)
Plastics Failure Analysis (SPE 4/2002)
Failure Analysis of Plastic Products by Stress Analysis Methods (SPE 4/2002)
AAADM Certified Inspector - automatic pedestrian doors. (AAADM 10/2001)
AAADM Inspector training – re-take course for updates – audit only (1/2007)
Design & Behavior of Bolted Joints (ASME)
Fracture Mechanics Approach to Life Prediction (ASME)
Uniform Plumbing Code (NTT Inc)
Rock Mechanics (related to drilling and tunneling) (Univ. of Wisconsin)
Pro/E basic and sheetmetal (Parametric Technologies)
Non-destructive Ultrasonic Inspection (Drilco)