Industrial Insights: Hazards and Resilience of Industrial Facilities (Series Part 2)

Emily McCarthy specializes in structural engineering analysis and design, and has a wide range of industrial, commercial, and marine project experience as governed by domestic and international codes. She has collaborated on projects related to new design, investigation, and rehabilitation of structures subjected to natural hazards, high winds, blast loads, fire events, and typical loading conditions. Emily has experience in the analytical evaluation of new, existing, and damaged structures; structural condition assessments consisting of visual surveys and destructive and non-destructive testing for wharfs, piers, buildings, and garages; and blast analysis of facilities in the oil and gas industry.

Justin Reynolds is an experienced engineer who has spent time in both SGH’s Building Technology and Marine Engineering groups. His unique perspective allows him to view structures from a holistic perspective. Justin manages and executes projects confirming seismic compliance across various states, countries, and specialized local requirements. These projects range from wharves and refineries to individual pieces of manufacturing equipment. He is also proficient in seismic assessments for tanks and their corresponding facilities, as well as constructability analyses for both maritime and refinery structures. Justin is the Secretary of the ASCE Task Committee on Seismic Evaluation and Design of Energy, Petrochemical, and Other Industrial Facilities.

John McLean has extensive experience in structural design, analysis, and engineering project management of industrial facilities, commercial buildings, and nuclear power plants. In addition to steel and concrete design and analysis, his specialties include blast and impactive loading analysis security design (for tornado missile, load drop, aircraft impact, etc.), dynamic analysis, condition assessment, and constructability reviews. As head of SGH’s Blast and Impact Loading Analysis Special Interest Group, he focuses on creating resilient structures to withstand extreme events. He serves as the firm’s Nuclear Security Manager and is currently the Chair of the ASME/ACI Joint Committee on Concrete Containments (ACI 359/ASME Div. 2) and a member of ACI 370, ASME Section III and the Section III Executive Committee.

Josh Greene has experience in building and fire code consulting, fire protection system design, hazardous materials analysis and protection, smoke control analyses and system commissioning, and construction administration services. He specializes in assessing unique and challenging designs and employing performance-based concepts for alternative solutions to prescriptive code requirements. He is active in numerous professional organizations, including the Society of Fire Protection Engineers, where he was recently named a Fellow, and the National Fire Protection Association, for which he served as Chair of the Building Systems Technical Committee for NFPA 5000 for the last three cycles. He has provided building code consulting and fire engineering services for various projects ranging from zinc plants to semiconductor fabrication facilities to supertall high-rise buildings throughout the United States and the world.

Matt Gilbertson has diverse experience designing, investigating, and rehabilitating building and non-building structures. He specializes in evaluating flood hazards and designing structures to mitigate flood risk. His projects include designing buildings subject to flooding, evaluating existing facilities for flood risk, designing flood mitigation measures, and consulting on regulatory flood requirements. Matt is a member of Flood Load and Future Conditions subcommittees for ASCE 7-28, “Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures,” and the committee for ASCE 24-24, “Flood Resistant Design and Construction.”

Paul Summers has extensive experience analyzing and designing industrial structures, buildings, tanks, and pipelines subjected to both static and dynamic loads, including those from extreme events such as blasts, explosions, earthquakes, high winds, fires, and floods. He has served on several committees charged with developing design and evaluation criteria for both new and existing structures, including being the current chair of ASCE task committees in the areas of wind and earthquake design of energy, petrochemical, and other industrial facilities. He also serves on the ASCE task committee responsible for developing the guidelines, Design of Blast-Resistant Buildings in Energy and Industrial Facilities. Paul has provided expert witness services in disputes and litigation related to construction, collapse, soil settlement and expansion, wind, blast, fire, hail, and earthquake loadings.