Expert Witnesses

John Whitty is a licensed professional engineer (structural focus) with 30+ years of experience in the structural analysis and design of fall protection systems, manufacturing and industrial facilities, nuclear/fossil power plants and highway bridges & approach structures. He is currently licensed as a professional engineer in 14 states (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Arizona, Michigan and Minnesota).

For the past 20+ years John has been involved extensively in the field of fall protection and studied under the tutelage of Dr. J. Nigel Ellis of Dynamic Scientific Controls/Ellis Fall Safety Solutions.  He is an OSHA Competent/Qualified person and a graduate of Dr. Ellis’ courses on the principles and practices of Fall Hazard Control as well as a competent/qualified person lead instructor for EFSS’s fall protection training courses.

He is a contributing author and editor of Dr. Ellis’s book, “Introduction to Fall Protection – 4th Edition”.

Mr. Whitty is an active member of the ANSI Z359 committee Fall Protection Code and the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP).

He has been an Exposition/Congress speaker for the ASSP (American Society of Safety Professionals),  NSC (National Safety Council), the International Society for Fall Protection (ISFP) and has been published in numerous trade/safety publications.

He is a member of the NCEES (National Counsel of Engineering Examiners).

Mr. Whitty has served as expert witness in numerous litigation cases involving general site safety (construction and general industry), falling object protection and falls from height from an engineering, safety, root cause analysis and discovery support perspective.

The main crux of his experience in fall protection has centered on the specification, structural engineering analysis, design and turnkey integration of personal fall arrest systems and components.

Services have included:

• Development of Fall Protection Plans, Policies and Procedures
• Fall Hazard Surveys, Audits, and Assessments
• Fall Protection Equipment specification and procurement
• Fall protection system installation/integration
• Application of OSHA and ANSI standards to structural engineering theory
• Design and analysis of platforms, gangways, load arm systems and associated structural components
• Design, analysis and certification of Anchorage Points
• Analysis, Design and Testing of Horizontal Lifelines
• Analysis, Design and Testing of Vertical Lifelines
• Analysis, Design and Testing of Rigid Rail Systems
• Analysis, Design and Testing of Ladder Climbing Systems
• Analysis and Design of new and existing structures to sustain the dynamic loadings associated with Fall Arrest Systems
• Analysis and Design of Fall Arrest System Drop Test Tower Structures
• Structural steel fabrication
• Authorized/Competent/Qualified Person and End User Training
• Train the trainer
• OSHA 1926/1910 Code Compliance Reviews
• Fall Hazard Accident Investigation
• Litigation Support/Expert Witness Services