Flooring Forensics?

One project took me to Nashville, Tennessee where I enjoyed the local culture and assisted with the litigation involving a large assisted living home.

Before there was a CSI:Anywhere, there was Quincy M.E. starring Jack Klugman – this was back in the late ‘70’s and early 80’s.  Quincy was a medical examiner that always became involved in the investigation of the death he was assigned to report on; the stories were always fascinating. 

Quincy’s job was always referred to as forensics, a neat sounding word and one that had a natural alliteration with flooring.  Mm-hmm, Forensic Floors? Floor Forensics? Floorensics? How about Flooring Forensics?  Yes, that was it, Flooring Forensics! 

Forensic scientists examine and analyze evidence from crime scenes and elsewhere to develop objective findings that can assist in an investigation. By extension that includes any individual responsible for the identification of, or reason for, a product or process failure. 

Aligned with the forensic scientist’s job description is the methodology used:  the scientific method.  The process in the scientific method involves making conjectures (hypotheses), deriving predictions from them as logical consequences, and then carrying out experiments or empirical observations based on those predictions. A hypothesis is a conjecture, based on knowledge obtained while seeking answers to a question. 

And that is what I do.  Oh sure, the glamour may not be as bright in my line of work and I’m certainly no candidate for my own reality television show, but my function is critical, especially to those with a flooring problem.  The problem could be a minor nuisance type, or the type that’s about to cost someone hundreds of thousands of dollars, the approach and the skill set is the same.