Failure Analysis Services in Singapore

Failure analysis services Forensic accident investigation Fire investigation services Expert witness in litigation Corrosion engineering Fatigue and fracture analysis Design & structural analysis Condition assessment

Failure analysis, accident & fire investigation-UTC Clients :


aircraft engine vane failure analysis and investigation services

Forensic Failure Analysis Services
Expert Witness
from Singapore


Effective failure analysis services can not only enhance reliability and safety, but also improve product quality and reduce operational cost & down time of facilities. UTC's scientific and engineering experts provide effective, relaible, fast and cost-saving failure analysis services beyong Singapore, based on solid evidences, sound scientific & engineering principles, and logical inference.

What Is Failure Analysis Services ?

Failure analysis services (or failure investigation services) is consultation services in which adopts systematic analysis approach to determine root cause(s) and mechansim(s) of failure and provide counter measures to prevent similar failure or accident recurrence. Failure analysis services are demanded by companies and governments from not only Singapore but also other countries.

UTC was just awarded a peroid contract "1 year + optional 1 year of failure analysis services" from Nov. 2020 by Enterprise Singapore (ESG).

Failure analysis is often named as engineering failure analysis, including mechanical failure analysis or stress failure analysis, component failure analysis, electrical failure analysis and material failure analysis. In case of damages are involved in epuipments or facilities, failure analysis can be called damage analysis (or damage investigation) and inspection.

Failure analysis experts are sometimes summoned to the Court and act as failure analysis expert witness testifying in the Court to present expert opinions and evidences. For more details of expert witness, please refer to EXPERT WITNESS.

What Is Forensic Investigation and Analysis?

Forensic investigation and analysis is to apply scientific knowledge and methodology to legal issues and / or criminal investigations of the subject cases, thus it can assist the court or litigation for justifications. Therefore, forensic investigation and analysis sometimes are actually extension of failure analysis. The focus of failure analysis is on determining failure cause(s) & failure mechanism(s) while the focus of forensic investigation and analysis is on providing traceable evidences for clarifying resposibility and liability of the failures and accidents.

Why Choose UTC for Failure Analysis Services?

  • UTC is one of leading independent investigation company in Singapore, consists of failure analysis experts and accident investigation experts with more than 35 years of experience and relevant qualifications.
  • UTC failure analysis experts have successfully led and completed thousands of consultation projects in forensic accident investigation and failure analysis served for aerospace, marine, petrochemical, electronic and microelectronic, construction, amusement, oil & gas, transportation industries and governmental agencies
  • UTC's failure analysis and accident investigation services had been well recognized by industries and Singapore government agencies including Republic of Singapore Air Force, DSTA, Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), Ministry of Manpower (MOM), Hyundai (Korea), PUB, SBS Transit, China Taiping Insurance, Rajah & Tann, WongPartnership, Universal Terminal,Takenaka (Japan) and MSIG Insurance, etc.
  • UTC's failure analysis services and accident investigation services are cost-effective, validated by a number of awards on relevant projects from government tenders in GeBIZ.
  • UTC's expert witness services and reports on failure analysis and accident investigation were well proven and accepted by High Court, State Court, Criminal Court and Arbitration Court.

    • Contact UTC failure analysis experts for failure analysis and forensic investigation services, please click EMAIL or Call (+65)81380509 for more details.


    Examples of UTC was Recently Awarded Failure Analysis and Accident Investigation Projects:

  • Investigation on various vehicle fires for MSIG Insurance.
  • Failure analysis and accident investigation on liquid dispenser fire for Consumer Safety Department of SPRING /Enterprise Singapore.
  • Failure analysis and forensic investigation on building cladding (aluminium composite panel - ACP) fire at Toh Guan Road of Singapore, acting as failure analysis expert in Hign Court.
  • Failure analysis and accident investigation on explosion of electric storage water heater by Consumer Safety Department of SPRING Singapore/Enterprise Singapore.
  • Failure analysis investigation on damage items at and/or recovered from fire incident sites (two year contract + one year option) by Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
  • Failure analysis on fractured manhole framesets from Public Utilities Board (PUB).

    • Click DOWNLOAD to download the brochure of failure analysis and accident investigation services or Call (+65)81380509 for more details.

    How to conduct failure analysis or failure investigation

    Failure analysis or sometimes called root cause analysis may use following techniques:
    • Fishbone diagram, i.e. Causes and effects diagram

    • Five why questioning, i.e. Asking why, why, why qestions until fundamental causes are identified

    • Fault tree analysis (FTA) is a top-down, deductive failure analysis

    • Failure modes and effects/criticality analysis (FMEA or FMECA), list possible failure modes are defined; the effects and probabilities of those failures

      • In general, a proper failure analysis procedure shall be adopted during failure analysis process, so that failure analysis and investigation can be proceeded step by step.
      1. Collecting relevant background information on the failure.
      2. General survey on the failure site and selecting specimens or samples for further examination and investigation.
      3. Visual and macroscopic examination on selected samples or specimens relevant to failure.
      4. Analysis and inspection on samples or specimens with non-destructive techniques.
      5. Examination and analysis on samples or specimens with destructive techniques.
      6. Simulation analysis or simulation experiment.
      7. Data analysis on the analysis & investigation findings and logical inference.
      8. Report preparation to inculde failure analysis findings and conclusions.

    UTC's expert areas in failure analysis services

    Objectives of failure analysis services

      Effective failure analysis (FA) will:

    • Determine root cause(s) of failures.
    • Find out mechanism(s) of failures.
    • Recommend counter measures and solutions to prevent recurrence of failures.
    • Support litigation/court hearing on litigation/liabilities related to failures.


      • Click here to understand more about what is effective failure analysis.

    Available analytical techniques in failure analysis

    When fractures of equipments or infracstructure facilities are involved in accident(s), fracture analysis or fracture investigation should be conducted. Fractography on the fracture surfaces shall be conducted.

    Typical materials in UTC failure analysis projects

    Common failure mechanisms

    UTC's failure analysis or accident investigation projects were related to following failure mechanisms:

  • fatigue
  • stress corrosion cracking
  • overstress rupture
  • ductile fracture
  • brittle fracture
  • general corrosion
  • localised corrosion
  • hydrogen embrittlement
  • creep
  • wear
  • cavitation erosion
  • liquid metal embrittlement
  • buckling
  • galvanic corrosion
  • pitting
  • crevice corrosion
  • intergranular corrosion
  • contact fatigue
  • corrosion fatigue
  • leaching
  • under-deposit corrosion
  • electrical overstress
  • electrical migration
  • electrical arcing
  • electrostatic discharge (ESD)
  • hot cracking
  • lack of fusion/penetration
  • contamination
  • P-N junction breakdown
    • etc.

    Common manufacturing processes involved in failed items

    The failed products/devices/facilities in our failure analysis projects were made by:

  • welding
  • milling
  • turning
  • drilling
  • brazing
  • grinding
  • hot and cold forming
  • forging
  • casting
  • bonding
  • CVD deposition
  • PVD deposition
  • etching
  • plating
  • coating
  • bolt joining
  • cleaning
  • chemical treatment
  • heat treatment
  • assembly
  • moulding
  • cutting
    • etc.

    Effective failure analysis

    What is effective failure analysis

    After conducting failure analysis or accident investigation, the conclusion could be wrong, inconclusive or inrelevant, lack of logical or evidence, such kind of conclusion would be misleading, not only the analysis and investigation money as well as precise time are wasted, but also the failures or accidents could not be solved and prevented, it would further damage reputation and even litigation loss.

    The effective failure analysis must be comprehensive, logical, adapt scientificaly proven methods, and get right conclusions with solid evidences.

    How to validate effective failure analysis

    Effectiveness of failure analysis and accident investigation can be evaluated from following aspects:
  • Explain all observed phenomena and findings or data.
  • Feedback from the clients.
  • Peer review.
  • The effect after investigation and implementation.
  • Court acceptance
    • Only the evaluations from all the above aspects are positive, such failure analysis or accident investigation would be effective.

    Key elements for effective failure analysis


  • Qualified investigator(s)
  • Good track records
  • Proven analysis or investigation procedure and approach
  • Multi-discipline and cooperative team
  • Adequate analysis and investigation tools – instruments
  • Impartial and objective mind

    • CORE of effective failure analysis – Selecting analyst or investigator.

    How to select right failure analyst

    To ensure the failure analysis be effective, it is crucial to select right analyst or investigator.

    Requirements of good analyst or investigator
    They shall be able to take a comprehensive approach, covering a large spectrum of disciplines, to derive the correct cause(s) of failures or accidents.
  • Comprehensive knowledge of related fields;
  • Abundant relevant experience;
  • Hands-on skills and familiar to instruments/analytical techniques;
  • knack for gathering information;
  • Ability to filter artificial/distorted information;
  • Logical thinking;
  • Absolute honesty and integrity;
  • Open minded;
  • Team work;
  • Professional sense.
    • Cost of effective failure analysis
  • First of all, the analysis or investigation must be effective - quality report with right conclusion supported by solid evidence and scientific theory.
  • Secondly, the price shall be competitive.
  • They must be open market proven, demonstrated in GeBiz government tenders
  • Traceable track records

    • Trusts on UTC's failure analysis experts

    - Qualifications and accreditation

  • PhD in relevant disciplines/areas
  • Fellow of Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES)
  • Chartered Engineer in relevant areas (UK)
  • Member, National Association of Fire Investigators (USA)
  • Certified Pressure vessel inspector API 510 (American Petroleum Institute)
  • Expert/Technical Assessor of Singapore Accreditation Council (SAC)
  • Executive committee member of The Institute of Materials (East Asia)
  • Accomplished thousands of relevant projects, please refer to "Typical UTC failure analysis and accident projects" Section of this web page.

    • - Outstanding performance

  • A number of technical articles published in international journals and conferences, e.g. Forensic investigation on crane accidents, published in International Journal on Forensic Engineering, Vol.3 No 4, 2017
  • Expert witness reports and conclusions accepted by Court(s), e.g The judge’s statement: “The analysis report was not challenged. It was clearly at the odds ...”, Extracted from High Court Judgement in “Singapore Law watch” (2011) and Singaporelaw.sg (MovingU Pte Ltd vs. Trans-cab Service Pte Ltd) (Clause 27).
  • Recognition by governments, e.g. Dr Yu's contributions in investigating major MRT disruptions, and as expert witness testifying during Committee Of Inquiry (COI), as shown in COI Report – Ministry of Transportation 2012, Page 134
  • Dr Yu correctly determined the root cause of massive MRT breakdowns on July 7, 2015, featured in Top views of The Straits Times, Top of News, 30 July 2015.
  • Recognition feedback from clients, e.g. DSTA procurement manager' email:“SAF has cooperated with UTC several times previously and UTC has proven to be capable of fulfilling our requirements. We are very satisfied with UTC's performance.”

    • - Proven cost effective failure analysis and accident investigation


    UTC's analyses and investigations are competitive, which are demonestrated in markets, e.g. in Gebiz tenders, UTC was awarded many projects such as:
  • MOM, Investigation on fatal gate toppling at construction site.
  • SCDF, Period contract of accident investigation (2015-2018).
  • SCDF, Period contract of accident investigation (2019-2020)
  • LTA, Conduct training course “Vehicle Fire Investigation” (3 runs)
  • SPRING, Investigation on explosion of storage water heater
  • Enterprise SG, Investigation on liquid dispenser fire
  • RSAF, Investigation on unmanned aerial vehicle structure fracture
  • RSAF, Aircraft brake bolt failure analysis
  • SCDF, Investigation on taxi fire and explosion near Buona Vista MRT
  • SCDF, Forensic investigation on taxi fire @ Maymount Road
  • PUB – 1 year contract for failure analysis and damage investigation of facilities


    • bolt failure analysis and investigation services
    hovercraft gearbox fracture failure analysis and accident investigation

    Hovercraft gear fracture failure analysis and accident investigation

    Typical UTC failure analysis projects

      Our experts had successfully accomplished thousands of failure analysis and accident investigation projects, some typical cases are listed as follows:

    • Mechanical failure analysis on damages of amusement rides (track, roller coaster vehicle)
    • Forensic investigation on mass rapid transport system (MRT) / subway accident (trains, power supply, track)
    • Forensic investigation on taxi/car/vehicle fire and explosion
    • Forensic investigation on accidents of cranes (wire rope breakage, boom frame fracture, brake system failure, bearing damage, crane topple)
    • Forensic investigation on building cladding (aluminium composite panel -ACP) fire and expert witness in high court
    • Aircraft engine turbine blade failure analysis
    • Bolt failure analysis in aircraft braking system
    • Forensic investigation on paint and coating failures
    • Gear failure analysis in ship
    • Forensic investigation on automotive steering system
    • Shaft failure analysis in transportation (automobile)
    • Lift wire rope failure analysis for fracture/breakage/snapped in building
    • Forensic investigation and failure analysis on aerospace landing gear system failure
    • Mechnical failure analysis and corrosion investigation on hovercraft accidents (gearbox, propeller) in shipyard
    • Mechanical failure analysis on damages in gas and steam turbines
    • Failure investigation on notebook computer burning
    • Failure analysis on gearbox explosion
    • Forensic investigation on failures in jack-up rigs (pipe corrosion, glass cracking)
    • Wire rope failure analysis in multi-wenches lifting system
    • Failure investigation on extra-hydrogen release in huge battery of Submarine
    • Investigation on failures of PCB, PCBA, LCD, passive components and IC
    • Forensic investigation on heat exchanger burst
    • Submarine power cable failure analysis
    • Failure investigation on winch wire rope snapping in construction site
    • Forensic investigation on transformer fire in plant
    • Failure analysis on engine components (piston, crankshaft, camshaft, bearings, connecting rod, bolts, engine block, etc.)
    • Corrosion failure analysis on pipe leakages
    • Forensic investigation on explosion of power distribution system in plant
    • Welding failure investigation on large ship-lifting system in shipyard (marine)
    • Forensic investigation on incidents in Singapore Flyer
    • Failure analysis of pipeline and piping system according to FITNET FFS
    • Investigation on failures in building & structures etc.
    Failures and accidents may relate to damage, fault or fire caused by mechanical, chemical, material, electrical issues or human factors.

    UTC's role in failure analysis services


    UTC is one of leading independent third party failure aalysis services provider ( in terms of high quality of reports and high competence on investigating high profile cases). UTC's experts are often engaged by government agencies and companies for failure analysis and accident investigation. Typical examples including:

  • Failure analysis investigation on Taxi fire and explosion near Buona Vista MRT, awarded by Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF)
  • Investigating fatal gate toppling at construction site and as expert witness testifying in Criminal Court, awarded by Occupational Safety and Health Division of Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
  • Failure analysis and accident investigation on explosion of electric storage water heater, awarded by Consumer Safety Department of SPRING Singapore/Enterprise Singapore
  • Investigation and failure analysis on damage items at and/or recovered from incident sites (two year contract + one year option), awarded by Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF)
  • Failure analysis on fractured manhole framesets, awarded by Public Utilities Board (PUB)
  • Failure analysis and accident investigation on liquid dispenser fire, awarded by Consumer Safety Department of SPRING /Enterprise Singapore
  • Conducting "Vehicle Fire Investigation" course, awarded by Land Transport Authority (LTA).
  • Failure investigation analysis on landing gear system failure of UAV, awarded by MINDEF/DSTA/RSAF.
    • Other failure analysis and accident investigation project examples:
  • Investigating building cladding (aluminium composite panel - ACP) fire at Toh Guan Road and as expert witness in High Court
  • Investigation on various vehicle fires for MSIG Insurance
  • Forensic investigation on crane collapse accident at National Art Gallery, engaged by Takenaka (Japan)
  • Failure investigation analysis on 29" oil pipeline leakage, engaged by Universal Terminal

    • Failure analysis services in Singapore

      Commercial /industrial failure analysis services
    • Companies encounter failures and/or accidents, they may carry out their own failure analysis or accident investigation for most of simple cases. They may outsource third party investigator for complex or challenging or litigation related cases.
    • Thirty party investigators - they carry out independent failure analysis and accident investigation upon outsourcing or request from government agencies, companies or individuals.
    • Third party testing companies - their main business are product and/or material testing, they may give some interpretations based on their testing results.
    • Insurance companies, they may conduct investigation on accidents and failures for settling claims or engage third party investigators for accident investigation or failure analysis.
    • Loss adjusters, they mainly assess the damages and loss of accidents or failures.
    • Surveyors - they mainly survey the accident sites and write survey report.

    Relevant publications on failure analysis and forensic investigation

    UTC Expert Witness for Recent Litigation and Court Cases

    A mobile crane toppled when lifting an 40 feet container, resulting in damages amount to several hundred of thousands dollars. UTC was engaged to investigate the accident causes and as expert witness in legal litigation. According to the court record, the Judge accepted our conclusion that the crane toppled was due to defective/malfunctional AML system.

    A heavy gate toppled during installation and caused a worker death. UTC was engaged by MOM for accident investigation and as expert witness in this court case. According to Straits Times and Channel NewsAsia's reports, the court ruled that the contractor was fined S$280,000 for fatal gate toppling. The contractor filed appeal, but lost the appeal and punishment was increased from S$280,000 to S$330,000 for fatal gate toppling. UTC had successfully determined the root causes of the accident and testified in the court hearing by providing solid evidences with scientific methodolody.

    One crane collapsed in a construction site, which severely damaged the nearby plant facilities and workshop during lifting operation. China Taiping Insurance engaged UTC to investigate the accident and as expert witness in legal suit. We successfully determined the root causes of the accident. Shortly after receiving our report, the case was settled favourably before court hearing.

    Content of UTC "Industrial Failure Analysis" Training Course

    Part 1, Overview of industrial failure analysis
    Introduction
    General procedures of industrial failure analysis
    Effective failure analysis
    Report preparation and assessment on failure analysis investigation
    How to select failure analysis service providers

    Part 2, Non-destructive examination
    Visual examination
    Ultrasonic testing
    Dye/liquid penetration
    Magnetic particle examination
    Eddy Current testing
    X-ray examination

    Part 3, Advanced analytical instruments and applications
    Microscopy – microscopic and metallurgical examination
    Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)/Energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX)
    Chemical element analysis
    X-ray diffraction (XRD)
    Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR)
    Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)

    Part 4, Failures - characteristics, mechanisms and prevention
    Mechanical failures
    Fractures - Brittle and ductile fractures
    Material embrittlements - hydrogen, liquid metals, tempering
    Fatigue – LCF, HCF, corrosion fatigue
    Fractography - macro and micro-examination on fracture surfaces
    Creep
    Wear: abrasive, fretting, contact fatigue, ferrography
    Chemical failures
    General corrosion, pitting corrosion, intergranular corrosion, crevice corrosion, galvanic corrosion, stress corrosion cracking, selective leaching, erosion corrosion, hydrogen attack
    Electrical failures
    Current leakage
    Short circuit
    Open circuit
    Arcing
    P-N junction breakdown

    Part 5, Case Studies of failure analysis
    A number of actual failure analysis cases from different industrial sectors including aerospace, marine, transportation, construction, electronics, oil refinery will be analysed and discussed.

    Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of fracture surface in failure analysis and accident investigation

    Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectrum in failure analysis and accident investigation

    Failure analysis and investigation on break wire rope by UTC (corrosion, fatigue and wear)

    Failure analysis and accident investigation by UTC

    Contact UTC failure analysis experts for forensic failure analysis investigation services, please click EMAIL or Call (+65)81380509 for more details.